Betsy Barry is a colored pencil artist working from her home studio in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Using her gardens and the beautiful Connecticut shoreline as her inspiration, she creates illustrations from life. Betsy’s goal is to bring awareness to the everyday beauty of the natural world that surrounds us.
TJ Cunningham spent his first decade of life in Cambridge, Vermont, which happened to be one of Aldro Hibbard and Emile Gruppe’s favorite places to paint. Both of them died about ten years before TJ’s birth, but the same landscape that inspired them inspired him. The small farms, wooded hills, and shallow streams were bursting with inspiration. It was the perfect place to awaken a desire to create.
TJ also grew up seeing the artwork of his family members, William Trost Richards, Francis Davis Millet, Kathleen McEnery, and most importantly, his grandfather Michael Cunningham. Through their paintings, they showed him that a career as an artist was within reach. TJ studied art with oil painter and illustrator Brian Jekel and other excellent teachers at Pensacola Christian College (PCC). The art classes at PCC focused on representational painting rather than modern art or abstract art. During his four years there, TJ learned a process for creating a painting that he still uses today. Immediately after graduating in 2010, he began his career as a professional artist.
In 2014 Southwest Art recognized TJ as an emerging artist in their “21 under 31” article. Since then, his landscape paintings have won awards from the Plein Air Salon, the Portrait Society of America, the Art Renewal Center, and the Oil Painters of America.
Life is more than art, though, and one great benefit of this vocation is the time that TJ has to enjoy with his family. He and his wife, Julie, share in the joy of having four beautiful children. TJ signs all of his paintings with a small PTL (Praise The Lord) under his name. For TJ, life is a gift; one he receives with tremendous gratitude.
Originally from northern Vermont, Hollis Dunlap became interested in drawing and painting the human figure around the age of 14. After studying painting in high school, he went on to study at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, graduating in 1999 after painting and drawing the figure extensively for four years. While an undergraduate, he was the first painter to be awarded First Prize at New York’s National Arts Club student exhibition for two consecutive years. Hollis was the recipient of the John Stobart Fellowship, awarded each year to a graduating student in recognition of outstanding work, and he is also a 2 time grantee of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation.
More recently, Hollis has become interested in a mix of modern and classical elements in his work, combining realist drawing with experimental color. He has had solo exhibitions in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Miami, and teaches painting at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in CT. He also teaches workshops internationally and currently paints at his studio in Southeastern CT.
Eileen Frailey Eder, a resident of Connecticut, is a contemporary realist painter who works almost exclusively from life. Her harmonious paintings show her affection for light and shadow as well as color and form both in nature and still life objects. Eileen often drew and painted throughout her teenage and early adult years. After raising a family she attended the New York Academy of Art, graduating with an MFA degree in 1998. Following grad school, Eileen began her full time professional career painting and teaching, being grateful to enjoy the challenge, joy, and fulfillment of painting ever since. Eileen worked primarily with the figure after leaving grad school but an injury put her in a wheel chair for a few months during which she painted still life at home. She found the genre to be fun, enjoying the graphic design challenge as well as color and reflections in her set ups. Eileen completed a series of over 30 still lives for her first solo show at the George Billis Gallery in NY in 2006. Still Life dominated Eileen’s painting for the next 10 years but the desire to work in nature started another love, plein air painting. After taking workshops with a number of influential teachers including T. Allen Lawson, Don Demers and Israel Hershberg and spending many hours ‘on site’, Eileen began to get accepted to plein air festivals and win awards for her landscapes. Eileen continues to compete in national and local shows and has been a frequent award winner for both still life and landscape paintings.
Eileen considers New England as the perfect location for her triple life, working on still life in the studio in nasty weather, moving outdoors for plein air painting once the weather warms, and always sharing her knowledge with all her many beloved students.
Kelli Folsom is an award-winning oil painter known for her old-world still life and painterly floral works. She began her teaching journey right at Lyme Art Association, where she was awarded Best of Show in 2011, and is a proud graduate of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. She is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America and her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, and in national exhibitions across the U.S. Since 2011, Kelli has taught thousands of artists both in person and online through workshops, retreats, and her online school, Art Life School. She is the author of the best-selling book: 30 Ways to Master Still Life Painting. What truly sets her apart is her deep love of teaching and mentoring—supporting artists at all levels to grow in confidence, skill, and personal expression.
Nancy Peel Gladwell has been an active artist, working in CT for almost 40 years. After earning a BFA from George Washington U, Gladwell continued her studies in Florence, Italy at the Academia delle Belle Arte and Studio Simi. After returning to the states, Gladwell joined the greater New York Gallery scene exhibiting her work and began teaching art at CW Post, Long Island University. While classically trained in drawing, painting, Gladwell brought the great Renaissance genre of narrative art into a contemporary vernacular. Formalism crept into her compositions as color-shape relationships became more abstract. Teaching for over 28 years at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Gladwell introduced color theory into the college’s curriculum. Her fascination with color has led Gladwell through a life-long investigation of the emotional richness of this element its subtle mysteries.
Nancy Peel Gladwell has been an active artist, working in CT for almost 40 years. After earning a BFA from George Washington U, Gladwell continued her studies in Florence, Italy at the Academia delle Belle Arte and Studio Simi. After returning to the states, Gladwell joined the greater New York Gallery scene exhibiting her work and began teaching art at CW Post, Long Island University. While classically trained in drawing, painting, Gladwell brought the great Renaissance genre of narrative art into a contemporary vernacular. Formalism crept into her compositions as color-shape relationships became more abstract. Teaching for over 28 years at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Gladwell introduced color theory into the college’s curriculum. Her fascination with color has led Gladwell through a life-long investigation of the emotional richness of this element its subtle mysteries.
Gladwell’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.
As an artist, Sunil Howlader creates paintings that positively impact and bring beauty to our lives while also telling a story. For Sunil, art is not only about beauty, but also about making people think. It is about communicating to an audience, and giving them an opportunity to find their own meaning through what he paints.
Sunil’s style is semi-abstract expressionism, which combines the beauty of the natural world with the expressive elements of abstraction. He likes this style because it gives him the freedom to add emotions, feelings, and ideas to what he sees through his use of meaningful lines, forms, and colors that represent the emotional activities of the psyche.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Jones is an accomplished oil painter specializing in plein air and studio work, influenced by the American Impressionist tradition, particularly the Old Lyme Art Colony. Her work draws inspiration from artists such as Matilda Brown, Willard Metcalf, and the Cape Ann painters, including Cecilia Beaux, Emile Gruppe and Aldro Hibbard. Jackie holds a BFA in Painting from Lyme Academy College of Fine Art and an Associate Degree in Graphic Design and Illustration from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Beyond her own practice, Jackie is passionate about teaching and leads plein air workshops and studio painting classes.
As an oil painter deeply influenced by the beauty of nature, Jackie’s work reflects her lifelong connection to the outdoors. Whether painting plein air or in the studio, she seek to capture the spirit of a moment, the play of light, and the harmony found in the landscapes and seascapes around her. Her approach is inspired by the American Impressionist movement, where the emphasis is placed on quick, spontaneous brushwork and the natural effects of light. Painting en plein air allows Jackie to immerse herself fully in the environment, observing nuances that cannot be captured from photographs—each brushstroke is an attempt to preserve a fleeting moment in time, a snapshot of light, color, and atmosphere that may never be repeated.
Jackie believes that art has the power to evoke feelings of connection, calm, and wonder. Her goal is not only to depict nature’s beauty but also to share the experience of being within it—whether it is a fleeting moment of sunlight on the water or the vastness of a sweeping landscape. She is constantly inspired by the moving light, atmospheric conditions, and the subtle color shifts that occur in nature. Jackie’s process is fluid, intuitive, and rooted in her desire to preserve these ephemeral moments.
Drawing and painting since he was a child, Mike Laiuppa has worked with many 2D and 3D mediums, but for him, oil paint feels alive. Mike describes it this way, “it can be pushed, prodded, streaked, and steered. But no matter what you do to it, it will remain true to your intent. I find it a fascinating medium with which to create. It’s by far the easiest I’ve played with, but truly the hardest to master. It’s for these reasons, I feel drawn to commanding it.”
Mike also shares why he loves teaching: “The question we all have is, “What is the meaning of life?” I believe the meaning is to have a purpose. Otherwise, we are born only to consume and that, to me, is tragic. My purpose is not to simply to create, but also to teach. Passing on knowledge and skills to help someone improve their lives, and hopefully the lives of others, is the reason I was put here. In order to teach, I must learn. Whether it’s music, art, martial arts, fitness, cooking, writing, or whatever facet of life interests me, I learn it to the best of my ability and then pass it along as soon as I’m able. Seeing others improve their lives is truly joyous.”
Lisa Miceli is a plein air painter and art teacher with a focus on expressionist watercolors and oils, and teaches studio and plein air painting year round. She is an elected artist at Lyme Art Association and the Mystic Museum of Art, and a member of the Noank 9 plein air painting group. Lisa studied watercolor painting with British watercolorist Ron Ranson, and with Bob Noreika at the Lyme Art Association, and with local art instructors at Granite Street Gallery. A significant influence on Lisa’s painting was her grandmother Lucille, who was an illustrator, watercolorist, and a WPA artist.
Artist’s statement: In my plein air painting I am seeking to convey something deeper about the land, sea and sky than meets the eye, something that is under the surface but visible only when we slow down to look, uncovering what is beautiful in the seemingly ordinary.
Instructor for both painting and drawing, Jack Montmeat has been a member of LAA for over twenty years. His beautifully crafted oil portraits have lead to numerous commissions.
Jack Montmeat is a realist painter with a studio in East Lyme, Connecticut. Growing up in Old Lyme, Jack was inspired by the story of the art colony in the town and the paintings of its members. Having studied at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Columbus College of Art and Design (B.F.A. 2002), The American University of Paris, and SACI in Florence, Italy Jack continues to work in a representational tradition. He maintains a weekly schedule of teaching drawing and painting from life at Lyme Art Association and Mystic Museum of Art. Jack is a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, as well as grants from the George Sugarman Foundation, Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, and The Stobart Foundation. Jack paints life-size commissioned portraits, most recently for Yale University, UConn School of Law and Salisbury School.
Howard Park attended the Masters of Fine Arts program at Tufts University and studied at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA and continued his studies in France at L’Ecole d’Art Decoratif de Nice, where he won a National prize in photography. After a stint in the Merchant Marine, Howard returned to Boston to work as a photographer and Art Director, but the love of the sea eventually led him to Connecticut to manage a boatyard and raise a family. Ultimately, he realized his dream to sail around the world and paint. After restoring COMET, a 1946 Sparkman & Stephens 52’ yawl, Howard completed the circumnavigation in 2001. Settling in Stonington, CT after his return from the voyage eighteen years ago, Howard owned and operated the Four Starr Gallery and Frame Shoppe located in the Velvet Mill in Stonington. Several years ago he handed the business over to his daughter-in-law, Sarah Park, (now called Stonington Gallery). He now owns, HGPark Fine Art, focusing on Conservation, Restoration and Appraisals of Fine Art, including: Original oil paintings, Works on Paper, Objects, Etchings, Murals and Antique Frames.
Howard teaches adult art classes at the Mystic Museum of Art, the Avondale Arts Center and the Ninigret Art Guild in Charlestown, RI, and gives workshops at the Community Center, Fisher’s Island, NY. Additionally, he teaches plein air painting to the Noank Nine, a group of painters who meet each week, year round. When not out in the field or teaching, Howard spends much of his time painting in his studio at the Velvet Mill. His modern-impressionistic oil paintings and watercolors, of landscapes and maritime scenes, is a portrayal of the things he loves.
Jeanne Carol Potter has more than forty years as a fine art professional, gallery director, teacher and artist. She holds MFA and BFA degrees from Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts with post graduate courses at the Art Students League in New York and studies with Burton Silverman, Raymond Kinstler and Philip Pearlstein. She was an Adjunct Professor in the Painting and Drawing Department at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC. Most recently, she was the longtime Director of the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport, the leading gallery of contemporary marine art in America. She was also the first Resident Curator and Director of Art Education at The Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI.
As an artist, Jeanne Carol Potter is continually exploring the many unique qualities of the watercolor medium in painting a variety of subjects reflecting the world around her painting from life and in her studio Atelier Jeanne. In her work, she enjoys the challenge of painting the figure, the natural world and a variety of man-made objects. In both her art and teaching, she strives to capture the beauty in all of these subjects with unique compositions and transparent layers of color and light, teaching her students through demonstrations, color theory, personal instruction, and historical examples for inspiration of the art of watercolor painting.
Jeanne Carol Potter has won numerous awards for her watercolors and is currently exhibiting in national and regional exhibitions. She is a signature member of the Hudson Valley Art Association, Greenwich Art Society and the Connecticut Women Artists. She has been an award winner many times in the national competition Splash and most recently featured in the July 2025 issue of The Best of Watercolor Splash 26.
Animal lover Catherine Puccio started painting at the age of 13. She taught art at the Ridgewood Art Institute in Ridgewood, NJ and in the public schools in CT. An award-winning artist, she has taught workshops at Lyme Art Association and most recently has become an Elected Member at LAA. She recently had a solo exhibition in the Mile Brook Gallery featuring many of her animal portraits.
Diana Rogers makes lively and color-filled paintings of New England’s diverse landscapes and waterways. Taking a color-forward approach to painting, Diana uses vibrant hues and expressive mark-making to create her colorscape paintings.
She finds the pure pigments of the pastel medium ideal for capturing the chroma, textures and patterns in the natural world. She uses her visual voice to honor nature and the special places that need our protection in this time of climate change. Diana has taught painting classes and workshops throughout New England.
In her classes or workshops, Diana Rogers shares her color-forward approach with demonstrations, exercises, and individual attention. Students learn methods for creating dynamic paintings with vivid color, expressive strokes, mark-making, and learn to minimize detail in the landscape to capture the essence of a place. Students also explore a variety of underpainting techniques to simplify design, and infuse paintings with fresh color and energy. Plus, Diana has a teaching style that is geared for all artist levels.
Caleb Stone grew up in the art colony of Rockport MA, and exposed at a early age to plein air painting by his father, Don Stone, N.A. His attraction to the French and American impressionists and choice of art as a career grew from and was nurtured by this environment. Later, Caleb studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT. Since then he has been regularly teaching, traveling and painting in both watercolors and oils. Caleb is the recipient of numerous awards, including the John Stobart Fellowship Award, the New England Heritage Award, the Wood Award for Excellence in Watercolor, the Land and Light Gold Medal, Best in Show Manchester by the Sea, and most recently, he achieved Elected Artist at the Lyme Art Association.
Tatiana Yanovskaya-Sink was born in Ukraine. The only child of working class parents, Tatiana was raised in a Soviet-style “doma” in Ukraine ‘s largest industrial city Kharkov. Throughout her school years she was exposed to the paintings of the greatest Russian and Ukrainian traditional artists. Although well cared for, Tatiana was a lonely child and relied on a vivid imagination to occupy and express her creativity through ballet dancing (Nut Cracker) and play acting in school and local theatre events. Unable to afford a piano Tatiana was discouraged from pursuing her first inclination toward the arts – music. In primary and secondary school she was, however, able to take basic courses in drawing and design in the local art schools and art associations. At the insistence of her parents, Tatiana earned her BS degree in mechanical engineering with the later obtained an advanced degree as Patent Agent from Moscow Patent & Trademark Office. While working in the intellectual property field, she took art classes at the Kharkov Academy of Art (formerly the Institute of Industrial Art and Design) where she made friends with many talented artists with whom she studied and stays in-touch until present. In 1990, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Tatiana immigrated to the United States, found employment in Boston law offices as a patent paralegal. Throughout this period Art remained Tatiana’s first love and she continues to paint, study with the most prominent contemporary artists in America and participates in the shows with the various local artists.
Christopher Zhang’s portrait and landscape paintings are a balance of style and personality. After a trip to Europe, he came to the conclusion that he must follow the realism model of both Eastern and Western European styles of the 19th century. Specifically, he combines the Impressionist colors with the big and rough brushstrokes of Russian realism.
Christopher believes that art is more about the level of intellectual and cultural understanding than about the level of technical ability. In other words, a painting is not just composition, perspective, colors and values; it is the interaction of all visual and performing arts including music, dance, film, literature, etc. With this in mind, Christopher works to create paintings that speak better than words.