Top 50 Baltimore Artists and their Featured Art

Eager to create everything from abstract mixed media pieces and contemporary portraits to pattern designs and upcycled tins, Jo considers her work to be led by an internal "art roulette." With unending curiosity and an unwillingness to commit to one subject or style, she challenges her creative boundaries and assumptions whenever she can for the sake of making art that evokes subjective, emotional reaction. Jo graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a BA in Fine Art, after studying fine art and film at the Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson, MD, and has recently rediscovered her passion for art after leaving the corporate marketing world in 2019. Experiencing the beginning of the pandemic while pregnant rekindled her artistic practice, as well as her appreciation for art as a safe outlet with which to filter a growing awareness and anxiety of the unknown.

I grew up on the green hills of Southeastern Pennsylvania. My earliest memories are of playing in the sun with my siblings - chasing each other through labyrinths of trees. We regularly attended the Brandywine River Museum, "home of the Wyeths" and I lived among realistic depictions of my county by an American great, Andrew Wyeth. Place has always meant a great deal to me. My art practice is a trail of places I've been and the people I've been with. By making, I preserve the memories and experiences I've had as close as the East Coast and as far as Chennai, India. Through the use of limited color and breathable space, I invite viewers to see the truth of things that have happened to me and perhaps them too.

Nat Bradley, veteran musician and accomplished global sound designer, ventures into the world of abstract modernist painting celebrating his unique view that intersects the creation of art with existential expression. Located in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area, Nat pulls inspiration from classic modern abstract expressionists viewed through the lens of gritty urban influence. Over the past decade, his paintings explore organic shapes, highly textured surfaces, and dimension crafted through layers of color and mediums. Brilliant moments of contrast pull the viewer deep into the canvas. The works offer many areas for contemplation and appear ever changing upon multiple viewings. The paintings provide a fresh and contemporary take on the Mid-century modern aesthetic.

Zach Schoettler is a Baltimore-based artist. After over ten years of owning and operating the restaurant Jack and Zach Foods in Mount Vernon, Zach put aside his chef hat and once again picked up his fountain pen. Chances are, if you ever came to the restaurant or bought eggs at the Waverly Farmers Market, he remembers what you ordered. Zach has always loved drawing - and credits his love of animals, playing music, farming, vegetables, and the great outdoors as sources of his inspiration. His work focuses on themes of play, imaginary worlds, systems and machines, natural wonders, and the everyday turned magical. When Zach is not drawing, he can be found doing one of the many activities that inspire his illustrations - fishing, taking long walks in the woods, cooking, losing at gin rummy, and making fun of his perfectly normal-sized dog, Minnow.

Barbara Joann Combs, artist, art educator, community arts collaborator born in Los Angeles, California, has worked within the discipline of visual arts since childhood. Barbara holds a B.A. with distinction in visual arts from Fayetteville State University, has written and taught curriculum for art fundamentals courses at Seventy-First High School, North Carolina for seven years. Awarded a MA and MFA in Community Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art. Barbara has worked within five Baltimore communities facilitating four quilt projects and two summer youth programs creating murals. A community mural was a collaboration with the Johnson Square neighborhood at Ambrose Kennedy Park and pool. During the pandemic a virtual community workshop was developed with Greenbelt Recreation Arts for African American History Month. Barbara’s recent exhibits include “Hand Made”, Black Rock Gallery, Maryland, "Occupy the Moment: Embracing Our History, Enhancing Our Impact", Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL. Within the Greenbelt community at the City Council Chambers, Greenbelt News Review, and New Deal Cafe. Past exhibits include Lowe House, Montpelier Arts Center, Serendipity Labs, Gallery Miriam, and Pyramid Atlantic. Ms. Combs currently teaches art education in Prince George's County at Gaywood Elementary. She paints murals on the walls and doors of the school with Pre-K through 5th grade students. In addition, Combs partners with high schools to facilitate mural painting within Gaywood to fulfill students’ Service Learning hours. You can visit Barbara in her studio in Greenbelt.

Sandi Wilson is a professionally trained commercial photographer who discovered she could beautifully meld the art side of her photography and her painting with the depths that working in *Encaustic (beeswax and Dammar resin) could give her. She enjoys the ability to transfer images, incorporate collage and mixed media to create textural pieces. The use of cold wax and oil has given her the freedom to achieve greater color depth and movement in her compositions. Sandi has been commissioned to do many “Bio Paintings” both by individuals and corporations with the desire to personalize their history through fine art. Some of these clients include Kevin Plank of Under Armour, Hopkins Bayview Hospital and St. John’s College High School to name a few. Her work is collected both nationally and internationally. She paints out of her farmhouse studio in Baltimore County, Maryland where she resides with her husband. *Encaustic medium is one of the oldest forms of painting as the Greeks and Egyptians worked with it and many examples are to be seen today such as at the Met in NYC.