Laura DiLeone has participated in the Wet Paint Festival for several years. DiLeone enjoys painting in nature. She indicates, “The challenge of capturing natural light is captivating to me. I look for color where it normally isn’t. Color and light become the focus in all my paintings.”

“I am a lifelong painter. I pursued a career in the fashion industry, which allowed me to utilize my sense of aesthetics and design, to support my family as a single mother and preserve my aesthetic independence. But I was always a painter.  Throughout my school years,  then later living and studying in New York City I had the opportunity to meet and work with highly regarded painters, all while honing my own vision. Now with my daughter grown and with the liberation of time I continue to immerse myself in my work and develop my painting process.

I am inspired by the works of Matisse, Richard Diebenkorn, and Ellaine de Kooning. My objective is to strike a balance between realism and abstraction. I try to portray the feelings that the images evoke in me with the goal to create a shared and intimate experience with the viewer. “

Inspired by visiting the Wet Paint Festival in the Stony Brook Harbor area in 2014, Stony Brook resident James Engelbert began to explore the joy of painting in the Three Village area, enjoying the beautiful parks, gardens, and waterfronts along the way.

Craig Marta began art making in earnest during his high school years shooting and editing 16mm film shorts and experimenting with stop-action animation techniques. He has studied fine art at the New York State University College at Buffalo, and found his most valued training at the Art Students League of New York with instructor Jack Henderson.

Through Henderson he developed an appreciation and aptitude for classical form and traditional working methods. An excellent draftsman and an acute observer of the human form, Marta continues to explore the subtleties of the figure through a broad range of materials and techniques. 

In his contemplative landscapes, Mr. Marta, painting in Maine, Massachusetts, and on his native Long Island seeks to capture the vanishing beauty of the land and mans’ impact on his environment. 

His work is represented in private collections, and the collection of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Larry Johnston attended Southampton College, graduating in 1978 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Professionally, he worked as an illustrator in the Training Department of Grumman Aerospace Corporation. In 1994 Larry and a group of friends opened a gallery in Bellport. Living on Long Island, the coastal landscape was a natural choice of subject matter. A timely and favorable review in the New York Times caught the attention of the owner of Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton where he was represented from 1995 until it’s closing in 2015. He is now represented by the William Ris Gallery in Jamesport, NY and the Louisa Gould Gallery in Vineyard Haven, MA. Continually seeking to refine his skills, Larry has attended workshops with locally and nationally recognized artists including Joseph Reboli, David Curtis and Don Demers. Larry is a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA).

Anthony Davis is a self-taught artist who is known mostly for his award-winning maritime scenes and seascapes in pastel and oil. He is a Signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists and artist member of the Salmagundi Club, and Lyme Art Association. Anthony’s seascape themed artwork has been shown nationally in museum exhibits, and his work has been featured on the cover of Pastel Journal, as well as International Artist. His paintings have been awarded the gold and silver medals for pastel at The Salmagundi Club’s Annual Members show. He has also taught his approach to seascape painting and given numerous demonstrations across the country, and currently teaches plein air painting during the summer. Anthony is represented by numerous galleries on Long Island, New York and in Connecticut. When not painting, Anthony is a practicing Physical Therapist for 30 years and has just completed his first novel.

Linda Prentiss is a painter and printmaker from Ronkonkoma, New York. Her paintings range from landscapes of the East End of Long Island to still life and portraits. She studied at Stony Brook University and C.W. Post. Among her teachers were Robert White and Stan Brodsky. Linda now teaches at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead, and exhibits at several galleries on Long Island.

Artist Steven Behler writes, “There’s nothing like going face-to-face with nature—the challenges that it brings every time I go out to paint is exhilarating yet peaceful, all at the same time.

Producing paintings of inspirations from nature help me to fulfill my desire to create an impression of the fleeting beauty that surrounds us all, yet passes us by if we don't pay attention to it. I try to capture it before it is gone in the moments as we move through life."

Jack Dambrosio is an artist and teacher from Long Island who specializes in printmaking. Being interested in art from a very young age, Jack always had a fascination with drawing and bringing his work to life. In May of 2022, Jack graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s in Studio Art with a concentration in drawing and printmaking. Following graduation, Jack went on to work with Gallery North as a teacher and printmaker as well as with other local art organizations. This will be Jack’s second year participating in the Wet Paint Festival. 

Christine MacDonagh’s background includes Fashion Illustration and Design, Home Decor Design, Floral Design, and experience as a Fabric Coordinator. MacDonagh enjoys painting and drawing in oils, pastels, watercolor, and collage. She is inspired by people, florals, still life subjects, landscapes, and all brightly colored things. Recent awards: First place-  Patchogue Arts council plein air competition; Honorable mention-Bellport South Bay Arts plein air competition

  Linda Davison is an accomplished and award winning artist with a studio in East Quogue, NY. 

Her passion for color is evident in everything she creates in oil, watercolor and pastel. The artist finds the scintillation and vibration between colors challenging and exciting. Linda is an avid plein air painter & traveler. Her portfolio includes work from Provence, France, the Greek Isles, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, the American Southwest and the New England coast. You may see her locally, painting with the Plein Air Limner Society (PALS). 

  Linda presents classes, demos, workshops and loves sharing her expertise. She conducts painting parties at The Reboli Center for Art & History in Stony Brook, NY.  These events raise funds to honor and continue the legacy of artist Joe Reboli, one of Long Islands’s most important and beloved artists. 

A graduate of the Pratt Institute and the High School of Art & Design, JoAnn Nichols has spent her career as a graphic designer working in publishing.

“My true love has always been drawing and painting—particularly architecture,” the artist shares. “This has led me to develop a sideline doing house portraits.” In her studio and on-location, Nichols has taught drawing and painting using pastels and watercolor. Nichols adds, “I find great satisfaction in seeing my students developing their skills.”

In addition to teaching, Nichols joins the Urban Sketchers community, painting and drawing on-site in New York City.

Deyo received a BFA in art at Syracuse University as well as a MS in Special Education. She has been published in the Discoveries column of the New York Times. Currently she enjoys traveling and painting while teaching in Setauket.

“It was through my grandparents that I acquired the love of music and the arts,” artist Oscar Santiago shares. “My mother noticed I was interested in drawing at a young age and encouraged me to pursue art. As an adult, I did continue my education with the techniques based on the old masters of academic Realism.  Since retiring, I have been able to pursue my passion for art full-time. Traditional oils are my preference for most of my work, but I also enjoy the challenges of pencil/charcoal for the portrait and figure.”

Santiago participates in group and juried exhibitions. He is often either painting in his studio, attending painting/sketch groups, or enjoying the challenge of creating the many beautiful sights of Long Island.

"Plein Air painting, for me, is the best way to get to the core of anything worth exploring. While outside with paint and panel, the attempt to capture the essence of what I am looking at presents an exertion of challenges. The initial choosing of a good spot, the laying in of the paint, the changing weather, and the anxious hope that something good will come of it are enough to exhaust me after a two hour session. But I believe there is nothing better for a painter than to go outdoors and set up the portable ease. I literally feel most alive when I am outside painting and realizing what I love to do most. The working process of interpreting with paint burns deeply into my memory: the subject, the weather, the interactions with bystanders, the moving patterns of light and shadow. All of these things allow me to grow as a painter. "

Lewis Henry Sawatzky has painted in the Setauket and Stony Brook, New York, area over the last five years, with a particular love of painting plein air.

"I am living out my passion to paint a lot.

To allow what’s in front of my canvas to express the beauty that’s singing.

Whether l am in trees, by water or amidst the Avalon preserve yellow flowers or in my studio, this is the gift. What shows up is icing on the cake.

Honing my craft as an artist stated in western Canada, then New Mexico, Florence the wonderful and now Long Island.

 I’ve been a life time student, with many fine teachers but am largely self taught."

Marlene Weinstein is an award-winning photographer, mixed-media, and cyanotype artist based in Setauket, New York. As a self-taught artist with a background in technology and fine arts, she is recognized for her painterly style that emphasizes creativity and mood. Captivated by nature, Weinstein seeks to preserve the memories of the local shifting landscape through art. She creates her mixed-media pieces using a range of materials and techniques, such as hand-painting her black and white photographs with Pan Pastels or layering her images with Japanese paper and acrylic mediums.

Weinstein is also a proficient cyanotype artist, exploring the boundaries of this alternative photographic process. She has exhibited widely in art galleries and fairs, with her work held in numerous private collections.

Angela Stratton was inspired to become an artist in her early years of employment at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. While wandering the great halls of the Metropolitan, Stratton notes, “I was immensely intrigued by the great masters and the style of Realism. Therefore, I sought my education in the masters' tradition of academic Realism. The masters have a strong impact on my work, but I adhere to expressing and developing my own style. My strong points have always been the portrait and figure. Since retiring, I have been able to focus more on still life and plein air landscape painting, as well. Whether working in my studio, in sketch groups, or outdoors, I love being able to dedicate each and every day to the ‘art of creating.’”

Courtney Young is an Award-Winning artist and teacher. Her work has been featured in the Pastel Journal and Artist’s Magazine. In recent years, Young’s focus has shifted from still life to landscape painting. Her work is a documentation of her interactions with the natural world.

“The process of creating a painting is a journey that is of tantamount importance,” the artist notes. Capturing the ephemeral nature of the light, energy, and raw beauty of an environment to share with others is the ultimate goal of her process. Young captures her subject matter in the field with plein air studies, which she then transforms into larger paintings in the studio.

Judy Stone’s work in art began as a medical illustrator and evolved into the fine arts. Much of her recent work focuses on the human condition through the human figure and landscape. Her work’s narrative often explores the psychological struggles we need to understand to forge a positive identity. Subject matter, composition, and light all serve to engage the viewer, and to provide a shared opportunity for acceptance and appreciation of life.

Exhibitions featuring Stone’s work have included local and virtual shows, and a solo show in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

Artist Rae Zysman writes, “My art is a response to the world I see around me. Something or someone just strikes me as beautiful. That is when I want to take the time to really explore its beauty in paint. I feel that it is the brushstrokes in a painting which give it life and energy. Art, like life, is a problem-solving process. There is a powerful relationship between the artist and the painting in process. I try to complete each work to solve whatever obstacles I encounter. Sometimes the painting goes quickly and easily. Other times it is a struggle. But it is when I feel most alive.”

Pamela Herbst is a painter and graphic designer living in Stony Brook, NY. Her paintings are 'enhanced and focused moments in time' and encapsulate a feeling of being there. She believes that Art is an inspiring resource that offers the opportunity see different perspectives, be informed, and evoke emotion. Art can also provide a retreat for us to focus and recharge our spirit. The images she most enjoys creating are those that invite the viewer to feel peace and warmth.

Flo Kemp is a full time artist who specializes in etchings and oils.  Her theme  is the landscape- be it land or sea.  She markets her work in outdoor art festivals from Maine to Florida where she has won many awards.

She is focused on art and runs a figure drawing group at Gallery North , Setauket and is an active member of CLWAC-Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in Manhattan 

Kate Schwarting is curator at Gallery North and an interdisciplinary artist. She enjoys the challenge of working en plein air as well as exploring the relationship between the artist and the environment. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Microbiology Department at Oregon State University as well the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt.

A native of Long Island, Esther Marie actively exhibits in many art galleries, museums, and auctions both nationally and internationally. She was awarded a fellowship and selected for a renowned artist residency at The Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York as well as a full scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center.  She concentrates on Plein Aire and abstract painting.  Esther Marie was named “Best in Show” at the Northport Plein Aire event.  She lives and works as an art instructor (in person and zoom) privately, with the Art Guild, and adjunct professor on Long Island, New York.

Being drawn to landscape and its cyclical changes, Esther Marie creates an essence of nature with watercolor.  While observing different landscapes, she translates them into repeating patterns, exaggerated colors, and contrasting elements.  These notations form the basis of both her abstract and impressionist paintings. 

“I started painting seriously in 2018 after retiring following a long career as a physician-scientist. I started my painting education in local adult classes and internet courses. After dabbling with pastels and acrylics, I settled on oil painting as a medium because of more vibrant colors and ease of blending. I have been drawn to painting portraits and especially enjoy painting scenes that tell a story. My paintings have been exhibited at the Emma Clark Library and the Jazz Loft. I have sold numerous paintings at the Clothesline Exhibit in East Hampton over the past 5 years. One of the things I like best about painting is meeting and learning from local artists. The camradery and encouragement I’ve experienced in the art world is a welcomed change from the demanding criticism that I formerly dealt with as a medical scientist.” 

“In my art I try to capture the glory and awe of this wondrous world. Painting in plein air allows me to be more free and spontaneous, while the continual movement of clouds and the change of light can be quite challenging. I am forever inspired by the beauty of Long Island, particularly the North Shore with its many creeks and marshes. I hope that my paintings reflect for you a moment of time in a beautiful place.”

“They say not to say "I like to paint " in a bio but the actual act of painting ,making marks, colors, layers, etc. To have something come out of it that you actually are satisfied with is many times more important to me than the subject or statement or "expression" The feeling of actually creating something and say I made that!”

“I am a painter working primarily in oils and recently in watercolors.  My training includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Boston University and a Masters in Art Therapy at New York University.  My career as an art therapist involved working in adult psychiatry. I began to focus on treating children and adolescents after earning my Doctorate in Psychology at Pace University.  Now retired, I have returned to painting full time.”

Theodora Zavala received a BA in Fine Art from Queens college. 

She studied pastel portraits with Master Pastelist, Dan Slapo, PSA, oil portraits with Rob Silverman and oil landscapes with Howard Rose.

Theodora is currently working in oils, exploring different visual settings. One visual setting she is exploring in her still lifes is reflections and transparencies using glass as her subject. She likes to create drama in her still life compositions by placing her subjects in a setting with dramatic lighting.  

In her landscapes she concentrates on the lights and shadows.  

She has recently had two solo shows, one February 2022 and another February 2023.  Another solo show will be July 2023 at the Garden City Library. 

There were two articles written on her art, one in the Long Island Herald, February 16, 2023 and one written by Joseph Kellard, an independent writer.

Regina Halliday is a Long Island visual artist painting images of nature and landscapes. Her paintings are mostly acrylic on canvas and her signature work consists of bright, bold colors, using expressive brushwork resulting in an impressionistic style. Her work allows her to constantly explore new places inviting the viewer to see nature in diverse ways. Regina studied under award winning commercial artist Louise Scutirro and completed Watercolor and Acrylic painting courses at Suffolk Community
College and Studio Drawing at Dowling college.
Since 2004, she has been instructing Acrylic and Watercolor painting. She
currently exhibits with the Wet Paints Studio Group and The North Shore Art Guild. Her painting, “Rain Song” won her 2nd place in the 2013 Wet Paints members show and recently “Mosaic” was awarded 2nd place at the
2019 member show. Her work is in many private collections in the United States.

Marlena Urban is an MFA student at Brooklyn College and lives on Long Island, NY. They are obtaining a Master of Fine Arts Degree at Brooklyn College with a concentration in Painting and Drawing. They mainly work two-dimensional in drawing and painting, along with some multimedia, printmaking, and sculpture. 

In their recent work, they focused on the intrinsic desire to define identity and how the multiplicity of identity can carry infinite labels. By paying close attention to isolated images from their life and removing them from their broader context, the subjects in their paintings are a stand-in for the condition of multiplicity, questioning their pre-existing importance. They do this by creating a tunnel vision of the scene by blocking out the bigger picture entirely. A subject’s multiplicity is emulated through expressive colors and brushwork as the idea of the ‘other’ self is explored through the use of its shadow. 

Debrah Malater is an artist, writer and content creator. Her professional background
includes working as a visiting artist in a NYC peer counseling program making videos
with teens on social issues, a video news journalist and graphics producer for big
media, an adjunct professor at Hofstra University in the Radio, TV, Film department, an
Upper School English teacher at Portledge School, and currently working as a private
tutor teaching creative and academic writing. A published writer, exhibited artist, and
award-winning educator, she is also webmaster for writers, artists, and non-profits. With
an MFA in Interactive Computer Arts from School of Visual Arts, Debrah has a special
interest in multimedia storytelling.

Fiona Agababian has always been drawn to the arts from a young age. With a background in painting, drawing and printmaking, she graduated from Stony Brook University and is currently pursuing her passion for inspiring youth. She often uses expressive brushstrokes and marks throughout her work and is influenced by the people,
places and objects that are present in her life. Fiona’s goal is to continue to explore the arts while encouraging others to find their passions through creativity and imagination

Rosario Barry, Deborah Bohrer, Sheila Breck, Donna Butcher, Al Candia, Jacqualine DuBarry, Christine Dupuis, Paul Jay Edelson, Valerie Farrugia, Janine Harrigan, Claire Huffman, Warren Jacobson, Laurence Johnston,Kathleen Kelson, James Kelson, Jane McGraw-Teubner, James Minet, Joseph Napolitano, Annette Napolitano Jeff Potter, Rima Potter, Sara Rivinius, Barbara Jeanne Siegel, Lynn Staiano, Robert Stone, Carmela Taliercio Cohn, Susan Trawick, Patricia Yantz