Paul Branton

Paul Branton was born in 1973 in Chicago. He was influenced at an early age by the sights & sounds of the south side’s urban environment. Writing short stories & putting on plays with his sister quickly became a passion and a means of expressing himself. It was this passion that guided his education, which ultimately guided his career.

Choosing visual art as his main focus, he entered Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, majoring in Commercial Art with a strong emphasis in painting. It was at Millikin where he also discovered a love for poetry, a strong desire for painting, eventually putting on a one man art exhibit displaying his works. During these same years, he also helped his college buddy Skee Skinner with several student film projects, opening up another doorway from which to express himself. Not only taking on writing & production credits, Paul spent much of his time on both sides of the camera playing supporting and lead roles.

He recently combined the two art forms by creating a series of paintings for the feature film Pieces of a Dream, in which he also portrayed a main character. Also merging visual art and poetry, Paul put together the upcoming coffee table book To Dream In Colour.

The art of Paul Branton is/has been exhibited throughout Illinois, including Millikin University, South Side Community Art Center, Gallery Guichard, Oakshore Gallery and University of Illinois at Chicago. His work hangs in the homes of private owners from New York to Los Angeles.

Paul continues to explore different avenues of expressions, pushing his art in new directions. Throughout it all his main passion and devotion remains his three children in which he sculpts and molds them just like any other work of art.

Danny Broadway

Mixing rich, thin layers of light and dark acrylic pigments with broad, energetic brushstrokes and vibrant colors, artist Danny Broadway exudes his talents by creating pieces that speak to a viewer’s soul. As ancestral memories flood his mind and senses with the sounds, smells, sentiments, sensations, and actions of various eras, Broadway contemplatively depicts serene scenes that entice viewers to gaze often upon history in the present. Though Broadway has a quiet disposition, his art speaks volumes.

His creations span several media types reflecting an artist that is always in motion and striving to reach new heights with his talent. Even as a youngster, Broadway connected with his inherent calling as an artist and has heartfelt memories of creating art. From then until today, Broadway has constantly sought new ways to evolve as an artist. His focus and passion has been evidenced by his dedication to his craft since high school when a dedicated instructor, recognizing Broadway’s diligence and desire, took Broadway under her wing.

Broadway’s disciplined, yet freely expressed, creativity led him to a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Memphis. There, the University chose to commission his paintings as a major feature of the University’s Black History Month posters for two consecutive years.

Broadway’s dedication to the community is evinced in the numerous paintings and art workshop sessions he donates locally and nationally. Often utilizing his artistic talents to rally support for charitable organizations such as The Memphis Child Advocacy Center, The American Liver Foundation, SOCKS, The American Heart Association, The March of Dimes, Friends for Life, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Memphis. Broadway currently serves as Artist in Residence at St. Georges Independent School where he provides budding artists with the same inspiration he discovered through disciplined creativity. Broadway’s strong artistic sense and steadfast commitment to the community also led Silver Starr Art Studios LLC (SSAS) to select Broadway as an SSAS Visual Fine Art Division In-House Artist. SSAS, which is an arts and entertainment consulting and design firm that selects artists based on a stringent juried process, offers a wide array of services dedicated to empowering artists, furthering artists’ professional careers, assisting the growth of businesses and non-profits, and ensuring that the global community experiences invaluable fine arts and entertainment endeavors such as those shared by Broadway.

www.dannybroadway.com

Patricia Coleman-Cobb

Patricia Coleman-Cobb is the award-winning designer and creator of The Cobblestone Collection, a collection of handmade, sculpted, and soft sculptured figures. The collection also includes many other works of art including sculpted busts, framed art, and beautifully sculpted faces encased in exquisitely framed shadow boxes. Ms. Coleman-Cobb has personally hand crafted each and every detail of her collection. You won't help but be amazed at how soulful and expressive the characters in her artwork are. By simply looking at them, you will be able to imagine what they may be thinking, or feel their emotion.

The collection has received an enthusiastic response from the public. Serious collectors from across the globe have collected these one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces. The figures have won numerous prizes and awards over the years. Her work has also been featured in galleries, magazines, newspapers, books, traveling exhibits, and television.

Ms. Cobb has now added another title to her resume. She is the author of her first book, "Angels in the Mud". This talented artist takes you on a soulful voyage intertwining her life and her art with a common thread. "Angels In The Mud" is a wonderful conversation piece and it would be a lovely addition to your coffee table collection. This is a 148-page book with pictures of Ms. Cobb's characters and stories about her life that caresses the mind and soothes the spirit.

Ms. Cobb was born in Philadelphia, and is a graduate of Cheyney University. There she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Clothing and Textiles. Before evolving into a full time artist, she taught at The Art Institute of Philadelphia for twelve years. She is married to Larry G. Cobb, a local attorney, and they have three beautiful and intelligent sons.

www.patcobb.com

Gallery Guichard

Housed in the historic Supreme Life annex (founded in 1919), in Chicago, Illinois, is a three-story building in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood  that illuminates the block of 35th  and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.  The sand colored exterior, with large oblong windows providing glimpses of artwork inside, serves as a creative beacon in the city’s revitalized Black Metropolis.

Artist, Andre Guichard, helps to fuel this structure’s aura.  Started in 2005, Guichard features his work as well as 35 other artists of the African Diaspora. This gallery was designed by the owners. Gallery Guichard is artistically designed with a combination of high ceilings, track lighting and peek-a-boo insets that complement the original works of art in various mediums, sculptures, collages, blown glass, ceramics, metal sculptured lighting fixtures, and furniture.

Music resounds in the gallery and complements the majestic three-story space, as guests wander across the shiny mahogany wood floors, flat-screen TVs show crowded openings and collectors who inform guest of the value of collecting artwork of the African Diaspora. As you walk up to the 3rd floor   you can even see artwork on the ceiling. The gallery showcases new artist every six to eight weeks and always has a huge inventory of work that appeals to everyone.

The mission of Gallery Guichard is to continue to expose the art community to the art of the African Diaspora.  The Gallery strives to provide a portal to fine art and artists of different parts of the African Diaspora.  Gallery owners, Andre, and his wife, Frances Guichard, Stephen Mitchell and Stanley B. Stallworth are best described as a collaborative partnership of artists, collectors and art administrators who take ownership of the mission and who create a unique experience for everyone who visits the gallery. 

www.galleryguichard.com

Joyce Lomax

Love of art came early to Joyce Lomax who spent her childhood in Akron Ohio. As a child, Joyce found herself drawing and painting and always exploring her creative expression. The money was not there to support Joyce's formal training in art so she did what many of her forefathers did; she self-taught!

Joyce explored many mediums before she embraced her pressed copper paintings and ceramic work.  Her art is very earthy with a primitive flare depicting characters and experiences in her African American environment. Some of her depictions are lighthearted with a bit of humor.

A love of color, stories and expressing herself in mixed media is an accurate summary of Joyce's work.  She and or her art can be found at many cultural events in and outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Joyce has won several awards: Afr' Am Show in Norfork, Virginia-2004 and South Dekalb Heritage Festival Palette Award 2003.

"It is a privilege for me to create and share with you similar experiences; for me, art is about the ability to express feelings through the chosen medium hopefully someone gets it... I will continue to explore!" ~Joyce

www.joycelomax.com

Dana Todd Pope

As an emerging artist, Dana Todd Pope becomes the flare that guides any brush she embraces.  Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Dana struck the artistic nerve early on.  She always had sketchbooks but wasn't encouraged in the arts.  She was told by a former teacher art was a good hobby but she needed to find a real career.  Dana internalized this belief yet, she became consumed with reading books to learn different painting techniques. 

In order to quench her calling, between modeling jobs she would draw, paint, make clothes and make purses.  One day a friend suggested she start selling the mountain of accumulating paintings stacked against the walls of her NY apartment.   In this moment, Dana revisited the comments of that teacher and realized they didn’t have to be her reality.  From then on Dana claimed her position as an artist.  Influenced by this experience as well as being a wife and mother, the perspective of her ingenuity is rooted in children, family, womanhood, and entrepreneurship.  Aiming to build pride in oneself and direct to purpose, she proclaims, are her foremost objectives. 

www.danatoddpope.com