Discover Artists
Shown below is a list of area artists who are members of United Arts Collier.
Please note: All images are copyrighted by the artist. Reproduction of them is illegal without written permission from the artist.
Adorable Monique is a visual artist based in Southwest Florida, raised abroad in Central America, profoundly influencing her understanding of art, culture, and color. Monique is well known for her figurative works, landscapes, people, among diverse themes. In addition, to painting, she is accomplished in other mediums such as ceramics and illustration. She obtained her formal education in Fine Arts, Teaching Visual Arts, and Education from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán, and at St. Thomas University - with honors. In addition, her art has received copious accolades and the opportunity to exhibit in many venues. Growing up surrounded by different cultures has broadened her overall view of life, and continuously is pursuing success in personal, professional, and artistic endeavors and the cultural experience itself.
My backdrop in a developing country allowed me to identify with the agricultural setting and be grateful for my surroundings and the natural environment, such as trees, reservoirs and animals. As well, there were days with limited essentials such as water, electricity, and sustenance. However, the neighboring ambiance instilled a higher appreciation of having these basics when possible and being thankful for them. Likewise, it is part of life to acknowledge nature, customs, and values. Planting trees and keeping closeness with the intrinsic habitation as much as possible. Securing habitats for future generations is essential to developing a more solid connection with nature. Including the portrayals of diverse ethnic groups, as humanity is an integrated part of her work process.
Making art during the years, exploring various techniques and mediums, including murals and creative designs, has deepened artistic insights and novel approaches. Furthermore, various artworks are included in private collections across the United States and Internationally. Featured art in publications; Naples Daily News, Florida Weekly, Coastal Breeze News, The River Weekly News, Paradise Coast, SW Spotlight News Magazines, Naples Illustrated Charity Register, Voyage MIA, Shout Out LA, Casa America, Professional Artist, the bibliographic book collection from National Library of Honduras Juan Ramón Molina are to name a few. Moreover, commissioned to illustrate Children's books and fables published by the National Association of Writers in Honduras, La Biblioteca GN among publishers.
Alexander Goldstein, is a music composer composing classical crossover and film scores for 27 feature films and over 300 documentaries. Goldstein is cinematographer and director. Naples, Fl Redifingin Paradise and Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers.
My artwork is the manifestation of my spiritual practice. The painting and mixed media applications are meditative, magical processes through which I can charge each piece with vibrations of love, health, and gratitude.
Amanda studied English at Southwestern A/G University. Art was always in the back of her mind, but it didn’t seem to be a realistic option. While publishing books with a curriculum company was exciting, the need to create something different was too great to ignore.
After reading countless books, studying techniques, watching documentaries on everything from the old masters to modern artists, it was time to try her hand at painting. She found art making exhilarating and mesmerizing.
She began selling artwork in 2021 and made finalist in the 2023 Camelback Gallery Competition.
Amanda Jaron has been designing jewelry since she was a child. Her designs are sometimes funky, often romantic & always sophisticated. After completing college and gaining her Bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the University of Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Amanda took off for NYC and worked for fashion powerhouses Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, Nine West and Jones NY, before leading the design team at AVON Products. During her decade in NYC she also crafted runway pieces for exclusive couture fashion houses of Europe.
Andy Browne, a painter/printer, steps into her garden for inspiration. Her subject matter shifted after a move from New England to Florida, offering an “entirely new and alien ‘garden’ that demanded a fresh look.”
My inspiration comes from the beauty of Nature. Land, sea, sky and anything related, are my muses. My relationship with my them is very emotional. It creates a visceral desire to express my emotions in the best way I see fit at the moment and what I think best represents them. Therefore, my form f expression variesand I am equally at home with abstract and representetional painting. I refuse to stagnate by repeating the same art formula.
Annabelle Johnson is a potter who creates usable art – including dinnerware, mugs, pitchers, bowls, vases, baskets and candle holders. She is known for her tropical designs.
I have always been an artist of some sort. When I was a small child I would take the cardboard pieces out of my dad's laundered shirts to paint and draw upon. I couldn't wait for the next delivery of clean shirts as it would be loaded with many a blank canvases for me to make my creations. I use to get paint by number kits as gifts, however, I was never one to stay in the lines so with those paints, my imagination and the cardboard inserts from my Dad's shirts I would paint, and paint and paint.
I love art, and the creative process in all media. Besides fine arts and crafts, dance and music were other avenues of expression that I used during my youth and influences my work to this day.
When I was in my twenties I was a disco and ball room dancer. I belonged to a dance troupe in the Cleveland, Ohio area called Hollywood & Company. Dancing was a fun and exciting outlet for me to express myself.
Soon after relocating to Pennsylvania in my late twenties, I was hit by a drunk driver and that put an end to my dancing career. But not to the passion of what I felt when dancing, which remained within. I continued to pursue the arts. I was encouraged and delighted to interview, compete, present and get accepted to The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the first and oldest art school in America. I worked hard and graduated with honors. It started me on an amazing artistic journey.
After graduation and several years later I was an invited artist in residence of CIEM - Center De L'Image Et De L' Estampe De Mirage' - Mirabel, Que'bec, Canada, where I was asked to also participate in the Route des Arts.
During my residency stay, my work took a new direction and I began to explore capturing music and dance in my art. I did and do this by utilizing the memories of the movement that are stirred (by my years of dance) by the performances and my drawing skills. This enables me to capture the very breath of the performance giving it life and permanence after the each fleeting moment fades through the line drawings, paintings and mixed media works that I create.Upon returning to the states an invitation ensued by Jon Sherman, professor of ballet at Swarthmore College to create during his classes. A short time thereafter I was a residence artist in the performing arts department where I created work while attending classes as well as teaching drawing from dance through a satellite program.
Taking what I learned and who I had become as a teacher I founded The AnA Project whose mission was to bring the arts to people of all ages through workshops and performances. Making an impact by employing artists to give back within a 3-5 mile of work or home. This became a true calling of mine and I enjoyed many successful years. When the pandemic hit in 2019 -2020 it was decided to dissolve the AnA project.
In December of 2021 I moved to Florida where I have a studio/gallery and work creating and teaching from movement as well as mixed media and collage once again.
Arlen Smith is a Nicaraguan American artist born in 1984. Based in Ave Maria,
she strives to capture the natural environment with unprecedented moments captured in
time. She studied Photography and Fine Arts at Florida International University where
she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts and a Master in the Art of Teaching. Arlen has
taught Art and Photography for eleven years across South Florida. Her landscape work
encompasses vibrant colors and textures that change moment to moment. Arlen paints
subjects that include landscapes, animals, and portraits. Her medium of choice is oil,
watercolors, and photography. Ultimately, the work of the great impressionists inspires
her art, and she hopes to communicate her artistic voice through her paintings.
is the unique pop-art pointillism of British Artist, Cath Branwood. The painting are inspired by travel, nature and life and are vibrant, textured, colorful, and lively. Each patient point represents all of Cath’s creative influences in a single calm peaceful moment.
Arturo Correa is an American-Venezuelan artist based in Naples, FL. Flat, frontal and with no concern for perspective or horizon to ground the viewer, Correa’s paintings combine figures and text as well as contemporary and historic iconic imagery. Materiality and spirituality, pain and love, yearning and hope are all reflected in the work.
Arturo Samaniego is an internationally recognized visual artist working in a range of media and styles, ranging from Contemporary realistic figurative, to mix media Abstract. He is the recipient of many national awards, and his work has been published by International Artist Magazine, American Art Collector, Juxtapoze, Florida Design Magazine and more.
Austin Bell is an award-winning museum curator, author, and photographer. A Florida native, Austin enjoys capturing the beauty of his home state, typically on film using vintage cameras that are older than he is.
Austin is the Curator of Collections for the Marco Island Historical Society, a Consulting Scholar to the Penn Museum, and the founder and owner of Florida Man Photography. He enjoys blending his passions for history, nature, and photography in a way that he hopes will inspire appreciation and reflection.
His photography has been exhibited throughout Florida and has won awards at the Marco Island Center for the Arts, the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery, and the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center. In September 2023, Austin debuted a solo exhibition at the Marco Island Center for Arts, titled “Re:Location,” which featured double-exposed black-and-white film prints of some of Marco Island’s most historic places.
Beth Crosley uses acrylics and mixed media to paint famous musicians who have impacted the world. A musician herself, Beth hopes to express the power of music through her visual art, reminiscent of the 60’s- very colorful and a little abstract.
Beth Sistrunk’s oil paintings are full of wonders that fool the eye. A delicate balance of contrasting light and shadow set a dramatic stage where three dimensional frills and wispy colors of beautiful seashells are revealed. We invite you to closely examine her paintings; you never know what you might find.
Bonny Hawley weaves from the fabrics of ancient worlds and threads of her imagination to create her mysterious flowing large scale mixed media artworks. She strives to uplift and inspire the viewers' spirit, and is deeply inspired by the beauty and serenity of the water and her nature surroundings in South West Florida.Experimentation and Imagination are the driving forces in her work. Never one to color in the lines she is constantly striving to try new techniques and pushing the limits of the traditional processes. The Art consists of acrylic mixed media collage with layers of papers, prints, metallic paints and a unique glazing technique on textured surfaces and free flowing supports.Bonny has been a professional full time working studio artist for 40 years. Originally from Kansas she graduated with a BFA in Art from FHSU, and has lived in Naples Florida for the last 30 years. Represented by fine art galleries across the country, the work is in private and corporate collections in the United States, Europe and Asia."Living by the ocean inspires and heals me, the flow of the water, the changing tides and the supreme power that controls it all."
Brendon McDonnell is a professional musician based in Naples, Fl.
Software development includes Bandosaurus, the new standard for music &
agency event booking and management!
Terra Guitarra® is the original painting style of musician Bruce Hecksel. These paintings are created using the guitar shape as a symbol to imagine the whole world is singing. The Guitar shape also contains the infinity symbol. Vibrations are infinite and the paintings are positive vibration symbols as well as meditative tools. Terra Guitarra® is also a world touring, award winning, chart topping guitar duo and 2018 Winner “Instrumental Album of the Year”. They have performed over 4,500 concerts, released 22 albums, toured over 1 million miles, and have an international concert production titled “The Landscape of Guitar” featuring projected animations of the paintings in concert with live music!”
Carmen Villaronga is a professional artist painter presently residing in Naples, Florida USA. She is also a freelance self taught photographer. The main themes in her work involve nature - birds, landscapes, ocean scenes and life. Her paintings either in acrylic or oil display a contrast between light and dark by using colors and hues in a manner that gently calls for the viewer’s attention. Carmen’s works compel the viewer to experience emotions of wonder, joy, and serenity.
Carmen was born in Puerto Rico, but grew up in Newark, NJ where she was inspired by her 7th grade art teacher, Mrs. Allen, to become an artist. She studied fine arts at the University of Puerto Rico under the influence of artists such as John Balossi, Luis Hernandez Cruz, Rafael Rivera Garcia and Jaime Romano. (1967-1971) Presently she attends Arturo Samaniego’s Studio in Naples Art Distrct.
After her studies at the University of Puerto Rico Carmen took a long hiatus from the arts to raise a family. During this time she attended Florida International University and St. Thomas Catholic University to become an academic educator.
Recently, Carmen has reconnected with her passion for painting in acrylic and oil. She is presenting her work in open venues and also accepting commissions. Some of her pieces have received recognition, sold, and been auctioned. She has exhibited with organizations such as United Artists of Collier, Marco Island Center for the Arts, Bonita Springs Visual Arts Center, Naples Arts, Rookery Bay Estuarine Reserve and Research Center, and AIR (Artists in Residence) at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Marco Island.
When not painting, out photographing, or traveling; Carmen can be found enjoying family time with her children and grandchildren. She lives year-round in Naples with her two dogs - Aly and Sophie.
Nearly 20 years ago, Carri Colvin formed The Creative Spectrum and adorning anything paintable still makes my heart sing. Inspiring others to find hope in all things and encouraging little ones to “think BIG thoughts” through picture and story makes it dance! Please visit my website where you can view an array of my art and create with me from the heART!
Cesar Aguilera was born in Quito Ecuador, and navigated hi childhood by virtue of creative observation, learning from his first curiosities onward that imagination and ingenuity have critical roles to play within our human experiences of life. This has taken him through a vast spectrum of mediums, techniques and subject matter.
Chrissy Lush is an artist from New York, currently based in Nashville, TN. She earned her BFA in Photography from SUNY Purchase and her MFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design. In 2014 she attended Arteles Creative Residency in Haukijärvi, Finland. Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally. With her project, Hold Me Tight, she has received an honorable mention in the 18th Pollux Awards, been shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society’s International Photography Exhibit 164 and been named a Critical Mass 2022 Finalist.
