Mark Ward has two feet outstretched; one remains in England, while the other is firmly planted in Africa. With amazing invention and a product designer’s sense for construction, Ward paints a fascinating and surreal world for our delight. His paintings are bright and clean with an unusual cast of characters. Insects, birds, and even elephants are rendered with a plastic sheen that is illustrative yet sculptural. Ward has a dazzling sense of rendering environments, we find ourselves in a jungle or forest, plains or mangrove, with all the trappings of an industrial origin. One may recognize the familiar flora within Ward’s environment, plastic tubing, pipe cleaners and cardboard sprout and arch toward the edges of the picture. He will often complement sketchbook studies by building sculptures out of real materials and found objects, lighting them like a stage.

Chritch in her studio An intricate mosaic of geometric shapes forms the dynamic surface of artist Chritch’s canvases, intersected with delicate lines that encompass her paintings and add vitality and movement that brings her works to life. The subtleties of the surface finish owe much to her use of acrylic, which she also sometimes mixes with collage elements including paper, palm fronds and sand. The rapidity with which the acrylic dries makes it incredibly versatile. Painting in thin washes, she builds the pigments up in layers giving a glazed, translucent finish—this, combined with her unique mix of media, allows Chritch to build up depth and complexity on the flat surface. She employs a muted palette, but works nonetheless within a wide range, placing ashen reds with smouldering ochres and tan, juxtaposed with pastel blues and white. It is her mosaicism that allows such variation, using a myriad of colors that remain subtle and harmonious, rather than the loud and clashing expressions of a rainbow brush. Chritch leaves her creative process free and open to expression as she works into the paintings. None of them are planned and the process begins directly on the canvas. Colors and shapes merge and transform as an abstract composition forms. From out of this abstraction, characters and objects emerge and fix themselves, accruing color and texture around them. It is only once the entire process is complete that Chritch stands back to view her work critically and analyze it, giving whatever title suits the completed work.

Ruth Gilmore Langs in her studio Ruth Gilmore Langs captures the spirit of a moment with her fascinating oversized paintings in oil. The large size of the canvases coupled with her energetic compositions and brilliant palette create a breathtaking experience for the art lover. Langs' paintings will often speak about emotions, beautiful natural places, and spiritual life-changing events. She has an aptitude for creating tension within a picture, pairing areas of flat color with patterns formed by circles, lines, and organic shapes. The magic of Langs’ style happens when she transforms all or most of the recognizable features, stripping away our conventions of the world until we are left with nothing but pure aesthetic enjoyment and feeling. "Art is the language of the human spirit, the rhythm, beat and song of the self," she explains. "Sometimes difficult to decipher but, with surrender, one may travel into the heart of the painting."
 
Her style may recall such 20th century masters as Wayne Thiebaud, Joan Mitchell, and Richard Diebenkorn, yet Langs has carved out her own unique space in the contemporary art scene, projecting a spontaneity and zest for life in the language of abstraction.
 
Ruth's signature comes forth in the relationship of hues—the cool anemic greens and pale pinks paired with violet and fiery crimsons. Meanwhile, vigorous linework, outlined shapes, and small areas of complementary hues add energy and excitement to the work. Stirred by the moment, she encapsulates the sights and sounds of the natural world, particularly near water, which has been a constant source of inspiration.
 
Her education in the arts has led her to California, Colorado and Washington D.C. where she studied classical painting at American University. However, Ruth explains that the most profound experience of her training has been the opportunity to work with the great teacher Kwok Wai Lau from Hong Kong. Ruth studied with Kwok for over eight years.