This page features links to the web pages of our acclaimed artists. We are proud to have them displaying and selling their works in Main Branch Gallery.

Kim Diment Kim Diment is one of America's leading wildlife artists and the co-owner of Main Branch Gallery. A Northern Michigan native, Kim Diment’s art brings personality and life to the animals she portrays. Both her art and love for animals started at young age. Her first preteen field sketches came from wanderings along the backwaters of the AuSable River during the spring thaw migrations. She drove her parents crazy with toads, frogs, turtles and orphaned animals she would bring home.   Her brother ruined her high school social life by dubbing her “Nature Girl”. After High School Kim’s formal training involved a double major from Michigan State University in Zoology and in the Fine Arts. During her college years she was competing in the Michigan Duck Stamp Art Competition.She later went on to teach High School art for thirteen years while simultaneously pursuing her own art.  In 2003 she started painting full time. Cindy Evans Cindy Evans is an artist from Williamston, Michigan, who specializes in watercolor and mixed media paintings. Her work is exhibited in many local and regional galleries and shows and can be found in private and public collections. "My paintings are my reaction to what I see and experience and they tell my story. I try to fit the technique, color choice and design elements to the piece, relating all the components to enhance the mood and message. This means I may treat each piece differently, but gives what I believe a full expression of what it is I am trying to say. Frank Fruzyna Born and raised in Chicago, Frank began selling his artwork at age 12. After enjoying a 25-year career in commercial art and graphic design, he retired in 2004 to devote himself full-time to painting. He developed a loyal clientele in portraiture, and his abstracts are featured by Chicago’s top interior designers. Frank relocated to Paradise in 2009 and takes great inspiration from the local wildlife and landscapes Jackie House Jackie House is a natural artist who has worked to develop her talent. Her love of art has blossomed into a fulfilling career as an artist and teacher. She received her Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Wayne State University and has continued with lifelong learning at Chicago’s Institute of Art, Northern Michigan University and Interlochen. Karla Kirkland Karla Kirkland is a mostly self taught artist. Her love of art fostered professions in store display, interior design and finally gallery curating. "Compelled to create" is how I would describe myself. As far back as I can remember, an invisible force has compelled me to be creative. Using any medium available from paint, paper, fabric, wood, found objects, etc., I've enjoyed creating paintings, murals, soft-sculpture, fashion design and much, much more. Marcia Koppa A desire to make special gifts for family and friends led me to weaving in 2002. The process of designing, planning, dressing the loom and the actual weaving is appealing to me. It's only after the final step that the fabric reveals itself. My loom is a 46" 8 harness Kessenich - made in Michigan - and I can weave anything from scarves in fine yarns to thick yarn rep weave rugs. Rod Lawrence Rod Lawrence graduated with a fine arts degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1973. Since then he has been working full time as a professional artist. His credits include being named the Michigan Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year in 1979 and the Michigan United Conservation Club's Michigan Wildlife Artist of the Year in 1981. He also has the winning designs for the 1983 and 1990 Michigan Duck Stamps, and the 1981, 1987, and 1992 Michigan Trout Stamps. He had an unprecedented double win for both the 1995 Michigan Duck Stamp and 1995 Michigan Trout Stamp. His win for the 2000 & 2002 Michigan Duck Stamp makes him the only artists to have won nine Michigan stamp designs. He is the only artist to win five Michigan Duck Stamps and one of only two artists to win four Michigan Trout Stamps. Mark Mehaffey Nationally recognized artist Mark E. Mehaffey is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, the American Watercolor Society; DF, Transparent Watercolor Society of America; Signature Life member-Master Status, Watercolor West and the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Society, and Louisiana Watercolor Society Signature Life Member. Mehaffey has won major awards in juried exhibitions across the country including the Beverly Green Memorial Purchase Award from the National Watercolor Society, the Silver Medal of Honor and the Arches Paper Co Award from American Watercolor Society, the M. Grumbacher Gold Medal from Allied Artists of America, and the Skyledge Award from the Midwest Watercolor Society. Mehaffey's work has appeared in many publications; most recently in The Best of Watercolor, Splash 5-The Glory of Color, Splash 10-Passionate Brush Strokes, Splash 11, Places in Watercolor and as a featured artist in a step by step guide and showcase, Creative Watercolor, Rockport publisher. Andrea Simons-Novak It is my goal to create artworks that provoke intrigue through content and execution. The content of my work is usually derived from myths, legends, and visual symbols. My work is executed using a combination of Baroque and Surrealist elements and techniques. The content of my work began as illustrative reactions to stories. The resulting works were strictly narrative. My more successful pieces are those in which the viewer must adopt a more active role and become more engaged in a work to derive meaning. Carl Schubert "I became interested in woodworking at a very young age. My grandfather was a furniture maker; he came from Austria at a very young age and learned his skills the old way. His shop was very spartan and the few machines he had were all run from a single source with large pulleys and belts. The furniture he made was elegant and beautifully crafted. At the age of 5 I was impressed with how apple wood could become beautiful chairs. My goal in my creations is to build the most comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, furniture possible. As I progress on this journey I continue to test my skills and try and push the limit of form and function. I am continuously impressed with the wood artisans I encounter in my life, and am inspired evermore to go beyond the basic." - Carl Schubert Roger Smith Once you view a Roger Smith sculpture you know he is a man who knows his subject. Roger’s training in taxidermy and taxidermy manikin sculpture is evident in his work. His knowledge of anatomy and his love for his subject adds a magical quality that brings his sculpture to life. Imagine a fawn nestled in the grass waiting for mama’s return. All the mechanics are there, the detailed representation of the subject, line, form and proportion. Yet there is something else; a hint of life, a spark that transforms cold bronze into a warm, nearly living creature. Ken Wright Ken’s digital photography is the result of over 50 years as an amateur photographer and 6 years as a professional, graduating from the New York Institute of Photography’s Digital Photography: The Complete Course. Since 1996 his photographs have been displayed on numerous websites, magazines & newspapers and have been the subject of paintings by Terry Dickinson and Sandra Walterhouse. He is also the co-owner of Main Branch Gallery. Peter Czuk Born in 1951 in Kalamazoo, MI, Peter is a full time artist working in his own studio for 35 years. Strong designes incorporated into items that are well constructed is central to what Peter builds. He strives to generate pieces that are exciting and original, balancing a one-of-a-kind with limited production work. Peter began crafting furniture in 1974 from Redwood burl wood. "I was taken by the beautiful grain patterns and natural wood forms of this wood. Along with a couple of brothers and some good friends we salvaged burl wood from creek beds, log jams, and beaches in beautiful northern California. We harvested seven and a half tons of wood over a couple of months, rented a truck, and took the wood to Michigan where we set up shop".

Copyright 2012 Main Branch Gallery, LLC