Andrew’s primary source of inspiration comes from comic books, lore, and his favorite shows like My LIttle Pony or the Smurfs. In his art he takes these different sources of inspiration to make art “mash-ups”, creating new worlds for characters like “Count Smurfula”. He is deeply interested in philosophy, politics, and social justice, and can often be heard talking passionately about these topics with others. His knowledge and his opinions about horror movies can also be a source of reference that he draws from to add to his own stories.

Austin has been attending Imagine That! For several years and it has given him a chance to create and find ways to express his unique and often humorous point of view. Austin’s work deals a lot with structure, patterns and vibrant color choices. His work usually revolves around robots or landscapes of places he’s been, that include a lot of abstract detail and intricate pattern work.

Brandon creates imagery based off of his favorite moments, places, and experiences shared with others. Creating works about his time on his Grandfathers farm in Montana, the Badlands in North Dakota, his visits to carnivals, as well as experiences that happened the day he is working. Brandon not only makes work almost completely from memory, but the objects he draws, such as farm and carnival equipment, is made with nearly perfect proportions and scale, not forgetting the smallest detail. Brandon’s work also contains an element of pattern, as he’ll often draw the same object over and over. Brandon is a great piano player and is able to learn new songs just by listening to them. During his time at Imagine That he has greatly improved and expanded his skillset with his willingness to try any new medium.

Buzz will work with just about any medium and isn’t afraid to get a little messy in the process, but his art nearly always contains the same characters. Buzz Lightyear, Kyle Crayon and their friend David go through different adventures through Buzz’s work each day. Kyle Crayon has found life through Buzz's large drawn, cut-outs, plaster sculptures, ceramic pieces and paintings. Sometimes he is creating events for Buzz Lightyear and Kyle Crayon, like their upcoming wedding, and sometimes the two characters fight and he resolves this with heart-felt apology letters between the two. He has made a world for his characters and tells the story of them through his art.

David’s motto is “Snakes do what snake does”, and he certainly follows that motto, because David makes the kind of art he wants to make, unconcerned with others approval. At any time David can be found drawing, building, painting snakes and making work that contains humorous adult content.

Debbie likes to explore when creating art and to not be bound to any one specific medium or style. Debbie has a great personal confidence that she injects into her work, sometimes drawing her favorite movie characters and others designing and making herself “Hollywood” costumes that display her inner rock star.

Donald's work is a fascinating melding of of shows, sports teams, and the supernatural that he mixes with his own surreal qualities. He utilizes mixed media techniques in his work, creating booklets with 3D collage elements or charcoal and ink drawings of dreamscapes and text.

Emily is an artist who is ready to try and learn any new mediums, but she tends to enjoy more tedious work. Recently she has started creating patterned pieces by filling in multiple sized squares with color, the result resembling a mosaic or weaving.

Erin is a self-proclaimed “diva”, and if there is a camera nearby, it’s almost a guarantee that she will bestriking her most fierce pose. The focus of much of her work pulls inspiration from her favorit movies and TV shows, especially Coyote Ugly and Power Rangers. She creates video, collage and drawings based on these interests. When she is not working on these, she is usually working on her “Seaweed” series, which are beautifully repeated three color shapes. She has made hundreds of these since her time at Imagine That in multiple mediums.

Gabe is a character in the truest sense of the word and his goal is just to make you laugh. He often shows up dressed as a different personality each day - a hyperbolic french artist, a movie director, a basketball coach or a CEO - staying in character throughout the day. He also loves WWE, and will draw elaborate wrestling scenes with his favorite wrestler as the victor.

Jacob loves dinosaurs! Most days he can be found drawing a t-rex in a vivid landscape of mountains and volcanoes. While he will try mediums other than marker, he always returns to marker drawings of dinosaurs and has completed seemingly endless stacks of his drawings.

Johnny is a story-teller at heart. Shortly after starting at the studio, John’s work began to encompass personal ideas and opinions, touching on his feelings about religion, geography, and politics. His work is highly influenced by his personal experience of historical events and pop culture high points from the 60’s through the 80’s. Working primarily through collage or map-making, he uses these references to make poignant and often hilarious statements about the world in which we exist.

Joe is a talented illustrator, inspired by anime style drawing. He puts tremendous amounts of time in the practice of perfecting his own style, being sure to get correct proportions and attemping different angles of his figures. He sometimes draws from anime references and other times he draws his own original characters.

Justin has been attending Imagine That since 2015. He’s a quiet, stylish young artist who enjoys video games, music and sports. When at the studio he works with works primarily with acrylic paint and watercolor. Using a bright color palette, he works by layering up contrasting brush strokes to create deeply saturated abstract pieces.

When Kerri first came to Imagine That, she already had a practice in place. She would tediously scour through the dictionary or thesaurus and find words that related to a theme, writing down the word and it’s phonetic spelling in interesting patterns and colors. Once at the studio, staff introduced her to embroidery, which she quickly fell in love with. She began taking her lists and applying them to embroidered pieces, resulting in beautiful tapestries of language.

The common thread that connects all of Kevin’s work, whether it be visual or musical, is the idea of social equality, justice and the guiding code of his own personal morality. Whether depicting historical events alongside quotes of tolerance and perseverance, or developing his own stories, characters and illustrations, this theme is apparent. Kevin has a deep and personal connection to his art, expressing his triumphs and struggles through his work. Kevin has created several different songs here in our music studio, as well as a comic called “The Shocking Shockbolt”, which he’s been developing through traditional and digital illustration over the past couple of years.

Lee has been attending Imagine That since 2012 and from the beginning has been one of our most prolific artists. His mother discovered her son had a “God-given ability as an artist” when he was 5 years old. Lee’s ability to draw has greatly improved and his creativity has expanded, according to his mother. He has been given the opportunity to explore many different kinds of art as well as an opportunity to be a part of an active community by contributing
his own special skills. He and his art have received a positive reception in the Kansas City community and elsewhere. Lee’s drawings have been curated by national, regional and local art historians and curators. In 2016 his work was accepted for an international show in Cork, Ireland. Lee continues to expand
his skill set and knowledge of different mediums, while honing his expressive and abstracted personal style.

Lesley fears no medium, nor is she afraid of getting messy. She carries the evidence of her work on her hands and clothes, after she deeply absorbs herself into a painting or sculpting project. Some of Lesley’s most successful works have been an ongoing series of her interpretations of animals, flowers, or monsters. These works have given her a chance to showcase her various approaches to creating. One moment drawing, coloring with pen and colored pencil and the next with marker and oil pastel. No matter what she is working on, one thing can be said, Lesley is having fun.

Leslie’s work carries themes of family, celebration and togetherness. She often draws pictures of people gathering for holidays and special events. When she is not creating drawings with this sense of fellowship, she can be found making epic fairytales in which she is the princess, or silly short stories that playfully poke fun at some of her favorite friends. She finds joy through her art, whether it be drawing, writing or dancing.

Marcus is a jack of all trades and a friend and motivator to many of his peers her at Imagine That. He is willing to try any medium and encourages others to do the same. He never gives up when he attempts something and will continue to try until he feels accomplished what he’s set out to do. Currently he is working on intricate, brightly colored patterns using markers and inks. Originally inspired by the work of another artist here at Imagine That, Marcus has evolved these drawings into something truly his own. He continues to expand his skills and find inspiration in the smallest places.

Mark likes coming to Imagine That, because he has enjoyed draing since he was a kid. He says creating art helps him keep calm. A lot of Mark’s work centers around his love of Japanese and Chinese culture, more specifically anime and manga. Mark has created his own characters as well as drawing portraits of his favorite characters, choosing to draw them from the moments he finds the most personally impactful. Mark has also worked in more theatrical mediums, like audio, video, and performance. He has helped host promotional podcasts for the studio, recorded his own movie review videos and created an original performance piece.

Michael’s art focuses on process, and becomes more about the act of making than the end result. When working, it is important to Michael that he finishes what he starts. No matter what he is working on, he often finds ways to streamline his art-making, creating his own assembly line process. His work contains elements of repetition and color variation, while often using mediums or objects he has made himself, such as puff paint, paper mache, or hand-made paper. Michael enjoys sharing his knowledge with others, often teaching skills for a current project to others and encouraging them to join in in the process.

Michael is a lover of music and movies. His drawings and watercolors encompass these interests in sports figures, beverages, musicians, movies, and superheroes. Michael often makes long and detailed lists, outlining up to 100 musicians or movies on a piece of paper at a time. His work is methodical and unique in his choice of mark making using several lines and sections to create a sense of movement and character. The portraits that he creates periodically
overlap these lists, fusing his literal and listed interests with figurative shapes.

Parker’s work reflects his personality; organized, detailed, and thorough. Parker creates many works dealing with patterns, grids, repetition, and re-purposing. Parker’s process relies less on traditional art forms and more on utilizing or incorporating an object that would otherwise be discarded. Adding more common mediums like thread, yarn, or wood, he gives these objects a new life and a place to exist.

Rachel’s work could best be described as a symbolic language. Colorful words and images draw your attention as they overlap and move playfully on paper. The subject of Rachel’s work centers around her favorite places and things. Whether it be repeated smiling bunnies, hot pink cheeseburgers, or a bundle of balloons, the result of these bright and simple patterns are somewhat reminicient of a joyful cave painting.

Rickey’s art and designs are reminiscent of patterns found in tapestries. Using mostly inks on paper, he creates dynamic compositions sometimes drawing connections to his interests in tattoos, biker culture, and Native American design. He shows a strong attention to positive and negative space, color interaction, and color theory. Rickey is prolific in making his drawings, and since his arrival at Imagine That! in 2012, he has made hundreds of designs and has shown work in multiple venues throughout the Kansas City area.

Stacy’s primary creative outlet is craft. She enjoys crocheting, weaving, and ceramics. Her work is usually centered around utilitarian items or pieces she feels would make good gifts for friends or family. She is friendly, funny, and a romantic at heart, ready to make friends with just about anyone.

Troy has been attending Imagine That since 2012 and in that time he has worked with many mediums in several fields of art. A lot of Troy’s work dabbles in the world of abstract minimalism, celebrating mark-making and color choices that create depth and movement. His most successful pieces have a strong grasp of layering and planned color theory. As a musician and artist, his work is inspired by personal experiences like addiction, love, and loss.

Von is a quiet artist, working hard on his pieces from the time he arrives until the time he leaves. His drawings show the work of an artistic hand that has been practicing for years. He displays high levels of knowledge with technical abilities like light value, mixing of colors, proportion and composition. He often references various video game characters in his drawings, but will work with nearly any subject matter, and excels in mediums like charcoal, oil paint and gouache.

Winzell is a lover of laughter, color, and music. He can talk the day away about his favorite bands and songs with whomever will listen while working on his unique visual compositions of brightly colored shapes and symbols. Often using a combination of watercolor and paint pen, his flowing background colors and geometric foreground shapes create a structured, yet whimsical landscape.

Zach came to Imagine That with an already expert set of painting skills, but also a desire to master other mediums. He gravitates toward landscape imagery and the soft colors and brush stokes he uses creates a dream-like quality in his paintings. Zach continues to introduce himself to new skills and ideas, expanding his capabilities and curiosity.