A huge thanks to our patient and professional artists who participated in heart2heart 2022! Check back later for heart2heart 2023 artists.
Gina Budny
Gina is an artist and graphic designer based in Birmingham, AL. Born and raised in Montgomery, AL; design has always been an essential part of her being. Growing up in an artistic family, Gina was surrounded by those who shared a passion for both art and design. The constant presence of art led Gina to study both graphic design and art history at Auburn University.
Gina’s love for both art and graphic design enables her to create a wide array of abstract pieces. By working with acrylics and various metal leafs, she develops rich textural designs inspired by nature and her urban surroundings.
Inspiration Statement:
“Meeting Joseph for the first time was such a treat! Energetic, chatty, and constantly talking about his family, I knew it was a match! I came with some ideas for him and he quickly took to his own creative process. It was amazing to get to watch him be creative (even if we made a huge mess) as well as watch his mind unfold onto his canvas. From turtles to cats, clouds and smiley faces, his work reflects his ever-creative mind and is a special piece to view! A huge emphasis was put on the clouds. From there I created a more neutral piece to compliment his in a way that better suited my work. I think it is fun that each of ours have a similar message and are executed in different ways!”
-Gina Budny
Title of Piece: In The Clouds
Acrylic on Canvas with Resin
36×36″
Porter Rivers
Porter Rivers’ inspiration comes from the architectural details of southern homes, rolling farm hills, and river banks he grew up surrounded by in his hometown, Selma, AL. He has always had a love of drawing and expressing himself through art.
A graduate of Samford University, Porter found a passion in painting during a freshman year art class, where he also met his wife, Emily. While he transitioned to the business school, Porter continued painting as a hobby during his college years.
Porter’s work ranges from watercolor homes, to acrylic landscapes, to live wedding paintings, to original abstract pieces. He hopes to be able to bring and preserve memories in color through his artwork and loves interacting with each client.
Porter and Emily, an interior designer, currently reside in Birmingham.
Inspiration Statement:
“When I first met Jaxan and asked what he wanted to paint, he excitedly responded with “a tree.” As we talked about his free time, Jaxan told me about his love for getting outside and playing with his friends. It was a joy to get to watch Jaxan sit down to begin his piece, incorporating nature seen through his eyes. It has inspired me as an artist to see someone paint with a childlike spirit and express themselves through their work. Despite going though his battle with cancer, Jaxan’s strength and in encouragement is evident. I was inspired by Jaxan’s vibrant background color choice. I chose to use this in my piece, as it reminded me of Jaxan’s personality which easily brightens others’ days around him.”
-Porter Rivers
Title of Piece: Summer Day
Acrylic
24×36″
Christen Colvert
Christen Colvert grew up in Birmingham, Alabama with a love for painting and drawing as a child. This passion for creativity led her to Auburn University to earn her BFA with a concentration in graphic design. She went on to work in magazine publication at Southern Progress. While she enjoyed graphic design, something inside her kept yearning to get back to working with her hands and having more freedom of expression.
After her third child was born she had more time at home and began to pick up her paint brushes again. She works mostly in watercolor, painting landscapes. Nature is her biggest inspiration and exploring light, color and reflection. Practicing art for her is worship—a place of connection with her creator. It is her hope that each piece brings about a presence of peace, joy and calm into the space in which it is placed—a reflection of his glory.
Inspiration Statement
“When I had the chance to paint with Cole he knew exactly what he wanted to paint and seemed to have a goal in mind. He was confident in his decisions (from color choice to adding a #12 to the jersey for Tom Brady). He had a mentality of “I got this” and he just went for it. His questionnaire said his favorite place to visit was the beach “cause you can play in the sand and dig with a shovel.” I wanted to capture the idea of a getaway that created a place to be refreshed and restored. I wanted to create an image where you can almost feel the sand between your fingers and in essence take a piece of that getaway home with you.”
-Christen Colvert
Title of Piece: Refreshment
Watercolor
16×20″
Vicki Denaburg
I was born and raised in Amory, Mississippi. Even though I always had an interest in art, I never took any art classes in school. By the time I graduated high school, my interest was in fashion design. I moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1981 where I had an opportunity to become the Estee Lauder make-up artist for Neiman Marcus. I fell in love with color, layering and blending on faces. I met my husband, Eddie, in 1984 and moved to Birmingham to take a job as a cosmetic buyer for Parisian. After working as a buyer for 2 years I was then approached to become an Account Executive for Estee Lauder, which I did for the following ten years. After I had my two sons, Joseph, 29, and Matthew, 25, I decided to stay home and be with my boys. As they got older my desire to paint on canvas became stronger.
In 2002 I pursued my dream of becoming an artist. My passion for design has always been my inspiration in developing my art style. A big portion of my artwork is commissioned paintings which are created to be the perfect piece to complement fabrics, wall color and room design. I love helping to create that special piece that is the focal point of any room.
Inspiration Statement:
“Meeting and painting with Yandi was such a special opportunity for me. She was so energetic and spontaneous. She had a personality that I could tell never meets a stranger & enjoys being with people. Her favorite thing to do is to paint and draw, and she wanted to paint an abstract. Because I also love abstracts, it was an easy decision for me. I used her favorite colors, teal and red, and wanted to create something with a lot of movement that almost looks like the paint is dancing! I feel like this piece represents her happy, spirited personality!”
-Vicki Denaburg
Title of Piece: Minute by Minute
Watercolor
40×40″
Mollie Standifer
Mollie Standifer is a graphic artist originally from Jasper, Alabama currently pursuing her BA of Arts at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. While most of her days are occupied with digital design, she maintains constant creativity through more physical forms of the arts. As a designer, she strives to embody subjects through design, projecting not only their missions but their identities. Mollie creates with the reflection of emotion through her hands, passionate about the importance of incorporating more personal components into what artists create—specifically the inclusion of individuality; allowing the eccentric to become the norm.
Inspiration Statement:
“Creating beautiful work with Maddie was such a lovely experience. She was so excited to be there and immediately grabbed a brush to get started. Maddie is one of the most joyous individuals and she never runs out of hugs to give. All of her affectionate and eager energy was put into her painting of an ocean landscape—one of her favorite places to be. After hearing Maddie and her family’s story, I wanted to take inspiration from their heartening perspective on life despite all the challenges they have faced. Within water, there are so many values, the dark from the depths and the light from the reflection of the sun. I titled this piece “Reflection” to capture the variety of these values within people that is not so bright on the surface, but their light shines through. I wanted to include a spectrum of blue shades with striking golden abstract lines flowing throughout, creating reference to this happy light within us all.”
-Mollie Standifer
Title of Piece: Reflection
Mixed Media
30×30″
Anna Dickson
Anna Dickson moved to the Birmingham area ten years ago with her husband and three children to help plant Christ Church PCA in Trussville. Though she is a North Carolina native, this move was a bit of a homecoming, bringing her closer to her alma mater, Auburn University. After working as a Registered Nurse and raising her three children, Anna is now enjoying the artistic journey. She has always loved creativity, but in recent years painting has become the focus of her creative expression. Anna is inspired by the beauty of color, shape, texture, and their relationship to one another. These elements come together in her soft abstract style, through which you can expect a gentle flow, subtle movement, and softness with surprising hints of boldness. Anna considers it a true gift to bring joy to others through her art!
“From the first moment I met Daniel Logan, I was struck by his energetic personality and joy. Whether he was painting his favorite characters or talking about the things he loves to do, his excitement was contagious. Daniel Logan described his perfect day as, “A warm summer day or a cloudy day, having pizza for breakfast and spending the day playing in the creek at my Papa’s house.” I wanted to capture the simplicity and wonder of his “perfect day” with a warm summer sky and an inviting creek. It was such a joy to create this with DL in mind and it reminded me to embrace the “simple wonders” the Lord gives us every day.“
-Anna Dickson
Anne Corhern
Anne Howell Corhern, a Mississippi native, cultivated a love of drawing while young and turned her artistic skills into an architecture career. While in architecture school, Anne took her only painting class, “Watercoloring for Architects,” which introduced her to the possibilities of watercolor. Throughout her career, while managing commercial and educational design projects, Anne taught herself watercoloring on the side, eventually turning to painting more often as she reduced her work load to raise her daughter and son.
Drawn to the interplay of light and shadow in faces and landscapes, Anne works primarily in watercolor for its luminosity, transparency, and fineness of color. Anne also works in oils and in pen and ink, preferring the saturation of oil paint for landscapes, while reserving the precision of pen and ink for many of her architectural renderings of homes, churches, and other buildings.
Anne and her family have lived in the Birmingham area for almost a decade and now call Vestavia Hills home.
“Wearing his uniform, having just come from one of the first games of his season, Mikey arrived to paint full of excitement and energy. As we talked about baseball, he drew then painted a batter ready to knock in the game winning run. In creating my piece, I wanted to capture the similarities between a baseball game and Mikey’s journey through cancer. From a green bat to his pink cheeks to the grass stain on his knee, I wanted my player to convey the sense of youthful excitement and the delight in a game well-played. His gaze is focused on the ball contemplating the last out or the game-winning run. The ultimate victory has occurred, a win.“
-Anne Corhern
Tessa Glass
Tessa Glass is a native of Houston, Texas but now calls Birmingham home. While the University of Alabama brought her here, she could not imagine her life anywhere else. While serving as a brand director during the day, she deeply enjoys working creatively almost 24/7. Having always had a passion for the relationship and space between emotion and reality, she believes abstract art bridges the “gap” between the two. Tessa paints out of a response to her adoration for the way God commissioned the story of her life. She believes that when we step back from the mess, we often find a dance of figures, scribbles, and colors that form a story more beautiful than we could have planned for ourselves.
“Working with Abigail was such a lovely experience. She immediately jumped right into creating her piece— she was eager to learn and used almost every color in the rainbow. Abigail was absolutely full of joy the entire day, making my job pretty much effortless. Her love and energy was infectious which is something I really wanted to capture in my piece titled “Hope”. After getting the opportunity to meet Abigail and her sweet family I felt as though the word “hope” was present not only in our conversations but in their story. Rainbows so often represent this, which is why I wanted to include a variety of colors in this piece. The white abstract overlay is used to represent comfort and protection offered in Christ. By wrapping itself around the color it communicates the deep love that The Lord has for his children and that there is always hope peeking through.“
-Tessa Glass
Leslie Nunnelly
Leslie Nunnelly’s art journey began when her children were in high school. Having always enjoyed the creative process, she joined a small painting group on a whim and has never looked back. Her preferred medium is oil paint, but enjoys working with acrylic, watercolor and inks as well. Inspired by elements of nature, a conversation, color, interior design and textiles, she formed Leslie Nunnelly Art LLC in December of 2015. This is also the home of her textile company, Cocoon Silk Ribbon, which specializes in creating silk ribbons and table décor mainly for weddings, using a natural dyeing process.
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Leslie has lived in several different cities, eventually calling Birmingham home in 1979. She is married to her husband, Mark, and together they have four children and five grandchildren. She hopes to inspire her grandchildren with a love for the arts and looks forward to the day when they can all paint together in her home studio.
“My piece, entitled “Bubbly”, was inspired by Lauren’s love of both swimming and blowing bubbles. I had a lot of fun creating it! It’s colorful, fun and happy, just like Lauren! It was an honor for me to meet such a wonderfully courageous young girl!“
-Leslie Nunnelly
Andrew Lee
Andrew G. Lee is a full-time professional wildlife and sporting artist, inspired by the beauty and culture of the southeastern United States. Andrew works in a wide range of fine art mediums and blurs the lines between artist and artisan as he features his artwork on his handmade lifestyle goods and entertaining wares using fine woods and leathers, as well as his line of custom stationery paper goods. Andrew Lee operates his one-man fine art business, Andrew Lee Design, from his home studio in his hometown of Auburn, Alabama. Alongside his beautiful wife, Whitney, he is a proud father raising two young sons (and two sweet dogs) and is immensely grateful to be able to live out his God-given calling as an artist to reflect the beauty of creation in the work he undertakes.
“Robert is a cheerful, energetic, optimistic boy with a fire in his eye to enjoy life. In getting to know Robert, one of the things that Robert missed the most but looked forward to equally as much was the opportunity to swim in Lake Martin again. That struck a chord with me seeing as that’s one of my favorite places on earth, and I wanted to incorporate that somehow. When it came time to paint together, Robert had already decided on painting a tiger and he was very intentional about what he wanted to include in his painting. When it came time to paint a separate piece to depict Robert, I carried on with the theme of a tiger. And what better way to depict optimism and the feeling of looking ahead and swimming past the hardships of something like cancer than a bold, vibrant tiger cutting through the waters of Lake Martin? It’s my hope that this painting is well-loved and becomes a true force for healing and to the glory of God for pediatric cancer patients and their families.“
-Andrew Lee