The Artificers

Debra Hart,

Master Artist

Debra Hart is an Atlanta-based fine artist working in oils and mixed media, known for creating richly layered paintings that dance between abstract and realism. Her work explores that beautiful space between the seen and the unseen, creating paintings that blend intuitive play with nature, symbolism, and mystery —while inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and wonder.

Drawing from a deep well of intuition, personal faith, and a lifelong love of nature and storytelling, Debra creates compositions that often feature nature, symbolic imagery, and hidden text beneath the surface. She uses a range of unusual tools and materials, including internationally sourced pigments and her own hand-crafted Southern black walnut inks, to build up each piece with intentionality and depth. The result is work that feels at once grounded and ethereal—anchored in the real world, yet whispering of the unseen.

Originally from rural Michigan and now a decades-long Southerner, Debra’s creative journey has spanned decades. Her pieces are not only visual experiences but emotional and contemplative ones. She began working in larger formats (3’x4’ up) and absolutely loves the impact her art can have:  “These large pieces have an ability to connect people with something bigger, often somehow familiar. And I want my work to feel like an invitation,” Debra says. “An invitation to wonder. To rest. To remember something true, something beautiful, something more. Even if you can’t name it.”

Jim Simpson,

Guest Artist

Jim is an artist with a BFA in Design Wichita State University. He studied under Wilma Wethington, Patric Rowley and Jim Gross. His works have been included in numerous shows including Wichita Arts Council Juried Shows, Kansas Watercolor 7-State Exhibitions, National All-Media and Abstract Exhibits at MarkArts.

"My art starts with the act of soaking up thousands of pieces of color, pattern or unique form. This storehouse of inspirational fragments are reflected in my work later. I am driven to create new scenes and new images. If I paint a bird, it’s ‘my bird’ not a specific species of bird. An eye for the unique and picturesque merges with a love for worn and battered things.

The work is never constricted by excessive pre-planning, I liken it to picking up a handful of colors, a brush, and jumping off a cliff…anxious to see what’s at the end of the fall. This commitment to letting the image evolve on the surface, working up layers, destroying parts, letting others parts gleam through from underneath, aggressively scrubbing paint onto the surface, carving into previous layers, all contribute to a richer image. Every layer or vibrating broken line adding character and nuance.

The majority of my work is acrylic painting. It’s a medium that works well with my method of painting. Other works done in mosaic or sculpture provide a wealth of motifs that find their way back into my easel paintings. If I were to characterize my work in a few words it would be expressive and sincere, I believe the process of letting the image evolve on the surface results in a more authentic and fresh result."

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