Congratulations to Janet Miller and Cathy Tran - 2025 EAP Winners

Both artists receive a free booth at the Best of the NW Spring Show, April 12-13, 2025 and mentoring by NWAA Legacy Artist, Cheryl Brown. Be sure to stop by and congratulate them to support them in their first Best of the Northwest Show.

Janet Miller

“I am an artist and art teacher in Seattle, WA. I create artwork with mixed-media, including beeswax, encaustic pigments, graphite, oil paint, ink, and salvaged materials: scraps of old maps, antique sheet music, worn sewing patterns, well-used dictionaries, handwritten memories, and other remnants of our experiences in this problematic and beautiful world.

My artwork is greatly inspired by the social justice movements that I have connected with, witnessed, and learned from over the years: folks that work together to generate hope and resiliency, create safer ways to live and take care of each other, revolutionize love, family, and home, and hold transformative visions of new ways to live in the face of violence and oppression.

My latest body of work, “The Seattle I Remember,” remembers and celebrates some of the beloved places of Seattle, primarily on Capitol Hill, that have been replaced or displaced by high-end businesses in this time of rapid development. The paintings honor shared memories and highlight resilience. Queer people, artists and organizers are still here, even as we struggle to survive in our increasingly expensive city. Many of us are directly impacted by gentrification and need sources of hope so we can keep working for justice and equity. These paintings serve as a reminder that behind each replaced building is a history of community, struggle and resilience.”

See more of Janet’s work: https://www.planetjanetart.com https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlanetJanetArt and https://www.instagram.com/planet.janet.art/

Cathy Tran

“Drawn from my experience living as a neurodivergent, my work explores the instability of perception—how form dissolves and reassembles through the shifting lens of memory and experience. Reflections fragment, distort, and blur, revealing the limits of imagery as a system of meaning.

I approach each painting as a process of discovery, balancing structure and fluidity while navigating the tension between intention and spontaneity. My work is influenced by the world-building of magical realism in literature—authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, Haruki Murakami, and David Mitchell—as well as painters such as Susan Rothenberg, Winifred Nicholson, Francesca Molette, and Lila Holmes, who develop distinct visual languages within their work. I’m drawn to how they construct internal systems of meaning, where intuition and decision-making weave together to create compositions that feel elusive, yet are deliberate and impactful.

I begin first with speed and openness, by mapping out quick sketches using acrylic, or oil pastels— before slowing down to let the painting emerge. Layers accumulate gradually, each brushstroke informing the next, allowing movement and texture to organically shift the painting’s direction. I let the work rest, adjusting and responding over time until something appears that piques my interest and curiosity.

Light plays a significant role in my practice. I’m drawn to places where it behaves unpredictably— reflections on lakes, the glow caught between folds of petals, city lights at dusk. Since moving to the Bay Area, I’ve also become fascinated by fog—how it diffuses and absorbs light, constantly shifting the landscape into and out of focus. These fleeting visual experiences shape the refractive quality of my paintings.

The subjects that emerge in my work are often drawn from memory—impressions of places, light, and forms that have left a lasting imprint. Flowers frequently surface, recalling childhood gardens not as literal depictions, but as sensory recollections, softened by time and perception. My paintings exist in this in-between space, where familiarity and abstraction meet, mirroring the way perception itself remains fluid and ever-changing.”

See more of Cathy’s work - https://www.artxcathy.com Instagram: @cathy.paints

2024 EAP WINNERS

Rosie Port

“My artwork is created using high-quality watercolor paints, complemented by pen and ink. I work on cold-pressed and rough handmade watercolor paper, which provides a textured base and enhances the final piece. The paper’s absorbency allows me to use wet-on-wet techniques, creating unpredictable blends and interactions that add abstraction to my work. I layer watercolor before adding detailed linework with ink pens, gel pens, and paint pens to create movement, texture, and depth. A defining feature of my art is the use of gold ink to highlight and create focal points. I also experiment with materials like graphite, masking fluid, salt, plastic wrap, and sponges to explore textures and effects.”

Sarah Silverman-Pucci

“I'm very inspired by the nationalist artists of the 19th century in how I draw and paint plants and animals. I try to give my creatures realism, but also life and personality. My most popular pieces show a snapshot of life above and below water. People are frequently surprised when I tell them I paint with watercolor because of how tiny some of the details are. When painting details I sometimes use a 5 aught brush. I rely heavily on reference and have numerous plant and animal photos saved on my phone. Recently my husband who is retired Navy has suggested that I paint the jets from the various squadrons on the base near our home in Oak Harbor.”

2023 EAP WINNERS

Lee Morrison

“Using abstraction, I paint colorful, fractal forests. The forest series is created by painting layers to achieve eye-catching, fragmented, glass-like effects. My art pays homage to the trees and to nature, which continuously cradles and challenges us individually and collectively. When viewing one of my paintings, I aim to show the moment when perspectives both collide and coalesce, catering to the idea that we perceive this world through our own unique colored lenses.” See more of Lee’s artwork by clicking HERE

Magali Lenarczak

“My inspiration stems from many places, from the mundane to a more personal event; Also, I have a complex imagination and draw from subconscious guidance. I paint with watercolors on Yupo, a synthetic substrate; the plastic-like, sleek surface allows me to get my whites back. I use found objects that make an imprint, handmade stencils, stamps, watercolor pencils, brushes, and rollers, to name a few.” See more of Magali’s artwork by clicking HERE

Some of our other past EAP winners: