About Our Artists
CHERYL A. BEAUDOIN
"I am an amateur hobbyist photographer who loves photographing nature, wildlife and macro subjects, with anything else that brings joy...mindful to human needs, environmental and survivalist help of the near extinction species. I’ve had particular interest in the Monarch butterfly, bald eagles and most recently the red wolf.
I like to keep these photos as natural as possible without edits. Macro photography has a love spot in my heart and has helped me succeed in moving forward in my work with photography. Macro brings out features that may not be seen by the natural eye and magnifies elements to capture things you normally would not detect. Due to the nature of my permanent injury, I can only shoot with a point and shoot camera, so I try to find the best I can for me to produce the best I can."
LORA DUGUAY
Lora Duguay has been creative since childhood, but when her life was affected by Post Polio Syndrome, her hobby became her full time career. Her artistic creativity has been focused on the cultural beauty of indigenous tribes, nature, and iconography. Mediums include oil, colored pencil, scratchboard and photography. Her art has been exhibited in various museums and galleries throughout the United States.
Lora is also a member of Arts4All Florida and has participated in the Artist in Residency Program sharing her artistic knowledge with students who have special needs. It is Lora's desire to not only bring pleasure to the viewers eye, but to evoke emotion, memories and pleasant thoughts.
"The pure pleasure is my relationship with the canvas. The ability to portray and emit my own joy, pain, happiness and sorrow through my art frees me to live a life of peace, serenity and spiritual connectivity, unlike anything I have ever experienced. Art thrills me, heals me and is a gift from the Divine, like none other."
SANDY OLSON HILL
Sandy Olson Hill is a disabled poet and artist published and anthologized widely, extensively, and internationally. Representative publications include BlazeVOX, Kaleidoscope, Specs Journal, and This is Poetry Vol. IV.: Poets of the South. Hill’s awards, among others, include The Academy of American Poet’s Prize, Open Doors Short Fiction Award, A Creative Access Fellowship& PLAYA Residency Award and nominations from Best of the Net. Additionally, Hill’s an Arts4All Florida Teaching Artist whose mixed media works have been included in numerous regional exhibitions.
CHERYL KINDERKNECHT
A mixed media artist, Kinderknecht received an undergraduate degree in art. Regardless of medium or subject matter, her work is influenced by the colors, patterns and textures of nature. Emotions, dreams, symbolism, and memories further anchor and inform her work. Her vision and artwork have been increasingly impacted by retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal condition. Kinderknecht says, "The creative process has always energized me and continuing to create art despite vision challenges makes me feel connected, grounded and relevant in my own life and within the world.”
SUSAN KUBES
Susan Kubes is a Florida native who has been fascinated with Nature and painting since childhood. Even her brilliantly hued abstracts reflect natural themes, and have been aptly called organic abstracts. She works in many media in her home studio, finding it exhilarating to experiment with new paints or inks, combining or applying them in endless experimentation. The paintings seen here are either alcohol inks or acrylics.
She now sells her art to large businesses throughout the country and recently her art was shown in Tampa International Airport over a period of a year. Mrs. Kubes suffers from chronic pain and limited mobility that has been part of her life for many years, but she will tell you that creativity allows her to ignore it for a while as she concentrates on her art. She listens to music while painting, finding it uplifting and inspiring, which can also be said about her art. She often says that her art makes her happy and she hopes it will make others happy too.
Susan has been a member of VSAFL, now Arts4All Florida, for over a dozen years, and we have had many amazing adventures together. She now also enjoys working with ArtLifting to bring her art to the workspaces of America.
AUSTIN LUBETKIN
Austin Lubetkin is a software engineer and artist on the autism spectrum. His art is a platform for activism and Lubetkin frequently works with organizations like Arts4All representing artists with disabilities. Lubetkin’s work is inspired by the world of art therapy. As a child his mother showed him how to express his emotions through art and since then art has been a source of both therapy and expression.
The artist’s work uses bright vibrant rainbow colors to express life, emotion, and energy. His use of color stems from the sensory condition of synesthesia that causes him to see emotions as colors around him. Many of his recent pieces have incorporated mixed media assemblage with unique details to each canvas like crushed glass elements or 3D butterflies. These pieces can be scanned with an augmented reality app and come alive and start moving.
ADORABLE MONIQUE
Adorable Monique is an artist based in Southwest Florida, born in Chicago, and raised abroad in Central America, profoundly influencing her understanding of art, culture, and color. Monique is a multidisciplinary creative, excelling in painting, ceramics, and illustration. She received her formal education in Fine Arts and Teaching. Furthermore, her art has received numerous accolades and the opportunity to exhibit in various venues. Growing up surrounded by different cultures has broadened her overall view of life. She is continuously pursuing success in personal, professional, and artistic endeavors and the cultural experience itself.
Monique's upbringing in a developing country has allowed her to identify with the agricultural environment and be grateful for her surroundings and the natural environment, such as trees, water, and animals. It is part of the way of life to embrace nature, customs, colors, and values. Planting trees and keeping closeness with the surroundings as much as possible. Securing habitats for future generations is essential to developing a connection with nature. She also portrays diverse ethnic groups, as she believes that humanity is an integrated part of her work process.
ALIZEE SAINT-LOUIS
Alizee Saint-Louis is 24 years old. She emigrated to the United States in 1999 in quest of resources and answers about Autism and Epilepsy. Alizee is a self-taught artist. She is verbal, but her ability to interact and communicate with others is limited. Alizee’s mom assists her in some daily living.
Alizee has always shown a great interest in crafting and painting from a young age. During the 2020 pandemic, she started using painting more often to express herself, cope with her depression, and alleviate sensory issues that cause frustrations. In July 2020, she was among the 10 artists selected for the virtual exhibition “Art in the Park”, organized by the USF/CARD (University of South Florida/Center for Autism & Related Disabilities), where she presented a 20x20 acrylic painting titled “The River”. Since then, her work has premiered in several exhibitions including the prestigious Broward Center for Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, The Franciscan Center in Tampa, the “Define Beautiful Art” in New York, and several festivals.
Art is Alizee’s form of communication to show/tell others how she feels and sees the world. She works on her piece slowly, deliberately… Until she feels right. Her art is a direct expression of creative source.
RICHARD SELE
Richard is a retired disabled Army veteran. He retired as a Brigadier General in 2018. A primarily self-taught artist he works in scratchboard, which is a form of direct engraving. Using such tools as a scalpel, X-Acto knife, tattoo needles, fiberglass brushes, and fine grit sandpaper, he creates one-of-a-kind originals. “Since I’m working with very small details of the human face, I must use a magnifier to get the best possible view of the scratching surface. It is considered by many artists to be one of the most difficult of all mediums as one cannot erase or paint over a mistake. A significant error results in starting the entire project over, which I’ve done on occasion.”
His work has appeared in art shows in Virginia, California, New York, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Florida and has presented in a solo show held at the historic Malco Theater in Hot Springs, Arkansas. You can see it all at www.impactart.weebly.com.
If you don’t feel some level of emotion in my work then I have failed as an artist. I use scratchboard as a fine art vehicle to evoke the full range of emotions in viewers. Much of my work captures the impacts of famine, genocide, war, homelessness, and depression. Several of my pieces depict the most respected humanitarians and former leaders in the world. My artwork of icons in music, literature, movies, and sports brings smiles and happy memories to people.
MARGARET ZABOR
Margaret Zabor loves painting, drawing, and photography. She has been taking classes at the Life Enrichment Center in Tampa, Florida for some years. Her primary medium is watercolor painting. Arts4AllFlorida has provided her with many opportunities to contribute to shows and the encouragement that every artist so needs. As a person with a disability, Margaret finds peace and joy in art-making.
MIRIAM ZIMMS (a.k.a. "HIPSTER")
My name is Miriam Zimms. I came to art eleven years ago through the Arts in Medicine studio at Moffitt Cancer Center. Eight years ago, I established a daily arts practice after battles with two separate cancers, many surgeries and body reconstruction, and a life-time of rehabilitation for a tangled body. That experience led me to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher and Expressive Arts Facilitator where I have taught in the community for seven years. My personal artwork has been featured in galleries across Florida. It includes ink, splashes of color, and mixed media using color and patterns for their therapeutic effects. It also is a way for continued self-discovery and play using all five disciplines of art: visual, movement, music, theater, spoken word/powerstories, and poetry/writing. I advocate for the power of the healing arts as a way of self-expression and as part of a life-long mind, body, and spirit journey. You can find me on Instagram or Facebook at HIPsterCZT and at www.encasawithm.com online.