JULIA TAYLOR

Growing up in a small farming community in Indiana, I learned to draw early in life.  I made my spending money by sketching portraits at county fairs and illustrations in weekly papers. Art teachers in high school and college gave me a great foundation to learn to draw fluidly from life.

Graduating with an arts minor in the middle of an economic crisis, I left my art practice for many years. An afternoon art class, while on vacation, opened an affinity for watercolor. The result of that amazing afternoon opened the door for first an avocation, and now a career, in watercolor art. Last year, I was fortunate to study with Andy Evansen.

For the past 8 years, I’ve exhibited and helped organize the Occasional Artist Show which benefits the North Point Lighthouse Museum. 

My painting of the Lion Bridge in Spring was part of the Villa Terrace Museum’s “In the Park with Olmsted: A Vision for Milwaukee” Show which celebrated the 200th birthday of Olmsted.  Approaching Lion Bridge was accepted in the Wisconsin Watercolor 2021-22 exhibit in the Racine Art Museum’s Wustum Museum and in the American Watercolor Society’s 2022 Associate Member Show. 

I’m a member of the Wisconsin Watercolor Society and an Associate member of the American Watercolor Society.

Please contact me with questions or requests at jtaylorgmc@gmail.com.

MIKE DE SISTI

Mike De Sisti is a photojournalist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In 2023, he rediscovered his passion for painting, applying his storytelling instincts to abstract acrylics on large canvases. He continues to explore the world through both photography and paint, with work rooted in curiosity, visual energy, and a desire to connect.

He lives in Milwaukee with his wife and two daughters. 

JEANNE COLE PANKA

My work reflects my connection to nature and my interest in the changing environment. When the rush and hustle of my life becomes too much, spending time in nature is just what is needed.

I create botanical images with watercolor and colored pencil using the flowers in my garden as subjects. I use soft pastels when doing landscape paintings.

Follow me on Instagram  @jeannepankasart and on my website  www.JeanneColePankaFineArt

JEFF GRZECA

Jeff Grzeca is a woodworker based out of Milwaukee’s East Side. He was involved in the restoration of North Point Lighthouse and served on its Board for many years. He is currently a chair for the Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild. Grzeca’s previous projects are varied and he started doing flat work such as custom boxes and cabinetry. Over the years, he has added wood turning as his primary interest. He takes his inspirations from the wood itself and often modifies the shape of the piece as the grain gets revealed during the turning process.

JAMES ROWEN

I take photographs when walking in Milwaukee’s Lake Park, along the city’s Lake Michigan shoreline and in other open spaces. I consider my photography as both personal expression and public service that extends my earlier careers in journalism and environmental preservation.

MICHAEL J BROPHY

My style is abstract expressionism, using mainly acrylic paint on canvas. I make my art to tell a story, make a statement, provoke a thought or evoke a feeling.  When I paint a work that seeks to comment on an issue of our times, I do it to express myself, not as an attempt to persuade anyone to my point of view.  If such piece of work makes the viewer ponder, so much the better.   

MARY LOUISE DEAN

My paintings are most often created from dreams or memories about the beauty of nature. My media can be oil, watercolor or cold wax. Most of my work created for the North Point Lighthouse features landscapes in oil.

I am mostly self taught with the influences from a 30-year career in advertising and communications. Over the last ten years I participated in many workshops offered by recognized contemporary artists, often on plein air trips.

Since 2020, I have shared and sold my art in group shows throughout Greater Milwaukee. I enjoy membership in League of Milwaukee Artists, Milwaukee Artists Resource Network, Museum of Wisconsin Art and Fox Point Artists Collaborative.

FRED ROOS

Frederick Roos is a wood working artist with an eye for turning wood into different ideas. Every piece is unique and one-of-a-kind. Working out of the west end of Milwaukee, Guild Member.

ANNE REED

I haven’t been painting long and I still struggle to describe my work. Early on, I was startled to find that if I kept putting down paint and making marks, something would happen. The image in front of me would suddenly shift. Instead of simple paint on a surface, it took on a life and energy of its own.

My journey since that discovery has been to keep seeking that moment, and to bring each piece from that point to what seems to be its full expression. I’m not a particularly mystical person in other ways, so it has felt strange — and has been an honor — to follow this path of bringing a painting into the world.

CHUCK YERKES

Since I was a kid, watercolor has always caught my eye in visits to art museums. Mountains and landscapes have been fun to paint.  My ideas come from traveling in Europe and here in the United States.