Artists

Maxine Olson

“The experiences of human nature in all stages of life have from the very beginning of my art career, been important subject matter for my image making. As a result, my art has been an ongoing narrative and self-portrait that attempts to reconcile the absolute and contradictory forces that have influenced and governed my life.”

Arthur Coelho

Art Coelho’s family farm roots and hands-on heritage began in the San Joaquin Valley. This Fresno County rural experience not only gave him a deep understanding of nature, but from the Dustbowl Okie migrants and hobos who worked for his father (a Wheatville pioneer farmer in Central California)he learned the hard lessons of survival firsthand.

His Portuguese grandparents emigrated from three islands in The Azores archipelago: Pico, São Jorge, and Terceira. His Azorean work is a result of “growing up Portuguese” and participating in the Holy Ghost Festas; and also from his seven pilgrimages made to the nine-island Atlantic chain starting in 1986 when he was a cultural guest of Portugal’s Autonomy government there.

From 1965-74, his Gypsy period, he rambled to every state except Hawaii, Alabama, and Maine. The open road led him to the Crow Reservation where in 1971 he danced at the Pierce Siding Sun Dance outside of Lodge Grass, Montana. His adopted name of Seven Buffaloes was given by his Native American mother, Marjorie Yellowtail. When Linda Hasselstrom wrote With Isolation and Great Vats of Time, in 1986, Coelho summed up her article on him: “It is better to be unknown in sagebrush and happy than to be known in neon and sad.”

Helia Borges Sousa

“My fascination for drawing and coloring began when I was a child. A self-taught artist, I enjoy painting, for the most part in oils, nostalgic and cherished timeless scenes of Portugal. Painting brings me much joy, because it allows me to create and visually express what’s in my heart, and it’s a way to share my cultural heritage. Each time I paint, I experience happy thoughts as I re-visit the humble and joyful way of life of my childhood in Terceira.  I paint charming villages, timeless windmills, the quaint and everyday life scenes.  Ideas come mostly from treasured memories I hold dear and a calling to express and share my thoughts and tranquil experiences; which reflect the love I have for the everyday simple and serene life as I was fortunate to live it. Wish that my work touches your heart, and perhaps, reminds you of a gentle memory or a precious moment that you too hold dear.”