Willow Rea Temple was born and raised on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where the ocean and wetlands have always been the captain of her heart. From an early age, she became fascinated with the shifting facets of the sea and its ability to maintain order within chaos. Often, the temporality portrayed within the shifting tides of the ocean (and our lives) is reflected within her art. Willow graduated from UNCW with a bachelors in studio art, focusing on print making and ceramics. Since then, shes moved around to a few different places, making her pick up a paint brush for its versatility and accessibility. Perhaps due to her more three dimensional background, Willow loves to experiment with mediums, building up thick and diverse layers upon her canvas. She uses a hodgepodge of things like oil sticks, acrylic, oil paint, charcoal, graphite, ink, pastels, textiles and collage. By using deep pigments and varying materials, her goal is to provide a sense of renewal the way wetlands do for her, and reveal a glimpse into a more fantastical world through colors, energy, and texture.

Meet Reddawn, a painter, surfer, mother and musician. Dawn has been a full time artist for the past 15 years on the Outer Banks of NC. Dawn loves to express herself through vivid colors without boundaries. Known for her modern land and seascapes, you can find her work in multiple galleries and shops along the East Coast. Her work is also shown throughout the beaches on many surfboards she paints by local shapers. "I'm constantly awestruck by the beauty of this place and try to never take this place for granted," says Dawn about living in a place that inspires her art.

Renee Crawford was born and raised in central North Carolina and currently lives in Raleigh. Ms. Crawford received her undergraduate degree from Temple University, where she studied painting, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon in 1986 and her Law Degree from Duke University in 1996.  In 2015, she began her life-long dream of working as a full-time professional artist. Ms. Crawford paints in oil, focusing on landscapes, portraits and commissioned work.  She has studied with international Master Impressionist Jerry Fresia as well as nationally-known artists Michelle Dunaway, Howard Friedland, Dan Gerhartz, Albert Handell, John Poon, Dan Beck and Dawn Whitelaw.  Her major influences are Joaquin Sorolla, David Leffel, Richard Schmid and Charles Movalli.  Ms. Crawford is a juried member of Oil Painters of America, as well as a member of the American Impressionists Society and the Portrait Society of America.  Her work is in private collections throughout North Carolina. “Growing up in Winston-Salem, I had the wonderful luck of being four hours from the coast and three hours from the mountains of our beautiful state.  We skied at Beech and Sugar Mountains in the winter, swam the waves at Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach in the summer, hiked the forests of the Piedmont in the fall and picnicked in the rolling foothills in the spring. I grew up with a deep love of the varied and breath-taking landscape of our state. Each painting is my effort to capture and share just a moment’s reminiscence of the wondrous colors, the exquisite design and the spectacular light I see every day living in this gorgeous place we call home - North Carolina.”

Matt Lusk realized his passion for photography on a solo backpacking trip through Indonesia and Australia in 2007. Since then his work has been featured in a number of magazines including Surfer, The Surfers Journal, Marlin Magazine, Our State Magazine, Saltwater Sportsman, and many more. He was voted Photographer of the Year for Eastern Surf Magazine and was a Red Bull Illume and Surfing Magazines Follow the Light Foundation finalist. Matt is known for swimming out in big waves to photograph surfers in action and braving the elements to capture unique and dynamic landscapes on the Outer Banks. His love for the ocean brought him to the Outer Banks in 2006 where he resides with his wife and two children.

My name is Kathryn Smith, I was born in England, and currently reside in Cary, NC. My mother was a wonderful artist, and I have had the privilege of taking classes with some extremely talented artists and mentors. I have painted some landscapes but my favorite subject is animals, and you can tell from my picture horses are close to the top of the list. When I am not painting, you will find me at the barn or in the garden.

My painting has been influenced by my love of the outdoors! I grew up along the western seacoast of Ireland, marooned in an area called the Burren, a place where the ancient rocks have secret conversations with the ocean. After some traveling in my twenties, I ended up in North Carolina and fell in love with its beautiful seasonal weather, pristine beaches and rugged mountains. From painting on occasion, I made the transition to painting full time during the pandemic. I am primarily self taught, and I continue to explore the creative process by taking workshops and connecting with other artists. As a contemporary representational artist with an impressionistic style, Annie's intent is to create art that is fresh and vibrant. Her zest to paint is fed by the places she knows and loves. These are places she often returns to again and again. Annie's strong connection to the environments that she paints influences her compositions. In simplifying the composition and not being overly explicit, her intent is to capture the effects of light, movement, mood and space in the landscape using value relationships and color. Annie's goal for each painting is to create a visual dialogue of opposing elements and to create a narrative within the two-dimensional space. Annie's landscape paintings are created using direct observation in plein air, photos and videos. Her memory of a place helps guide the painting verses a literal rendition of a scene. Annie's growth comes from her natural curiosity and interaction with the landscape.

American painter Jill Block is an abstract expressionist painter located in her home studio on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The self taught artist creates works that echo mature depth, form, contrast, composition and color. These components together form intriguing compositions. The key to her inspiration is found in music. From classical to modern artists she does not paint without music. Her artworks range from her small acrylic “Le Petit’s” to very large oil abstracts on canvas. With her eclectic style and passion for many different styles of painting you will no doubt find a piece of art that speaks to you.

Sarah Davenport has been painting professionally since 2021, though her career spans many artistic disciplines. She is a lover of adventure and nature (especially the coast and desert!) and particularly enjoys capturing both the emotion of a place as well as the human experience in her paintings. Primarily a soft pastel artist, Sarah loves to explore texture and color to evoke feeling in her works. She believes there is a certain magic in the creating process, and often leaves the edges of her paintings 'raw' so the viewer can share in the experience of how the painting 'emerges' from the paper. Sarah is drawn to coastal landscapes and children discovering the world around them. She loves collaborating with her collectors to create paintings of the people and places that touch their hearts. Sarah has spent much of her time by the sea; primarily on the Outer Banks, Florida's Gulf Coast, and California's Southern Coast. She currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with her three young children, who fortunately share her love of the ocean and enjoy adventuring to the sea as often as possible!

Stephanie Sheffield is a natural light photographer with a focus on landscapes and nature.  She loves showcasing the beauty of her home state, North Carolina.  Her photography goal is to simply capture and share the beauty of creation by God, the greatest artist of all.  She understands that things and even our own lives can change so quickly.   In her images, she strives to capture those fleeting “moments in time” and encourages others to slow down and treasure each moment as it is given by God.  The images she captures are not generated by AI or Photoshop.  They are true representations of the natural beauty of the world we live in.   Stephanie began her photography journey around 2015 when she was gifted a Nikon DSLR camera.  Being a lover of all thing’s nature related, she found herself drawn to that style of photography.  When she attended a WV landscape photography workshop in 2019, hosted by a talented friend and mentor Randall Sanger, she found her niche and her hobby quickly became an obsession.  Several of her images have been awarded 1stplace at local art shows.  Numerous images have been featured on social media by OurState Magazine, various tourism groups from NC and surrounding states, and used by photo printing companies such as ProPrints and SAAL Digital.  Although photography is not her full-time career at this point, it is her true love.  If you are around her long at all you will notice she is always drawn to the light!

Taylor Williams is an oil painter based in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where the coastline’s changing skies and seas serve as the foundation for her work. Her paintings delve into the contrast between serene calm and nature’s raw intensity, capturing the shifting colors and moods of the ocean, sunrises, and sunsets. Williams' technique emphasizes subtle gradations of light and color, creating an immersive experience that invites viewers to linger. Her artistic journey is rooted in the continuous exploration of the Outer Banks and beyond, drawing inspiration from diverse landscapes to create new and distinctive pieces. "Painting has always been a deep-seated passion for me. I’m drawn to the ever-changing beauty of nature, capturing moments that resonate with me. I find inspiration in the dramatic shifts that occur in landscapes, often within just a few hours. My focus lies in the subtle color changes and the nuances of light that reveal the character of each scene. Through oil painting, I strive to reflect these fleeting moments, inviting viewers to appreciate the intricate beauty of the world around us."

Meet Sandy, Owner and Artist of Hawkmoth Arts. Sandy has had a long career as an artist. Sandy started her undergraduate work at Carnegie Mellon. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Maryland Institute, College of Art. She worked for several years at the Walters Art Museum. Drawn to the idea of sharing art with others, and making sure art and creativity remain a part of human development, Sandy earned her master’s in Education and established and taught various art programs across the state of Maryland. After the birth of her second son, she decided to move to Virginia to pursue her studio arts career. Sandy is very dedicated to her studio practice and spend endless hours working through her creative process. Sandy is always pushing her work in new and innovative ways. This dedication ensures that all the work is original and one of a kind.​ Sandy's sculpture work  is created with the basic principles defining WABI SABI: Reverence for authenticity and earthiness, appreciation of the genuine integrity of natural objects and processes, seeing beauty in impermanence, transience and non-perfection.  Each and every piece is hand made with great care and precision. There is a great amount of time and attention given to the detail and overall aesthetic of each piece. The work is largely inspired by the vineyard and winery where she works and the surrounding forests/fields. Each leaf is hand selected for its shape and size. They are hand cut and hand crafted into a variety of bowls, trays, and hanging pieces. In addition to wine inspired work, Hawkmoth Arts has an overall naturalistic and rustic, yet delicate style where multiple themes of nature, spirituality and memory overlap. The process of creating the work involves a dedicated studio practice filled with experimentation and exploration. Creativity is essential to the work, and the artwork is continuously evolving.

Started in 2013 by artist Devin Mack, as a evolution from his previous business Mackwire, Drawn Metal Studios is a full service wire sculpture studio. Specializing in figurative sculptures of all sizes. Traditionally wire is manufactured by a process known as drawing. Where a heavy chunk of metal is pulled -or drawn- through progressively smaller dies until it becomes thin and malleable.  In a similar manner, over many years, Devin's innovative self-taught techniques have been drawn out and refined.

Liz McBain was raised in Raleigh, NC. With a lifelong passion for art, she began painting and drawing at a very young age.  In 2009, Liz won the Congressional Art Competition - NC District, where her artwork hung in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C from 2009-2010. After studying at Savannah College of Art & Design and North Carolina State University, she settled down with her husband, Jamie, and continues to raise their three children. She creates in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, and her handmade jewelry line, Riley James. Liz is the founder of The Duck Gallery, and also owns Tar Heel Trading Company, an American handcraft gallery, with her husband, Jamie.  She resides in Southern Shores, NC in the Outer Banks.

Todd Hale is a mixed media artist and photographer based in Nags Head NC and Richmond VA.  Since 1996 he has lived part of the year on the Outer Banks working as a portrait photographer while finding inspiration in the ocean and developing his art. In the off-season he is part of the vibrant art community in Richmond where he runs a working studio and gallery called Antennae.  The gallery is host to solo and group shows and is part of the First Friday Art Walk in the Historic Arts District downtown.  In 2003, Hale was among the founding group of artists and galleries that established a presence in downtown Richmond, leading to its eventual designation as a nationally recognized arts district.  In his work, Hale employs a vast array of methods and media including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and photography.  Recurring motifs and themes include forms and patterns which reference natural and mystical phenomenon.

Sarah Rozell White creates surreal paintings of human and animal-like forms. She uses many thin transparent muted bright hues of oil paint over layers of acrylic mediums that are the foundation of the unusual anatomies. In this way, Rozell’s work defies usual depictions of humans and animals by combining the two into one. Rozell’s work is slow, meticulously layered complex narratives that are meant to support experimentation and exploration. Sarah Rozell is an artist and curator living and working in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. She received her BA in Sociology and a minor in Fine Art from the University Of Virginia. Sarah has shown work in group exhibitions in Virginia, New York, Montana and North Carolina. In 2021, Sarah had her first solo show in Brooklyn, Sarah Rozell in Tall Closet curated by Alexander Page. Starting in 2022 Sarah has been represented by Artistellar (London, UK) and Bracket Creek Exhibitions (NY). Sarah is also part of the juried selection at Dare Arts (Manteo, NC).

Amy G. Snowden is a self taught watercolor artist. She began painting professionally in 2011 primarily as a commissioned portrait artist. Since then she has been included in numerous juried exhibitions and won several awards including three international honorable mentions. Other notable accomplishments include a painting in the book “Splash 16: The Best of Watercolor” and her portrait titled “Wisdom” is part of the Muscarelle Museum of Art’s permanent collection. In 2019, Amy combined her painting skills with her love of jewelry to create a line of one-of-a-kind pieces. Named for her grandmothers, Mary Maveline Originals features miniature original watercolor paintings sealed between glass and resin and finished with sterling silver. Mary Maveline Originals has won several awards and been featured in North Beach Sun Magazine.

Jackie Tury is an award winning artist living in Kitty Hawk. Where sky meets sea is her favorite place to be.  She is endlessly amazed and inspired by the natural beauty of the Outer Banks and is grateful to live in a place that speaks to her soul.   Jackie began painting during what she calls her “artful awakening” or “midlife metamorphosis” and has been painting ever since. She uses an intuitive painting process allowing each work of art to unfold layer by layer from the inside out with intuition as her guide. She begins by painting a positive affirmation across the blank canvas. She then focuses on the freedom and joy of the creative process—the colors, energy, emotion and movement of the piece as opposed to a predetermined image or outcome.  Her vibrant paintings ebb and flow between colorful abstracts and expressive seascapes. Each of Jackie’s paintings is full of color, joy and positive energy and she hopes that’s what they bring to you!

Noah grew up on the idyllic Outer Banks of NC, a third-generation artist surrounded by sand and sea. His father, the iconic local artist Rob Snyder, is responsible for many of the sea life murals we enjoy here in the OBX.  Noah's style and frame of reference are truly unique. As the Outer Banks' first professional surfer, Noah is widely known for his athletic endeavors. His Surfing career has taken him all over the world into the wilds of nearly every continent. This beautiful connection can be felt in each and every piece of his artwork.

Essie Somma is a visual artist whose practice explores intimacy, ecology, and identity through narrative painting, drawing, and printmaking. Her layered compositions blend surrealism, literary influence, and lived experience—using striking palettes, fragmented figures, and symbolic landscapes to examine the tension between tradition and transformation. Raised in the American South, Somma draws from personal memory, native flora, and regional subcultures to explore how communities root themselves in love, resilience, and interdependence. Her current work reimagines Southern U.S. coastal culture outside patriarchal frameworks, using indigenous plants and microclimates as metaphors for chosen family and collective care. Themes of tenderness, humor, and ecological resistance recur throughout her work, grounded in the belief that softness can be radical. As a full-time traveler from 2021 to 2025, she explored over 40 countries, investigating colonial legacies and cultural identity across developing nations. Interdisciplinary research remains central to her process. She has participated in six international artist residencies and exhibited in six countries across North America, Europe, and Asia. Somma holds a BA in Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and studied art history and marketing at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking at the University of Florida.

Born and raised in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Carson Davis has always enjoyed the arts. They were first a means of occupying her time in the winter, but soon became a therapeutic way to maintain her mental health, especially through grade school. Carson graduated Manteo High School in 2012 with honors and had plans to attend North Carolina State University to pursue environmental science. Upon arriving in Raleigh, she found little satisfaction or peace of mind from the path that laid before her. Realizing she was doomed to be a white-collar professional, Carson threw aside formal education and promised stability to pursue the endless stream of creativity radiating from within. When she returned home, tail between her legs but glad for it, Carson wrote a book of poetry, danced professionally in the local theater production, choreographed for other theater productions, and began her education anew at the local community college. Somewhere in between her four year journey for a two year degree, she sailed beyond the Gulf Stream, built an umbrella out of reading glasses, and cultivated her passion in metalsmithing. After graduating with an Associate’s in General Education in 2017, Carson gave birth to her daughter in January of 2018, who is her guiding light. In 2019, Carson started a jewelry business called Dvandva Design that primarily focused on her method of metal-manipulation, which can’t be found anywhere else. Along with forging her own metals, she became a master of heat patinas. It is with this process that she creates fine works of art. She also landed some of her work on the red carpet at the Oscars in 2020 by creating jewelry with this technique. Her greatest achievement, aside from her daughter, is that Cicely Tyson said she was ‘a gem’.

My current interests involve exploring two different media: watercolor painting in an impressionist style and bold acrylic abstracts. I sometimes incorporate paper, pastels, colored pencils, inks and found objects as part of the design. All of my pieces are framed, which I believe is an important part of the final product. Color and texture drive my work. Many other artists have inspired me, including Monet, Outsiders, Matisse, and Jacob Lawrence, to name a few. Since move to a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, I am more inspired by nature- the beach, harbors, vegetation and animals- than ever before. Currently, my work may be viewed and purchased at The Duck Gallery in Duck, NC, Dare County Arts Council in Manteo, NC, and the Chowan Arts Council in Edenton, NC.

Jackie Koenig studied fine arts at Christopher Newport University. Her artwork is inspired by nostalgic experiences and outdoor beauty. She specializes in landscapes, coastal scenes and commissioned work. Jackie and her family live in Kitty Hawk, NC, where she works at home as an oil painter. On a daily basis, you can find her painting, trying to keep up with her three boys and drinking lots of coffee with her husband.