Flowers of the Field
by Lauren Sinclair
Original watercolor paintings and greeting cards.
1stSatArtMarket
Posts by Mitch Cohen:
Christina Lynn Todaro
Enthusiasm, tenacity, laughter & creative!
The words that come to mind when considering what tell you about Christina. She’s one to watch, and if you own an original, definitely keep an eye her art career! She has an adventurous streak too!
Description of Christina’s current paintings
The Mosaic Series started in 2013 with the “Mosaic Elephant” and is constantly evolving. When creating each animal, Christina Lynn Todaro moves fluidly through the process with sensitivity to the way she is feeling: every line, color, and texture is made focusing on the energy that encompasses her at the time. The animals are metaphors for things that are going on in her life. She loves placing meaningful symbols within the designs, and she always paints the eyes last.
“In this case,” Christina says, “I absolutely save the best for last! The eyes bring the animal to life!!”
All her paintings are acrylic on canvas. Commissions are welcome.
Tell us about yourself outside of the art world.
I love traveling to experience different cultures and exploring all the animals around the world! I love keeping fit doing yoga, running, and weight lifting! It is a way of life for me now. I took up winemaking in 2020 and I am exploring all the possibilities and flavor profiles! I was a mystery snail farmer for the last two years, but recently gave it up.
How did your art journey begin?
Ever since I was a little girl, I loved being alone and creating something from whatever I could get my hands on. I loved sewing up Barbie clothes for my Barbies and making accessories for them. I loved painting and drawing when I was little and was drawn to it. I would just do it!
And now?
I’m currently working on a koala bear painting and a kangaroo painting. Both were inspired by my most recent travels to Australia. I’m always trying to challenge myself with new media. I just finished a painting done with coffee of a cicada! It was a challenge, but I’m very happy with the result. I want to do more paintings in coffee; I think it could be a cool series. I’m always challenging myself with new media, but acrylic is my tried and true.
What are your big plans/goals for the future?
I want to keep traveling and getting inspired by the world! I want to share my experiences through my paintings with others! I want to go back to Italy and stay a while!
Do you have any big art plans?
I have a series of 13 paintings in my mosaic style about love in a non-traditional sense. I want to have a solo show showcasing these paintings in the future. They have never been seen! I want to keep growing the Mosaic Series! “I have artwork at the Whimsy Artisan. First Saturday Art Market, monthly.”
If you didn’t work in your medium, what would you choose?
Creating art is a way of life for me. I was a sculptor all throughout high school and college. Right before I graduated, I took a Photoshop class and I painted a digital painting. That prompted me to buy my first canvas and create my first painting. I’ve sewn skirts, done face painting, worked with ink, watercolor, digital, oil paint, and Prismacolor colored pencils. I guess that’s the long answer, but whatever interests me I’ll do without fear. I will find a way!
Anything wild and crazy that would raise eyebrows?
Jack Ingram bought a print of my “Mosaic Elephant” because it reminded him of his grandmother.
I went surfing for the first time ever at Bondi Beach in Australia and was pretty good at it!!! It was so much fun!”
What guidance would you offer to a budding or novice artist?
Create small goals for yourself. Have patience with the process. Pay attention. Don’t give up on yourself. Stay hungry!”
FIRST SATURDAY CORNER
View Christina’s First Saturday Arts Market profile.
Has attending the market impacted you and your art?
It definitely has been a great experience. Everything has ups and downs and a lot of learning involved. But, Mitch has given artists a great place to learn, share, and grow their art business!
Tell us one take away you’d like the public to know about the market.
It’s a great collective of different styles of art that are all done with quality in mind.
Have you experienced any inspiring sales or connection stories?
March of 2020, I had one of my largest and favorite commissions in the Mosaic Series! It was a giant tiger, and we all know I love to paint large. It was mesmerizing and an absolute blast to paint.
Has attending the market impacted you and your art?
It definitely has been a great experience. Everything has ups and downs and a lot of learning involved. But, Mitch has given artists a great place to learn, share, and grow their art business!
Tell us one take away you’d like the public to know about the market.
It’s a great collective of different styles of art that are all done with quality in mind.
Have you experienced any inspiring sales or connection stories?
March of 2020, I had one of my largest and favorite commissions in the Mosaic Series! It was a giant tiger, and we all know I love to paint large. It was mesmerizing and an absolute blast to paint.
Nancy Sarmiento
I employ various techniques honed during my tenure as a painter. I enjoy experimenting with diverse textures, materials, patterns, and painting techniques. Painting is not just a hobby but a passion I eagerly share with others. Email
Thomas David Carr
My paintings are energetic abstractions with a concentration on movement and color themes. Making them is what I would think playing jazz would be like or dancing with color.
Novel Arts And Crafts
With decades of hands-on experience, several design skills, and a love of uplifting others, the creator of Novel Arts and Crafts LLC, Jom Kirkland, decided to use them to create meaningful gifts and one-of-a-kind products to ensure that her customers will own one of the unique pieces that are not in mass production. Color and pattern may vary. She designs all handmade jewelry products and combines different elements for your unique style, from genuine freshwater pearls to natural and reconstituted gemstones, healing crystals, and lava rocks, which can be used with essential oils to create a special way of gift-giving for everyone.
Lili’s Sweethearts
My Latin American origins heavily influence my work. I pay homage in all my paintings to the diversity of the women in the world, including indigenous people, artists, and the everyday fighter. My work is colorful and often includes hidden words, messages, and poems I wrote to give each piece a unique feel and a deeper meaning. My goal is that every piece brings color and history to their future forever home.
Hashem Studio
Love of art has always been a major part of my life. Growing up in a remote area in Lebanon, I spent my childhood on hillsides entertaining myself by using natural environment to make art, creating miniature villages using twigs, mud, pebbles, seashells and other flotsam. Bullet casings and exploded shrapnel afforded excellent miniature construction material. I started my career as a molecular biologist, but I never gave up art, filling up any free time creating something. After taking my first class in ceramics 10+ years ago, I fell in love and decided to give it 100% of my attention. Turning mud into a mug involves physics, chemistry, and cognitive constructional abilities, yet is ultimately controlled by the unpredictable whims of the kiln gods, … and playing with clay is cheaper than psychotherapy. I replaced scientific experimentation with experimentation with clay. I am constantly trying new techniques, materials, and glazes, giving rise to my eclectic style. There will always be something new and different in my collection. You can view current works by following me on Instagram or my website.
Jeff Lung
Jeff’s funny Instagram stories came on my radar long before he came to 1st Saturday in 2023. Jeff has turned his obsession with “doodling” into an artform and that in itself makes a great story. Sit back for the rest, Jeff has a fascinating and inspiring backstory!
One could call Jeff Lung’s art figurative abstract art but he often just calls it “doodle art.” “I love to doodle! So I’ve made it my thing!” ~ Jeff Lung
Tell us about yourself outside of the art world.
I am a self-taught artist interested in figurative abstract expression and obsessive doodling. All my life I have been obsessed with filling empty spaces with shapes, and my doodle-scribbled notebooks collected over the years document this quest. I find great satisfaction in finding relationships among forms and expressing them through emotion. In my free time, I enjoys being outdoors: running, hiking and cycling. I also love comic books and live stand-up comedy. Born and raised in Quincy, Illinois, since leaving home at 18 years old I have lived in big cities like Madrid, Beijing, Los Angeles and Chicago. Now I’m a Texan. Texan for life.
How did your art journey begin?
Initially it was a coping mechanism for dealing with the chaos of my early childhood. I found that drawing and doodling helped me escape from the drama that was otherwise holding me down.
What are you doing with your art right now?
I continue to experiment by combining my deep interest in traditional portraiture and figure drawing alongside my incessant need to be doodling all the time. In doing so, I also explore themes that are at the forefront of my mind: dynamic movement, faith, love, hope, peace, calm.
Do you have big plans/goals for the future?
Heck yes! I plan to see the world through my art and subsequent messaging. I’ve overcome a lot of adversity in my life and I want to share that triumph while also helping others get through trials of their own.
What guidance would you offer to a budding or novice artist?
Ask questions, of course, but realize too that we are all an experiment of one. What works for one person may not work for you. I ask a lot of questions and pick a lot of brains and then filter that through my own journey and experience to get the most out of it.
If you didn’t work in your medium, what would you choose?
Probably something similar like gouache.
Tell us a surprising thing or story about yourself!
I have a lot of interesting life experiences. I speak fluent Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. I lived in China for four years. I also did some dumb stuff and got arrested and sent to prison at 24 years old for selling Ecstasy. I served 26 months in prison and while incarcerated started my first successful entrepreneurial endeavor by drawing portraits for my fellow inmates in graphite. I became known as the portrait guy in the joint and made a good living (for being locked up that is). I got out in 2007 and never went back to my stupid days.
I was also a competitive boxer with 13 fights, winning the 2015 Chicago Golden Gloves in the Masters Division lightweight class. I have run hundreds of races: half marathons, marathons, ultramarathons. My crowning achievements are a 3:03 PR in the 2012 Chicago Marathon. I ran the Boston Marathon twice (2013, 2014). I also ran the coveted and highly selective Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2017. While I still do run often, I also enjoy riding my bike for short and long distances.
First Saturday Corner
Has attending 1stSatArtMarket changed you and/or your art?
It has changed me in a positive way in that I know more artists and more collectors than I did before!
What one take away would you like the public to know about 1stSatArtMarket?
It’s a great place to come and see what is going on in the grassroots art community. These are people who are passionate about making and sharing their creations. It’s a place to have discussions and interactions.
