Claudia Avila, born 1976, is mostly a self-taught artist. Originally from Los Angeles, she lived in Iceland for nine years where she had the opportunity to learn from Gunnlaugur Stefán Gíslason and Ingiberg Magnússon.
She enjoys working in pastel, graphite, and oil. Claudia tries to balance natural observation with invention. Some of her main artistic influences are 18th century pastelist/painter Jean-Étienne Liotard and 19th century painter Edgar Maxence.
Exhibitions: 2015 Season Exhibition, Arizona Opera, AZ 2014 Season Exhibition, Arizona Opera, AZ 2014 Portrait Artists of Arizona 4th Annual Members' Juried Exhibition, Bezalel Gallery, Scottsdale AZ 2013 Portrait Artists of Arizona 3rd Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition, Scottsdale Artists' School, AZ 2012 Go Figure, Chandler Center for the Arts, AZ 2012 Portrait Artists of Arizona 2nd Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition, SunDust Gallery, AZ 2011 Pastel Exhibition, Fremont Gallery, CA 2010 Light and Dark Drawings, Fremont Gallery, CA
Rory Alan MacLean, born 1974, is an Arizona figurative artist. He received a B.F.A. with honors upon graduating from Art Center College of Design, CA., and in 2015 his MFA from Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. He draws his inspiration as much from dreams as from the external phenomena of experience and nature’s materiality.