Eva Blume

Location: Zohara

Eva Blume is a sophomore at both Windsor High School and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half-Day Program, where she is a visual arts major. She enjoys drawing, painting with gouache and acrylics, and learning how to create digital art. Eva also loves to write and play the drums in a band with her friends. She aspires to work in the arts as an illustrator or animator. “This was my first time taking on a project so large and on concrete, instead of paper or canvas,” says Eva. “I was scared at first, but with lots of teamwork and a bubble tea, the mural turned out to be something I am really proud of and makes me smile embarrassingly big. I hope my mural can make others feel just as happy!” Find Eva on Instagram @evablume.art

Michael Borders

Location: Mecha, Arethusa

Murals, illustrations, formal and informal portraits and the production of original ideas for institutions and individuals have been my occupation for about 50 years.
I have a BFA degree from Fisk University, where I've taught, an MFA from Howard University. I've lectured at Greater Hartford Community College, The University of Hartford, Trinity College, Southern Connecticut State University, The Slater Museum and elementary and secondary schools. My murals have been placed on the outside and inside of buildings and have been large and small in size; night clubs, living rooms, cafeterias, elementary schools, universities and churches are places where my murals can be seen. I'm most noted for my large mural on a Trumbull Street building in downtown Hartford in 1974. My illustrations have been placed on record albums and CD cases, magazines, coloring books and posters. Ministers, judges, teachers, dancers and people from all walks of life have been the subject of my portraits. A lifelong resident of Connecticut, I am married with two children, two grandchildren and living in Bloomfield.

Brian Colbath

Location: Union Kitchen, Wurst Haus

Brian Colbath is an accomplished artist and instructor with over twenty years experience working in Greater Hartford. His work has been commissioned by area businesses, architects, developers, homeowners, and art lovers alike. Brian’s murals can be seen at AVG Lobby in Windsor, Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester, Greenwich Woods Adult Healthcare facility lobby, Manchester Early Learning Center, Touchpoints Healthcare Facility in Farmington, Amberwoods Healthcare Facility in Farmington, and numerous backyards and homes. Brian also teaches painting at the West Hartford Art League.

Sneh Detroja

Location: The Place 2 Be

Sneh Detroja is a freshman at South Windsor high school and Hartford Academy of the Arts. “Art is something I've been passionate about ever since i've learned to pick up a pencil. I ‘m very involved with my community and take opportunities to express and display my art with opportunities such as CTCOLT contest, where I have made top three in the state of Connecticut for the past three years.  I also enjoy artistic hobbies such as metal work, jewelry making, painting, paper quilling and digital art. Art connects me to many different things and brings me closer to my family and background.  it is a way of expressing yourself through visualization. I hope my design brightens up peoples day and brings smiles to their faces.

Yvonne Espinoza

Location: Ichiro Hibachi & Sushi, Max Oyster Bar
Yvonne C. Espinoza is a visual artist and designer of Peruvian heritage and a resident of West Hartford. Her formal training in Fine Arts at Bard College, along with her ongoing studies in the many fields integrated with environmental studies, combine to form her signature style of mixed media artwork. After many years in marketing and project management, she is focusing on art and design work at the crossroads of art, ecological design, and resilience planning. She currently works at her fine art and design studio in Connecticut. You can find her at YCEStudios.com and @YCEStudios on Instagram and Facebook

Julia Fahey

Location: Song, Bricco Restaurant

Julia Fahey is a Connecticut native who grew up helping her mom with various art projects. Julia moved to Vail, CO with her now fiancé after graduating college, which is where she completed her first mural (after a suggestion from her manager at the time.) Most of her art is inspired by nature and bright colors. She enjoys all mediums and currently focuses on reverse-painted antique windows which she sells at local art fairs and hopes to soon have them featured in local galleries.

Samuel Ferri

Location: Zohara
Samuel Ferri is a COVID-era transplant to the West Hartford community by way of Brooklyn. With a background in comics and animation, his work has appeared in MAD Magazine, The NY Observer, Time Out NY, and various scraps of paper wedged in couch cushions around his house.  Reach out about projects or see more of his quirky line work and humor at www.Misconnected.com and on Instagram: @Samsinkwell .

Naiya Gonzalez-Breen

Location: Max’s Oyster Bar
Naiya Gonzalez-Breen is a junior at Pelham Memorial High School who is pursuing a future in the arts. She grew up surrounded by artists at her grandmother's art collective in Thomaston, Connecticut, and is currently a part of her school's AP art program. During the pandemic she began dedicating more time to her art and discovered her love for painting and portraiture. Since then she has been building her experience along with her college application portfolio through commissions, mural projects, live painting events, and competitions. Naiya is excited to share her love for art through her design for the art barriers project. You can find more of her work on her instagram account @naiya_draws.

Stella Guggina

Location: corner of LaSalle and Farmington
Stella Guggina is a fourth grader at Charter Oak Elementary School. She enjoys all manner of arts and crafts, including painting, drawing, pottery, knitting and sewing. Stella’s artwork was recently featured in the Connecticut Student Writers Magazine, after winning a platinum award in UConn’s Connecticut Student Writers Contest. She lives with her two brothers and her parents in West Hartford.

Annie Hayami

Location: Arugula
I’m an artist, a surface pattern designer, and an art teacher. My mission is to bring color, beauty, and style into people's lives. I love designs that feature a pop of bright color, a vintage feel, and often an unexpected quirky element.  I have worked with a variety of media throughout my artistic career, from large scale figure paintings to block printing, but I have fallen in love with surface pattern design as it lets me combine my knowledge of traditional art media with my love of digital art. I derive inspiration from vintage style, the world around me, and the ocean. I currently live in my hometown of West Hartford Connecticut with my husband, our 10 year twins and our goldendoodle Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

Lindsay Landry

Location: Harvest Wine Bar, Song

Lindsay Landry is a resident of West Hartford who enjoys any and all manor of creative work. Her medium of choice is watercolor, with subjects ranging from portraits to landscapes to fantastical beings. Balancing a full time career as an Engineering Director at Pratt & Whitney and three small children has limited the frequency with which she breaks out her actual paints recently and led her into the world of digital art. Her mural "Wishing Flowers" was designed on her iPad sometime after the kids were in bed.

Kiley Mattsson

Location: Bricco Restaurant

Kiley Mattsson is an artist and graphic designer living in West Hartford, CT. Her work is typically clean and graphic, with lots of bold hues. Influences include Russian Constructivism, the Bauhaus, mid-century graphic designers such as Paul Rand, exquisite typography and Mexican folk art. When not producing computer-based imagery she enjoys working in mixed media. Drawn to the visual arts from a young age, she was encouraged to pursue a more “practical” college degree. That direction didn’t last, and she pursued a post-graduate program in graphic design at the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, GA. After a few years working in NYC, she and her husband moved abroad where she took time off to raise two daughters. Settling in West Hartford she began taking art classes at the West Hartford Art League and Farmington Valley Arts Center and is beginning to find her creative spark again. 

York Mgbejume

Location: Song

York Mgbejume is a senior at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School. He plans to attend the Rhode Island school of Design in his upcoming years to study graphic design and painting. Art has always been important to York however he never considered himself an artist. He started painting during quarantine and found a love for it. Whilst studying musical theatre in school previously, he soon began to work on murals in his independent study class. His art teacher told him about this project and he hopes to bring smiles and inspiration through his design!

Kelly O’Donovan

Location: Wurst Haus, Avert

Kelly O’Donovan is an accomplished young professional with almost ten years’ experience in drawing and mixed media. At a young age, she started a business selling handmade art which sparked a passion for connecting with others through visual language. As an active participant in the West Hartford Art League, she has explored mediums ranging from stone carving to digital illustration and has since found her rhythm working with charcoal. She recently received a B.S. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship with a Minor in Studio Art from Boston College. She served as the Visual Arts Director for the Boston College Arts Council and was an undergraduate art fellow, with her work being featured in several campus-wide publications. Her ARTBarrier design was inspired by an eagerness for spring, hoping to echo the energy of West Hartford Center through vibrant colors.

Beth Reynolds

Location: Savoy

Beth Reynolds is a West Hartford resident, an art teacher and artist who works in a variety of mediums. Her greatest pleasure comes from painting and hand building ceramics inspired from nature, especially the beach. Beth has worked on numerous public art projects including Cow Parade, Oil Drum Art, a violin for the West Hartford Symphony, and bricks for Breast Cancer. She has also created a garden mural for a restaurant and landscape mural with gardens for a private home. Beth is a member of The Connecticut Watercolor Society, The West Hartford Art League and Canton Gallery on the Green. 

Lindsey Schmucker

Location: Division West

Lindsey Schmucker grew up in West Hartford and is currently studying at Florida State University for a BA in Studio Art and a minor in Communications. She mainly focuses in oil and acrylic painting, but has experience working on large-scale murals. You may have seen some of her work in the window murals of The Claypen in West Hartford and The Firestone in Manchester, where she has worked as a Custom Artist for almost 7 years. She is going on her senior year of college and is excited to be involved in the ARTbarrier project as a way to give back to her community. You can find more of her art and process at @lindsartandco on Instagram.

Drew Unikewicz

Location: Vinted

Drew Unikewicz has been an aspiring artist for over 10 years. She has experience in all medians, focusing mainly in acrylic and watercolor. Drew spent her high school years in the art room but went off to college and ended up with an MBA, while painting as a hobby. When Covid-19 hit, Drew was working from home and realized how disconnected she was from her passion for art and decided to go back to school to pursue a new career as an Art Teacher. Drew currently works an an Artist at Muse Paintbar in West Hartford .You can find her art on Facebook or Instagram @drewuni_art or www.drewuniart.com. 

Wing Na Wong

Location: Treva

Wing Na Wong is a recipient of the Antonio Alberetti Excellence in Painting Award, The City of Danbury Proclamation from Mayor of City of Danbury Mark Boughton and the #1 Painting Award, Juried Fine Art & Crafts Show in Danbury, CT. She is a member of International Guild of Realism and associate member of the Oil Painters of America. Wing has been featured in American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, Hartford Courant and Artscope Magazine. Her work has been exhibited in solo shows, group shows and juried exhibition shows across the states. Her painting has been exhibited in the government offices of Mark Boughton, Mayor of Danbury (2019-2020), and Jahana Hayes, U.S. Congressional Representative in Waterbury, CT (2018-2020). And a permanent collection of women scientists in Discovery Museum in Action, Massachusetts.