Michael Allen Austin

Michael Allen Austin is an award-winning illustrator, best known for his work in children’s books. Among the titles he has illustrated are Sam Patch; Daredevil Jumper, written by Julie Cummins; The Horned Toad Prince, written by Jackie Mims Hopkins; and Railroad John and the Red Rock Run, written by Tony Crunk. Austin’s books have received many honors including the IRC/CBC Children’s Choice Awards, Pura Belpre Medal, Parent’s Guide to Media Awards, Bank Street College of Education and the Irma Simonton & James H. Black Award for the Best Picture Book of the Year, as well as recognition by the Society of Illustrators. His illustrations have also appeared in magazines, such as Highlights, Spider and Cricket, as well as galleries and museums throughout the United States.

Georgette Baker

Georgette Baker is a full-time studio artist in Atlanta, GA. She has a background in graphic design and graduated from Marygrove College (1986) with a B.A in Art.

She works with two and three-dimensional mixed media and collage and interweaves early 19th century vintage photographs into her work as a way to build a visual narrative. She is fascinated by the historical research involved in telling or re-telling a story. Her subject matter often deals with the life of a rural southern America. Her most recent work deals with the history of the more than 5,300 Rosenwald Schools designed for children of farmers beginning in 1912.

Ms. Bakers work is found in public and corporate collections such as Coca-Cola, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Essence Communications, Southwest Atlanta Nephrology, AGL-Atlanta Natural Gas and King & Spalding.

James Few

James Few, a native Atlantan, has thirty years of dedication to the arts community, gracing his viewers with elegant clay sculptures and pottery. As a career arts educator with the Atlanta Public Schools, former Adjunct Instructor at Morris Brown College, the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and Atlanta Metropolitan College where he recently returned, James has inspired a myriad of students to express their creativity and many have pursued advanced studies. He obtained his BA degree from Morris Brown College and his MA in Art Education from Georgia State University; his thesis, Creating Nonfunctional Vessels from Clay, has been used as a teaching model.
James has exhibited and sold his work in galleries and major events locally and nationally, often winning “Best-of-Show” and the accolades of art critics for print and news media. In addition to having a tremendous following of private collectors around the globe, several of his sculptures were purchased for the permanent art collection at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and for Barcelona Spain’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs during the 1996 Cultural Olympiad.

Lisa Gleim

Lisa Gleim is part of a long line of Southern artists, some of whom are also successful portrait artists. She has always had an interest in painting, and even from an early age, was committed to becoming a traditional portrait painter. Ms. Gleim is strongly influenced by John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and Cecilia Beaux, three of the great American Impressionists. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Ms. Gleim has recently studied under Cedric and Joanette Egeli and Margaret C. Baumgaertner and John de la Vega. She finds it very important to continue her education and believes "an artist's education is never-ending."

Ms. Gleim began painting pet portraits in 2001 after the loss of her 14 year old Golden Retriever, Bonnie. Her husband Bill Jonas suggested painting a portrait of Bonnie would help ease the pain of the loss. She soon discovered that she was not the only one who considered her pets part of the family. Since then, Lisa has received numerous portrait commissions for dog, cat and horse portraits, many of which have brought their owners to tears after seeing their pets immortalized on paper.

Ms. Gleim has also taken the opportunity to combine her two passions and uses her talent to benefit animal organizations. She has donated numerous pet portraits to local animal organizations year after year, including the Humane Society of Cobb County, the Atlanta Humane Society, the Atlanta Animal Alliance, Dixie Golden Retriever Rescue, and Happy Tails to name a few. Her portraits are always a highlight of the event and bring the groups well needed funds. She sees her donations as a unique way to aid animals in need. In 2004 Ms. Gleim became a member of the Artist's Registry of the American Kennel Club's Museum of the Dog.

Aside from portraiture, Ms. Gleim is also an award-winning landscape artist. She works in both pastel and oil when painting the landscape, and achieves two very different styles from each medium. She is particularly interested in capturing the beauty of light and how it affects the landscape. Each year she travels with a friend to paint on location for a week. Her destination of choice is usually the Southeast coast where she grew up spending time during her summers, as reflected in her work.

Both her landscapes and portraits can be found in many private collections throughout the East Coast, including the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Orthopaedic Division, the chambers of the Honorable Vice-chancellor Jack B. Jacobs in Wilmington, Delaware and Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceutical.

Ms. Gleim, along with five fellow artists and friends founded the Atlanta Fine Arts League in 2005. The League was created as a catalyst for their highly acclaimed community project, Art From The Heart; a project where Atlanta area artists have donated their time and talent to paint the portraits of Georgia's fallen soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan free of charge for their families left behind. Please click on the link to learn more about this important project.

In January 2008, Georgia Public Television's State of the Arts did a documentary about the project, following Lisa and two other artists and families. In June of 2009, the episode titled Art From the Heart was nominated and won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Television News and Program Specialty Excellence.

In 2000, after working and residing in Philadelphia for eight years, Ms. Gleim and her husband, Bill Jonas returned to her native home of Atlanta, Georgia where she maintains her studio and residence.

Ernest Varner

Ernest E. Varner, II began his formal study of art in high school. There, he benefited from a strong art program that included portraiture classes in soft pastels, watercolor, and oils. He also studied painting and drawing at Hunter Art Gallery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He participated in his first art show at Hunter and sold his first piece of artwork entitled "i."

Varner attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a major in art. Although he had been drawing and painting since his childhood, becoming a professional artist wasn't a serious option for African-Americans at that time. The war in Vietnam and the draft also played an important role in his decision to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and change his major to psychology. In 1972 he graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in art. He then joined the Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer. Lieutenant Colonel Varner retired in 1994 while serving as Troop Commander at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for approximately twenty-two years of dedicated service to his country. While on active duty, Varner completed several graduate level courses in counseling with Boston University, and he also earned a Masters Degree in General Administration from Central Michigan University.

Joining the military gave Varner an opportunity to pursue his passion for painting and drawing wherever his career took him. He took great pleasure in making his classrooms the galleries and museums throughout the world. When he could not find teachers, he would purchase videos and books on the "old masters" and well known contemporary artist. He would compare what they taught to works by the masters in museums throughout the world from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., to the Louvre in Paris, France.

Varner has been fortunate to have studied with several renowned artists. While assigned to Fort McClellan, Alabama, he remembered one of his teachers showing him a magazine, 'American Artist", which featured an outstanding portrait artist named Ken Marlow on the cover. Varner later tracked down Marlow, who was teaching a portrait class at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Varner has also studied with Daniel Greene, Jim Schell, Richard Whitney, and Mark Chatov.

Varner's works of art can be found in public and private collections throughout the U.S. and abroad. While stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky he was commissioned, along with three other artists, by the local newspaper, "The Leaf-Chronicle", to do a watercolor painting to celebrate Fort Campbell's 50th Anniversary. Each painting was featured as a cover page in the newspaper. The originals are on display at the Don F. Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell. Varner also served on the Board of Trustees for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Museum while at Fort Campbell.

Varner is currently an art instructor at a local university and teaches portrait drawing and painting class at three art establishments throughout greater Atlanta. Varner was once quoted as saying that "We are at out best when we are being creative.

Seranda Vespermann

Named by Piedmont Review as one of the city’s finest artists, Seranda Vespermann opened Vespermann Gallery in 1984 and has become nationally recognized as an award-winning glass artist and consultant. Seranda is much in demand as a spokesperson on the American Studio Glass Movement and speaks to many cultural and museum groups.

Her architectural stained glass commissions are featured in public and residential locations throughout the country. Her most recent installation was that of two 17’ x 7’ windows for Methodist LeBonheur Hospital in Germantown, TN.