Writing Portfolio: Selection of Works
"Houston-based painter Cookie Ashton believes in happy accidents—when skillful toil stumbles onto beautiful serendipity. “I love that you can manipulate paint to a point, and then it takes on a life of its own,” she explains. And so, Ashton always makes room for surprises, combining precise applications and free-form techniques to create her dynamic abstract … Continue reading Luxe TEXAS Stylemaker: COOKIE ASHTON
"Something familiar lurks in the twisted contours and soft hues conjured by San Francisco-based artist Rachel Kaye. Maybe it is the ghost of a face or figure, glimpsed only from the corner of one’s eye. But more so, the intricate abstract patterns of her color pencil drawings and oil paintings tap into the sheer power … Continue reading Luxe San francisco Stylemaker: Rachel Kaye
"Coloradoans are accustomed to the beautiful terrain they call home. Yet wandering among the golden Aspen forests in autumn or through the Garden of the Gods’ red rock formations, even longtime residents can still be awed. Colorado native and artist Sushe Felix captures this wonder in her paintings, which evoke the sharp geometric style of … Continue reading Luxe Colorado Stylemaker: Sushe felix
"Something elusive lurks in the portraits by painter Ron Hicks; faces seem caught mid-thought, things unsaid floating in the shapes and colors surrounding them. Such tension is part of the Denver-based painter’s approach to portraiture. A self-described “abstract artist with representational tendencies” whose work is shown at Denver’s Gallery 1261 and Vail International Gallery, he … Continue reading Luxe Colorado Stylemaker: Ron Hicks
"One wonders how the Dutch felt when they first saw tulips, watching them burst into unpredictable colors. In the 17th century, the Old Masters obsessed over these blooms, painting them in fanciful still lifes laden with other treasures from the Dutch empire. It's hard to conjure the same awe for something that's now so readily … Continue reading Luxe arizona stylemaker: Jim Graham
"In the competitive, swashbuckling world of professional high-end kitchens, you can often tell a lot about the chefs by their tattoos. They wear their hearts on their sleeves, with talismans collected from years perfecting their passions on the line. Chef Jen Knox, the culinary visionary behind Delray Beach’s latest luxe eatery, Warren American Whiskey Kitchen, is … Continue reading Venice Fall 2021: Chef Jen Knox
"Like a mysterious, simmering cauldron, there’s always something bubbling in ceramicist Raina J. Lee’s kiln. The results never fail to surprise, whether it’s foaming glazes that crackle like the surface of the moon or the swirls of dreamy pastels and nebula neons. The Los Angeles-based artist fully embraces her craft’s alchemical elements, reimagining classical forms … Continue reading LUXE LA STYLEMAKER: RAINA LEE
Artist Philomena Marano will never forget those first spine-tingling moments on the famous Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel at Coney Island in New York City—that slow crank of gears and the swing of the passenger cars rising up, until the whole park reveals itself in a riot of color and sound. “I remember how the light … Continue reading LUXE STYLEMAKER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Philomena Marano
While riffling through rusted irons, antique quilts, photos of James Baldwin and Langston Hughes first editions, Freelon unearthed something that excited her: a stack of water-stained tissue papers, their hues having bled together to mesmerizing effect. Where some may have seen ruined craft supplies, Freelon found the insight that would come to define her practice: … Continue reading LUXE NEW YORK STYLEMAKER: Maya Freelon
Home has never been just one place for Phoenix-based painter Papay Solomon. His mother was pregnant with him when the First Liberian Civil War drove his family to neighboring Guinea. Later, political unrest forced Solomon and his family into refugee camps. Before migrating to Arizona at age 14, he found home in the faces around … Continue reading LUXE NEW YORK STYLEMAKER: Papay Solomon
Monique McIntosh 