MEET THE 2024 ARTISTS
ABBIE SEAR
S
Abbie Sears is a visual artist from Norman with a versatile skill set including illustration, brand design, pagination, photography, animation and creative direction. After being advised that an artist could never make a decent wage, Abbie became a nurse but found herself unfulfilled and with a strong desire to reconnect with her creativity. After returning to school and earning a degree in fine art from the University of Oklahoma, Abbie worked as an editorial designer and illustrator for local print publications before finding her way into advertising and marketing. She eventually co-founded Coin Creative, a local creative advertising agency, with her best friend and creative partner Erick Worrell. Follow more of Abbie’s work on Instagram @appidraws.
COREY GEORGE
Corey George is a hand lettering artist and children’s book illustrator from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His 20-year background as a visual storyteller and designer guides his work of cheerful, bright, inspirational characters for children’s picture books — with a goal to inspire smiles! Growing up in the 80’s influenced Corey’s sense of humor and illustration style. Classic books by Miroslav Sasek or the “Sweet Pickles” collection inform his work, alongside references from movies like “The Last Dragon” and “The Three Amigos.” Corey’s currently working on his first author-illustrated picture book. You can follow him on Instagram @corey.d.george or visit his website at coreydgeorge.com.
NATALIE LASH
Natalie (Nat) Lash is an Oklahoma City artist and muralist with a love of fun colors, quirky lettering and a growing arsenal of overalls. When she isn't orchestrating events at her day job, she’s leaning into the whimsy and joy art has given her since childhood. Outside of painting canvases and walls, she's had the privilege of being an artist and committee member for Sunny Dayz Mural Festival and painting basketball backboards for musicians performing at the Paycom Center! Nat’s always on the lookout for unique ways to sprinkle her passion throughout the community and lean into her childlike wonder. Check out her work and enjoy stories of her cute cats on Instagram @madebynat.
RICKI SCHEEF
Raised in Oklahoma City by an entomologist and a science teacher, Ricki grew up fossil hunting, visiting natural history museums and spending summers in the university biology lab. She quickly developed a sacred appreciation for the colors, shapes and ecosystems that contribute to the vast and inexplicable beauty of nature. Her pastel artwork is layered with impressionism that accentuates a perspective of reverence and awe for the natural world. Ricki currently lives in Oklahoma City and gleans inspiration from her friendships, parents’ petrified wood collection and the personalities of her farm animals. To immerse yourself in more of Ricki’s creations, follow her Instagram @ricki_lee_scheef.
SHANKARI PARA
DEE
Shankari Paradee is an award-winning quilt designer and creator of Sewl Sister. She has a beautiful and unique way of bringing family legacy and vision into her works of art. She has been featured in several publications, including Quilter's World and Modish Quilter. Sewl Sister is also internationally published with Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine. Everything is made with an environmentally conscious approach. Her mission is to reduce waste, create a slow fashion movement and inspire upcycling through using landfill and throw-away fabric. She continues to create a world of love, power, passion, connection and joy through the art of sewing! You can check out more of Shankari’s work on Instagram @hellosewlsister or by visiting her website www.sewlsister.com.
DEAN KELLY
Dean Kelly is a graphic designer and illustrator living in Oklahoma City. When it comes to art mediums, digital is his favorite. Dean’s main artistic focus is on figurative, cartoonish and energetic illustrations. His inspirations include anime, cartoons, manga, design history, kitsch and video games. Through his work, Dean creates a colorful, bold, and bright world that viewers can escape in for a while. To check out more of Dean’s work, you can follow along on Instagram @dean13machine.
JAIYE FARRELL
Oklahoma-based artist, Jaiye Farrell, creates his works to expand and challenge the viewers’ perception and awareness, while instilling a sense of wonder. Jaiye’s works are driven by perception, movement, and fragmentation. He emphasizes these three organically because of their interconnectedness. His style of painting cultivates abstract patterns that transcend societal and cultural divides while remembering the communal roots of humanity. He ties stories into the patterns and abstractions in his work that weave together a subjective narrative to the viewer. From an infatuation with archeology emerged a creative and ambitious talent — to craft an artistic signature that inspires self-reflection and wonder. You can follow Jaiye’s work on Instagram @dawnjaiye.
JORDAN LEGRANGE
Jordan is a 30-year-old artist who wants to make people’s lives a little more colorful through her art. Jordan loves drawing portraits, using bright colors and creating bold compositions. Her creative process draws inspiration from Wes Anderson films, the Japanese city pop aesthetic, and 1980’s Glam Rock. She utilizes elements from all of these art styles to create highly saturated portraits of people. You can often find her listening to K-Pop while creating art, and when Jordan is not creating art, you can find her playing video games, watching anime and reading fantasy books. To follow along her artistic journey, check out her Instagram @thescullyartfiles_.
JUAN MARANTE
Juan Marante, also known as El Gran Tocayo, is a self-taught professional illustrator and graphic designer. Juan has worked in the action sports industry for the past 20 years. He grew up skateboarding, surfing and playing baseball, and he still does all three with a little snowboarding thrown into the mix. Juan loves creating art in all mediums. Throughout the past few years, his work has been featured in many publications, from local newspapers to well-known magazines. He recently moved out of Oklahoma and now works out of a studio in Raleigh, NC where he lives with his family. You can follow his work on Instagram @elgrantocayo.
ZACH RAW
Zach Raw is a full-time freelance illustrator from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Most of his work is inspired by anime, western animation and comic books. At an early age, he was captivated by the powerful imagery and dynamic illustrations seen on TV and in comics. He would try to mimic what he saw and incorporate those nuances into his own work. Zach diligently practiced and studied light play, composition and capturing fluid movement in a 2D format to bring a kinetic feel to the page with colorful action and layering. The materials he uses range from pencil and ink, to Copic markers and watercolor, to blending hand-drawn images with digital coloring and completely digital drawing. To see more of Zach’s work, check him out on his Instagram @zachraw or to see time lapse videos of his work, follow his YouTube channel @zachraw2366.