Artists in our circle painting the Basilica of St. Stephen in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Join our artists circle and come paint with us! An artists circle membership is included with registration for any masterclass, workshop, or painting seminar. As a circle member, your work will be eligible for exhibition and promotion at select events organized by the Fine Arts Preservation Society of New Orleans; as well as for potential future inclusion as one of our Featured Artists.
Circle artists are often engaged in other professions and build, maintain, or grow their artistic practice through our organized group learning opportunities. Our opportunities enhance artistic skillsets and broaden understanding of the impact an artistic practice has with other fields of study.
Our recent exhibition included select circle member artists and featured artists listed below. For the full list of participating artists who exhibited please see:
LIL PINNEY (Artist’s Circle)
Elizabeth (Lil) Pinney, B.A. English, Randolph College, M.A. French Literature, Louisiana State
University
After teaching French for over 20 years, Lil felt an intense calling to learn a different kind of
language – that of the visual arts. So about 15 years ago, Lil began this exploration by
studying plein air painting with Auseklis Ozols. Painting plein air is an activity that Lil has found
to be both deeply spiritual as well as an exciting intellectual challenge. Lil is drawn to
landscapes where she has a strong personal connection and is grateful to live in a city where
she is surrounded by so much beauty.
Lil has had the privilege of studying under other notable New Orleans artists, such as Phil
Sandusky, Claude Ellender, Sarah Thibodeaux and Saskia Ozols with the Fine Arts
Preservation Society. She is filled with gratitude for these instructors and looks forward to
continuing to grow and evolve as an artist.
LEON HINSON (Artist’s Circle)
Leon Hinson is a Registered Professional Engineer (Retired) whose 40-year career covered auto assembly, manufacturing, ship fabrication, and natural gas distribution. He is a BSME graduate from Georgia Tech and a MSEM Graduate from the University of New Orleans. In 2010, he started taking drawing classes at New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. Since then, he has continued his artistic growth over the past 15 years studying, practicing, and engaging with historical processes in the visual arts. He works in charcoal, gouache, pastel, and now oil. He received two Faculty Awards at NOAFA: 2021 Color & Design, Patti Adams; 2021 Painting with Gouache, Jean Cassels .He received the Dr. & Mrs. Michael Carey Color and Design Award at NOAFA in 2019 and 2021. Leon’s instructors on his artistic journey have been Darrell Brown, Claude Ellender, Carol Peebles, Auseklis Ozols, Jean Cassels, Patti Adames, and Saskia Ozols.
BFA in Studio Arts Tufts University together with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
MFA in Game Development Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
Ryan is a multi-disciplined digital and traditional artist with a focus on stylized character and prop design concept art. Their professional career has primarily consisted of working in the game, film, and publication industry, illustrating characters, props, backgrounds, and storyboards for a variety of different narrative driven projects. Although Ryan has a deep love for animation, stylized characters and video games, they have also been captivated by traditional approaches to realism portraiture. Much like their stylized characters, Ry’s goal is to tell stories through character and portrait designs, oftentimes striving to portray a disposition that subtly reveals the weight and complexities of an individual’s life. Currently, Ryan is working on children’s book illustrations, an upcoming young adult comic, and has been accepted into the Florence Academy of Art where they will continue their pursuit of mastering the techniques of traditional realism.
Ry has immense appreciation for the instructors and mentors who have aided their artistic journey such as Brian Hess, Jason Weesner, Carol Peebles, and Saskia Ozols.
LYNN PARKER (Artist’s Circle)
Lynn Parker is a retired child psychologist, who during her psychology career pursued her love of the visual arts. Studying color, line, and form was a kind of meditation, which returned balance to her life. Her first interest was in the ancient art of iconography studying with iconographer, Raymond Calvert. Drawing from life became her passion and Lynn immersed herself in portrait and figure drawing, studying at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art and with Carol Peebles as a member of the Blue Easel Club. She has been honored to also study with Jonathan Hodge, Patti Adams, Alan Flattmann, Auseklis Ozols and Saskia Ozols. Lynn occasionally paints in oil, however, her works are primarily in pastel and charcoal, painting from life whenever possible. Lynn continues to write icons as part of her spiritual journey, currently studying with Daniel Neculae. Lynn is a Signature member of the Degas Pastel Society and a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA). Her work has been shown in local and national exhibitions.
Sean Clark (Artist’s Circle)
Frances Swigart (Featured Artist & Artist’s Circle)
Auseklis Ozols (Featured Artist, Featured Scholar, and Artist’s Circle)
Carol Peebles (Featured Artist)
Liz Pflug (Artist’s Circle)
Carol Leake (Featured Artist, Featured Scholar)
Stacey Stanfill (Featured Artist)
Ronna S. Harris (Featured Artist)