Fine Arts Instructors - Saddlebrooke Fine Arts Guild

HomeFine Arts Instructors

Do you like to teach art techniques and creativity to others? If sharing is your passion, sign up here to teach a class.

Karen Brungardt—the Guild’s former Board President and frequent teacher for art classes as well as Art & Wine and Art Sampler events.

Q: What are your artistic specialties?
A: I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, then went on to become a medical doctor. Around 1990, I started taking watercolor classes in the evening at our local community college and fell straight in love with the medium. After retiring in SaddleBrooke, I started taking watercolor classes again and that’s become my specialty. My work is available in the Roadrunner Gallery, Absolutely Art, and the SAWG Gallery in Tucson; my website is www.brushmarks.weebly.com.

Q: How long have you lived in this area?
A: We moved here in 2002 to soothe my arthritis. I started teaching beginning watercolor classes after a few years because no one else was offering this skill level. We enclosed part of our patio into an art room for me, and that’s where I create most of my paintings. I’ve also found time to write and self-publish sci-fi/fantasy books and memoirs under my author name, K. E. Brungardt.

Q: What is your philosophy about teaching?
A: Make it fun! I teach by encouragement--telling students not to be so hard on themselves. We focus on their good efforts and opportunities for improvement with small adjustments. I like to show them step-by-step how to make a finished painting. I enjoy watching them accomplish something to take home whenever possible.

Karen's Gallery

Jeanine Colini—teaches drawing and watercolor

Jeanine Colini is from New York and earned her BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in 1981. After working briefly in NYC she headed west to Los Angeles in 1984 and founded her design company, Jeanine Colini Design Associates. She lived in LA until 2018 when she headed east—to Tucson!

During her 40-year career as a print designer Jeanine created publications for her corporate clients, among them: Southern California Gas Company, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, UCLA, Caltech, Sierra Health Services (Las Vegas), and Saint Philip’s in the Hills (Tucson).

Sweeping changes in the design industry in the early 2000s prompted Jeanine to put her “A to Zoo” animal alphabet to work. Created in 1981 as her senior illustration project at Pratt, the menagerie is her signature piece. You can see it on her web site (jcda.com/alphabets). “A to Zoo” has been exhibited and published internationally. It has appeared in the television series “Dynasty” and the movie “Three Men and A Baby.” Jeanine has original art in the personal collection of actor James Stewart.

Shifting her business focus from corporate design to art, Jeanine renamed her company Jeanine Colini Design Art. In 2020 she launched her website (jcda.com) where you can view and purchase her artwork. She offers originals, prints, cards and fine art merch. Jeanine now has a cactus alphabet, “A to Z Cactus” and numerous watercolor paintings and pastels inspired by the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert. Her favorite subject matter is nature, animals and, of course, alphabets. Jeanine creates “whimsical art to brighten your day!”

Jeanine is a Library Presenter with the Pima County Library. She has exhibited and taught art classes in 16 of their 27 branches. She also serves on the Murphey Art Gallery Committee at Saint Philip’s in the Hills.

Teaching philosophy: “Everyone with the desire to create art can acquire the necessary skills. Our artistic development is fueled by a willingness to learn and to use those experiences to grow creatively.”

Web Site

Instagram

Becky Easton - Oil Painter

Unlike most of the Saddlebrooke residents, I am a third generation Tucsonan and I have lived most of my adult life in the southwest. We moved to Saddlebrooke five years ago and having a casita studio was a dream come true.

I am primarily a self-taught artist who began my artistic journey when I retired. For most of my life, I dreamed of becoming an artist, but with my busy and complicated life, it wasn’t until I retired that I began this wonderful journey.

I was fortunate to find two local mentors to get me started and I followed up with several workshops at the Scottsdale Artists School, Tubac Art Center and workshops taught by local professional artists. I had the privilege of working under Nationally Recognized animal artists Gregg Beecham and Dustin Van Whechel, floral artists Kathy Anderson and Elizabeth Robbins, and landscape artist Kathryn Stats. I have received several awards and have sold my paintings in galleries in both Tucson and Oro Valley.

I enjoy encouraging and mentoring anyone to find their own path because learning to paint is one of the greatest joys of my life. Painting has taught me patience, to appreciate and see the world around me with a diﬀerent perspective, and has brought me great friendships and personal satisfaction. My art has been my closest friend for more than twenty years and I have learned that whatever we choose to do, be it painting, writing, golf or cooking…whatever excites us…the more we practice and experience, the better we become!

Deb Kress : Collage Artist

Deb was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and attended college as a fine art major.

She moved to Chicago where she was married to Rich now 56 years. Working in a gallery as a framer and continuing doing workshops in Chicago and Scottsdale Arizona. Watercolor was her medium until a workshop with Penny Peterson in Scottsdale after which she produced her Significance series. She was present when the Midwest Collage Society was formed, and it continues to meet today. Two books have been published incorporating her paintings, Cats on a World Wide Quest and One Bear and Ten Dogs. She teaches collage and facilitates the Artists Way series for the guild.

Deb's Gallery

Delys Nast

As a child of an artistic mother and granddaughter of a sculptor, Delys Nast grew up with pastels in one hand and brushes in the other, with the freedom to explore any creative outlet she could imagine, including a career in graphic design. Not afraid to get her fingers muddy with clay or dyed brown from mahogany wood stain, her passion for nature in an expression of creativity has evolved into many diverse skills across several types of media. Painting, woodworking, jewelry, lapidary... this list goes on and on and keeps growing. Pastel is her go to media which gives a beautiful soft texture to any canvas/paper with a myriad of colors available through blending and creative techniques. From artists like Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec and even Picasso, this medium has enjoyed a long history

SaddleBrooke resident for 3+ years originally from Minnesota
Member of the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild, Jewelry and Lapidary, Fiber Arts and Woodcarving.
Delys sells at both the Arts and Craft Fair and Fine Arts Show and Sale plus she does commission art pieces in both oil and pastel.
Nast Art Gallery

Renee Pearson-Hospitality Coordinator, teaches watercolor painting.

Q: What can you tell us about your artistic journey?

A: I always enjoyed art while growing up, so I completed a bachelor’s degree in art at California State University, Hayward. It’s important to paint what I know and enjoy – and to do it often! My work was in galleries in California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. I earned many awards from art associations in those states and in the Tucson area.

Q: How long have you lived in this area?

A: We moved here 12 years ago from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Before that we lived in northern California, where I owned a gallery in Pleasanton. We were drawn to Tucson for the wonderful weather that made it easy to golf year-round. Our casita became my studio.

Q: What is your philosophy about teaching?
A: I feel that everyone who is starting out should learn the basics…then they can go off on their own. I teach one-day classes here at SaddleBrooke, where my students can follow what I’m doing step-by-step to better understand my painting techniques. Most end up with a successful painting, and all students learn some new techniques.

Q: Where can we find your work?

A: In the Fine Art Shows in SaddleBrooke and in the Southern Arizona Watercolor Gallery at the Williams Center on Broadway in Tucson.

Theresa Poalucci: Artist

Theresa Poalucci is known for her vibrant, expressive work rooted in the colors and stories of the Southwest. Her journey as a painter began in childhood, guided by the creative influence of her mother, and has evolved into a dynamic second career after decades in journalism, publishing, and arts coverage. Now a full-time professional artist, Poalucci creates with an urgency and passion that reflects her deep connection to the creative process. She works primarily in acrylic, alcohol ink, and digital painting, with a palette rich in warm, saturated tones. Her subject matter ranges from desert landscapes and wildlife to symbolic compositions and whimsical narratives.

Poalucci’s work has been shown in multiple Arizona galleries, and she participates in over a dozen annual live exhibitions, as well as juried online shows. Theresa is a board member of two arts organizations and oversees public relations, advertising, and web presence for the Southern Arizona Arts Guild. She is a longtime writer with over 45 years of published experience and continues to contribute a monthly column focused on Southern Arizona’s art scene and the joys of art collecting. A member of several national art associations, including the National Association of Digital Artists, Theresa is passionate about supporting and mentoring fellow artists.

Website Instagram Facebook

Becky_Theresa_Delys_at_Longs.jpeg (edited)

Candy Schultheis

Candy Schultheis is an award-winning artist who lives and has her studio in Marana, Arizona. She has shown her work throughout Rhode Island, Florida, and Arizona, including many solo shows plus one international show. Her work is currently on exhibit at The Arizona Senior Academy and in several businesses around Tampa Bay, Florida and in her home studio. Candy also has 7 public works around the Tampa Bay area.

Schultheis was on the faculty of the Dunedin Fine Art Center teaching workshops and classes in Intuitive Painting, Mixed Media and Abstract Painting, and Independent Study, covering realism and more. Since moving to Arizona, she teaches at the Art Institute of the Sonoran Desert Museum, plus 2 private clubs. Candy also teaches private students in her studio. She gladly welcomes commissions and visitors to her studio.

Website

Sylvia Shanahan

A recent resident of Tucson, Sylvia brought her painting skills from Ohio to Florida and now to Arizona. Her work has shown in galleries in Ohio, Vermont, Georgia, and Florida, and now can be seen at the SAAG Gallery at Joesler Village in Tucson. After being juried into two online galleries, Saatchi Art and Zatista, she acquired new collectors all over the country. One of her paintings, “Ophelia’s Pond Revisited” was selected to be included in the Samsung Frame TV in 2016. Most recently, her painting “Shadow Play in Walsingham Park” was selected to be included in the LG TV. She currently teaches Colored Pencil and Oil Painting at Quail Creek, The Arizona Sonoran Art Institute, SaddleBrooke and is available for remote one-on-one instruction.

Website

Instagram

Pamela Whistance

Pamela was an art major in school and university, studied at the Art Student League in NYC, and holds a B.A. and a B.Ed. in Art and English. She has had a solo show at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa. She taught studio art at the University of Pretoria and at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. She has also held painting courses in southern France. She is a produced playwright and author (Klongs - Thai Waterways and Reflections of Her People).