A door is just a door and a window is just a window. Or are they? Darlene Pucillo’s series of oil paintings called “Portals” are linear yet flowing depictions of windows, doors, archways and steps. Simple in composition, the series illustrates Pucillo’s ability to take a subject that seems uncomplicated and turn it into a catalyst through which a viewer could question his/her own path in life. “To me the portals symbolize change,” Pucillo said, “a spiritual search upwards.”

Lynnette Lawrence never really decided to be an artist; it just happened like walking, talking, and finding one’s self eventually does. “I was born into a family of artists and was encouraged to be creative in all forms of the arts,” she said. “I couldn’t escape it if I wanted to because art was in every room, finished and unfinished pieces adorned every surface and were even in the way for daily living. Art was and still is a way to express who I am.”

She sat on her mother’s lap. “She was stroking my hair from the top of my head to the middle of my back and I was trembling,” Elizabeth Collier said. Today, Collier has a scar in the shape of an iron on the middle of her back that serves as a reminder of where she came from. Growing up, Collier and her siblings felt safest in a closet. “We felt safe in the dark.”

Some artists are driven to make a living off their craft while others find a profession far removed from their creative expressions in order to fund their artistic urges. Some find venues to show their work and others are content to decorate their own homes and give handmade gifts to friends and family. The common thread that connects all artists is the need to create.

Ray Corder is a “guy’s artist,” if there is such a thing. He became the artist he is when, as an impressionable youth, he laid eyes on a rebuilt,pimped-ut ’55 Ford convertible. “I just thought ‘wow.’ It really impressed me,” he said.

Ray Corder is a “guy’s artist,” if there is such a thing. He became the artist he is when, as an impressionable youth, he laid eyes on a rebuilt,pimped-ut ’55 Ford convertible. “I just thought ‘wow.’ It really impressed me,” he said.

Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Holly Stone is an artist who will, in all likelihood, remain an artist once she grows up.

Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Holly Stone is an artist who will, in all likelihood, remain an artist once she grows up.

Artist Salvador Dali is remembered for his bizarre images as well as his antics. Once he delivered a lecture wearing a deep-sea diving suit explaining “I just wanted to show that I was ‘plunging deeply’ into the human mind.” Today, Dali’s work is well-known and sought after.

When Max Brown was 8, he moved from Seattle to Deer Lake, north of Spokane, where his father built a house. “The house itself was a work of art. It was a big inspiration,” Brown said, “My dad even painted a mural on the ceiling of one of the rooms. It was a Native American scene. He also painted abstract.” Brown now paints to find his own inspiration from within.