The paintings of Tim Stensland reject the notion of art as mere decoration. He bravely explores his insights into the human condition, particularly the oft-forgotten under classes of society. His most recent paintings explore the chaos and personal devastation that followed Hurricane Katrina as people's lives were swept away in the murky floodwaters. Stylistically and thematically his paintings evoke the great tradition of socially conscious artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.  Additionally, it is Stensland's thirty-year love affair with music particularily the saxophone that has also had an effect on his art, its influences are found in the rhythm and improvisation of each painting.

Fascinated by art at an early age, Tim sold his first piece at age 12 and began working in the field of Architectural Design at the age of 16. He went on to study at Washington State University before embarking on a career in his own architectural firm. Remarkably, Tim Stensland also teaches and has even published a children's book. He lives and works in Washington State.

Chinese painter, Jia Ming Wang, uses a dramatic sense of color and dynamic, fantastical shapes to create an imaginary landscape characteristic of Surrealism.  In his oil paintings, Wang seeks to translate the endless power of dreams and the human imagination to the canvas with his well-conceived and carefully balanced shapes and colors.  His works both delight and mystify the senses with their combination of simple formal arrangement and complexly hued gestural shapes.

After experimenting with painting a number of subjects in a variety of styles, including naturalistic wildlife, landscapes, and cityscapes, Jia Ming Wang found his mature creative style in Surrealist-influenced painting.  Wang is a past winner of the Asia Modern Art competition and has completed commissions for the United Nations.  He has exhibited his work at numerous international fine art shows and galleries in the US and Asia.  Although born in Dailan, China and educated in Japan, Jia Ming Wang currently lives and works in Queens, NY.

Applying wild colors with fervent brushwork, Efrain Cruz paints with an intensity well beyond the norm. Soaked with spirituality, deep-rooted history and self-exploration, Cruz pours all of himself into each piece, while remaining a modest and soft-spoken individual. “I paint of my people and from my people, my family, my friends, and God because He is special and they believe in me,” says Cruz. “My life in Mexico gave a brilliant stimulation to a life of painting.”

He works from a procession of journal entries that capture his memories and inventive imagery as they flow from within. Fantastic characters of joyous couples, religious iconography and guitar players dwell in this imaginative world. Cruz’s influences have been his hometown of Veracruz, Mexico and his mother. She has been a powerful force in his art, the memory of her gracious and warm nature urging him to experience each moment completely. Cruz currently lives and works in Valdosta, Georgia.

The divinely individualistic paintings of Patrice Goubeau entice the eye and excite the mind. His works, which usually feature an inquisitive protagonist, are ripe with symbolic imagery, vivid colors, and a surrealist mode of composition. His investigations of meditation, time, mortality, and transcendence have contributed to the mystical nature of Patrice’s work.

"I like to share my perceptions of the world," he states, "resulting of the close interactions existing between the past, the present and the future." Each painting serves as point of departure for Patrice’s audience, a philosophical marker to engender contemplation on the human condition. Patrice began exhibiting his work around France in 1986, gaining momentum in salons, galleries, and private collections in Italy, Canada, and recently, New York. He has been awarded the Grand Prize award from the Salon des Artistes Français and recognized for his achievements at the Brancusi Cultural Center in Montreal. Patrice lives and works in Canada.