The North Shore Studio Welcomes Two New Artists

The North Shore studio recently welcomed Debra Johnson and Omar Abulsheikh to the Arts of Life community, two new artists with bold personalities.

Since Omar joined the studio, he’s been pursuing broad experimentation with new materials and processes, ranging from drawings in graphite and colored pencil on paper to acrylic on canvas. He has been focused primarily on representational depictions of various diverse matter including airplanes, symbols, and figures. Omar works quickly and intuitively, often completing multiple works a day.

Debra has already established a definite preference for creating abstract paintings in acrylic, employing a wet on wet layering of various colors. Currently she’s working on a series of numerous re-interpretations of floral still life source imagery. Debra’s process is measured and thoughtful, defined by mark-making that accumulates over time.

During a recent North Shore Studio field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago, Debra was most drawn to Minimalist work in the Contemporary wing, while Omar preferred ornate, classical European portraiture.

As Debra and Omar have become familiarized with our studio and other artists over the past few months, they’ve proven to be valuable additions to our community. We’re very excited to see how their bodies of work develop over time! To stay informed about their progress, visit their artist pages for updated information and the addition of new artworks.