Featured Gallery Artists
Maya Raza (Maya's ArtBeat)
It was March 20, 2020, and the Covid 19 Pandemic had placed everyone in lockdown, it had been 29 days since I last ventured out of my house and during these crazy days, I was busy preparing for a long term stay at home. I had no idea as to what I would do during the coming weeks of isolation. After 10 days of coffee, computer, exercise, cooking, cleaning, news, on repeat, I needed to do something different, or my family would be in jeopardy! LOL
I remembered that we had some sketching books in the garage and found one called “How to learn to draw”. A few days into this book I was drawing sketches and wanted to add color. Without any popper tools, I started with whatever I could find around the house, dried up watercolor paint, markers, and chalk!
One day I noticed that neighborhood parents and children were out for walks every evening and this gave me an idea. I began to place a new painting in the front windows of my home and families stopped by each day to see the “Painting of the day.” The oohing and ahhing of the little voices was a joyous event during a tough lock-down time, and their excitement is the reason why many of my paintings have been of animals and feature bright colors.
The journeys that started in March 2020 has continued to this day. And I have loved every minute of it. Painting has brought me peace and joy and has allowed me to view nature and life itself with new eyes. I hope that I continue to grow and share my gift with others.
Eric Price (Standing Still Photography)
Eric joined the Tree Wizard Workshop as a featured Gallery Artist in Spring 2022. Based out of Norman, Eric is a veteran of Oklahoma’s own 45th Infantry. A proud father of three, Eric’s passion behind the lens grows from his passion to capture history through those same lens… before it’s gone forever, keeping history alive for generations that follow. From the hallowed halls of the Bizzell Memorial Library on OU’s historic campus, sweeping views of our largest cities and rolling hills of our open prairies, to the beautiful wildlife that calls our Great State home, Eric Price’s talent behind a camera is profound as he shares his passion and adventures one shot at a time!
When asked about what drives him, Eric said “My passion besides the family is solely being behind the lens of the camera catching what history I can of not only our beautiful state but the world around us. It is with due diligence I travel as much as I can and document as much as possible through photography to keep any kind of history alive after the physical part is gone. We have generations to come we are responsible for to be able to pass the stories and history, that being bad or good, on for them and the generations that follow them. I shoot everything from abandoned, street, landscape and anything that will get in front of my lens.”