Akemi Graham was born in Chicago, Illinois in the mid-80s. Since she was young, she has enjoyed the creative side of life through copy-sketching and coloring with whatever she could get her little hands on. As she grew older, her self-taught artistic skills developed when she took interest in teaching herself calligraphy, graffiti styles, tattooing, and painting. Through inspiration from her favorite artist, Salvador Dalí, she incorporates some surrealism into her art. Her Japanese ancestry also inspires a bit of Asian flair into her artwork as well. She has experience teaching young children to young adults through a youth group for girls. Akemi stays busy through her work, various projects, hobbies, and other creative ventures. At least once a month she visits different art museums and festivals to support local artists and to be kept in the know of what’s new and popular in the art community. Her professional background is primarily Early Childhood Education Administration and her strength is customer service. She has dabbled into interior design and retail but her heart remains in art and teaching. Her other hobbies include reading, nail art, and spending time with her big family. She is enthusiastic about artistic instruction and is always eager to help others master their own techniques in creative expression. She looks forward to seeing you in her class!

Ali is an artist with a passion for nature, communication and cats. When she's not busy painting, Ali can be found reading novels, spending time with her close friends, and watching cute cat videos online. She's been painting and involved with artistic pursuits for over 10 years which include, but are not limited to: working on theater sets, crafts, event planning, and of course, painting. When she was 19 years old, she spent a year as a nanny in Orleans, France which she very much enjoyed. She hopes to one day go back and visit again.

Kylie has always found passion and creativity in many forms of art, some of which are writing, painting, drawing, and hand crafting crystal wrap jewelry. Her other hobbies and interests include camping, fishing, encouraging others to create, random gifting, volunteering, smiling at strangers, dancing, laughing, and keeping it weird. She has a Bachelors of Business Administration in accounting and a professional background in management, sales, and customer service.

I was born in New Jersey but raised in Cape Coral. While growing up, I looked up to my mother who is a teacher and my father who does remodeling and is a creative spirit. My father would help me grow as an artist and I also loved teaching at the daycare with my mother so I meshed art and teaching together to pursue as a career. As I got older I painted murals for daycares, public schools, and homes. I also love expressing myself in collages and fashion. I also love being creative by building and restoring furniture which I differently got from my father. Then I moved to Boynton Beach (with my chihuahua Lily) for something new! Cape Coral didn't offer all the inspiration I had when I would come visit the Boca area. I changed my whole life for art and I have never been so happy. My ultimate goal in life was to teach kids and adults to paint and express themselves and have fun doing so.

I was born in Lima, Perú. My grandmother was a great artist. My grandfather was Chinese descent. They both have influenced my art design concepts and taught me graphic art design. I started traveling at the age of 23 in Peru to study its cultural, historical places and history. During my travels I visited Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Panama, México, and United States of America. Different cultures have taught me different techniques in creating forms of art like mandalas, mosaics, jewelry, landscape painting, mantras, and an appreciation for earth awareness. I participate in yoga sessions and enjoy riding my bike every day. I have been a vegan and vegetarian for 5 year. I'm fluent in Spanish & English.

Mattea was born is Sydney, Australia and was homeschooled through Australian distance education for most of her childhood. With only teachers at a distance, her art was self taught but always encouraged by her parents. She has loved it since childhood when she did pencil drawings and watercolors of the animals and landscapes she encountered in the numerous countries she traveled to. When she started school in FL, she immediately bonded with the high school art teacher and was able to aide in teaching middle school art classes. She also taught children for fun on the weekends. She was always a part of set design and loved painting scenery for school plays. With her degree in Early Childhood Education, she now incorporates art into her classroom. She paints murals, clothing and other items when she finds spare time. Her other hobbies are cooking, playing board games and hanging out with her husband and daughter.

I was born in 1988 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Since childhood, I had big inclinations to art. I was always very curious with this new world that opened my eyes. As a child, I was always observing my uncle’s work (my uncles are renowned artists in Cuba). I was fascinated with the detail brushwork and the color scheme. This whole world helped me prelude at a very young age that my means of communication had to be fine arts. At age 14, I started classes at the Academy of Art in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. I graduated at 18 with a thesis related to the design of costumes as a conceptual object element; giving rise to all the plots that masked women. This experience has been my most genuine mirror during this time until I found 2 new inspirational elements in acrylic and drawing. Newly graduated, I started to work and had to limit my artistic work. I left Cuba to Venezuela where I taught art. Then I had the opportunity to come to United States, where I believe it is true medium for me to develop as an artist. http://mercedesbravolores.wix.com/visualart https://www.facebook.com/mercedesbravoart https://www.instagram.com/mercedesbravolores/

Patricia Hall was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. When she's not avoiding the sunlight or wishing she were back in the rainy cold of Ireland, she's working on her novel, drawing her characters, crafting fantastical props, or hanging out with her two sleepy cats. Patricia was self-taught through high school, but is currently finishing her BFA in Studio Art (with a focus in painting) at Florida Atlantic University. Her projects and pieces focus on the human anatomy, female form, movement, character design, profiles, and much more. She also dabbles in certain aspects of nature, such as: animals, flowers, mushrooms, and trees. Patricia believes that casual learning (study paired with music, conversation, or other enjoyable activities) can sometimes be the most influential, and the most fun! She's eager to use her degree and share her knowledge in a classroom setting, and hopes too see you there with your drinks and your enthusiasm!