Meet The Artists

OSCAR PETERSON
​Born in Harlem, New York, and raised in Brooklyn, I’m currently a resident of Millburn, New Jersey. I’ve worked as a professional art director and designer/illustrator for various corporations and non-profits, and as a commissioned fine arts painter specializing in portraiture. An alumnus of Pratt Institute and the Art Students League, I’ve studied with many leading realist painters, including Nelson Shanks, Dave Passalacqua, and Costa Vavagiakis.

  

My approach to painting is to capture the grace and beauty of ordinary people. The sampling of portraits and figuratives included on this website were painted from life in my studio and at the Art Students League in New York. My quest is not to capture a moment in time, but to capture a time in the life of the individual I paint. In so doing, I hope to evoke a response and create an emotional connection between the painting and the viewer, which to me is a rewarding and humbling experience.

DEE WOLFE
I'm Dee Wolfe, a Bronx-born queer Jamaican American artist, and I'm embarking on a creative journey that began in fashion and music, evolving into a fusion of traditional and digital art. Post-undergraduate studies, I built a business harmonizing these mediums, in order to craft unique products that I feel need to be made. My personal art delves into mental wellness within the black community, interweaving narratives with vibrant colors inspired by melanated skin tones and the everyday experiences of a Caribbean American in New York City.

​Progressing from traditional painting to mastering a diverse process involving traditional work, Adobe, Canva, and Procreate on an iPad, I challenge the notion that digital tools diminish authenticity. My current work draws from storytelling, nostalgia, trauma recovery, transformation, and transparency, influenced by contemporary artists such as Titus Kaphar, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley, who’ve disrupted Western narratives by using art to challenge the pervasive idea that black people are not meant to be the main characters in their own stories. I think our stories deserve to be told, shared, and felt. Each stroke and pixel in my creations push the boundaries of self-expression, forming a visual symphony resonating with the soul.

JORDAN KINLEY
My name is Jordan Kinley. I'm a student at Columbia High School deeply involved in the world of art. Currently enrolled in AP Studio Art classes, I'm working towards a future in the arts.

As an artist, I want to translate my thoughts and imagination onto canvas, turning abstract concepts in my mind into tangible and evocative artworks. Expressing myself through art completes a part of me that words alone cannot capture.  What resonates deeply within me as an artist is the ability to evoke a myriad of emotions through my art. —whether it be thought-provoking, perplexing, emotional, or inspiring.

In these latest works, "Shine" and "Soul," I explored my cultural identity and the array of emotions and expressions within it. "Shine" encapsulates the shining and colorful brilliance that I associate with my own identity,  while "Soul" serves as a testament to the profound passion and beauty inherent in my culture.  I aimed to share and convey my emotions about my own identity in these pieces.

SIMONE ANTHONY-BROWN
​​Simone Anthony Brown is an artist, instructor and owner of Express Yourself Studios, LLC, located at 1877 Springfield Avenue in Maplewood. Simone has been inspiring children and adults for 14 years offering art classes, workshops, summer camps, birthday parties and other art events.

The idea for Express Yourself Studios was derived from the need to create a work-life balance. A mom of 4 children, she and her husband, Rodney decided they would build a business that will be family-oriented and allow for that balance.

Simone's former tenure in the advertising and publishing fields, holding positions in Media Planning at Young & Rubicam, DMB&B and Deutsch and Sales Development roles at The New York Times, Essence and People has given her the tools to run her art studio and gallery with great success. Simone's mission for the studio is to be an outlet for children and adults to express themselves creatively via classes in the arts.