Artist #44: Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart

Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart has been coordinating campaigns for animals since she was 8, went veg at 10, is an MBA drop-out and was modeling in Hong Kong when she started the vegan fashion house Vaute Couture to answer her lifelong wish- a chic winter dress coat that's also vegan and warm enough for a Chicago winter. The coat line launched in the fall of 2009, to a cult following of animal lovers and winter warriors around the world including celebrity fans like Emily Deschanel, Alicia Silverstone, Ally Sheedy, and Ginnifer Goodwin. She has been featured on Oprah.com dispelling myths about compassionate fashion, on the cover of VegNews Magazine, and has been named 1 of 40 Redefining Green by Grist.org.

Artist #43: Sally-Anne Ryan

Sally-Anne Ryan is a British artist who specializes in animal portraiture. As well as private commissions, she has worked extensively with animal charities around the world. Hailing from a country where Pitbull Terriers are a banned breed she was fascinated to meet some when she recently spent time in the states. What she found was a breed that was not only physically beautiful, friendly & playful but one that always got blamed at the dog park for everything no matter what happened or who was involved! Both she & her dog Mabel fell hopelessly in love with the breed, and so it's with pleasure she takes part in this fantastic artistic initiative to change the perception and promote Pitbull rescue (Adopt Adopt Adopt!). Sally-Anne Ryan will be starting her own art company, which will launch late 2010 and will donate a percentage of profits to animals in need around the world, details will be released via her website, www.sallyanneryan.com & her Facebook Page.

Artist #42: Elizabeth Olsen

Elizabeth Olsen blends her artistic tendencies with her respect for the lives of all animals, daily. As founder and designer of olsenHaus Pure Vegan, Elizabeth works to expose atrocities committed against animals at the hands of humans through her cruelty free brand of footwear. olsenHaus is found internationally to an ever growing clientele of humans seeking style sans animal suffering. Elizabeth lives in NYC with her cat Baby Girl who has no interest in allowing Elizabeth to adopt a dog what so ever, however they are looking to adopt a new kitty buddy in urgent need of a home. www.olsenhaus.com

Artist #41: Hideki Takahashi

Hideki Takahashi is an artist from Tokyo, Japan. His Structuralism style and work include paintings, installations, and also clothing...specifically denim jeans. Growing up in Japan, he learned about fashion and culture very early on. His work playfully explores how denim jeans, apparel, and fashion are perceived in contemporary mass culture by placing them in various contexts that illuminate the differences. As a Fashion Composer, as he calls himself, his work takes these differences and magnifies them, beyond the confines of definition and redefines them as, Restless Installations. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. (Written by Andrew David Baron) www.HidekiTakahashi.com / Twitter: @HidekiNomono

Artist #40: Daisy Church

Daisy Church works and lives in Los Angeles as an artist and animator. She has worked extensively as a flash animator on various television shows, commercials, music videos and independent films in addition to having completed three of her own short animated films. As well as animation animation, Daisy loves to paint, and exhibits her personal work and fine art in galleries around the country.
daisychurch.com
daisychurch.blogspot.com

Artist #39: Patty Lee Wilkes

Patty Lee Wilkes is an Ohio based artist who has been painting for many many years, as well as knitting. Her designs have been featured in knitting publications like Spin-Off. She also crochets, is currently writing a cook book, writes articles, and is a jewelry designer. Patty has 2 children in California and an adopted daughter from El Salvador. Her Japanese Chin, CoCo and chihuahua, Minty live with her. (Patty was unable to provide us images)

Artist #38: Woody Welch

Woody Welch was born and raised in New York City for the first eleven years of his life and watched his mother, Jewel Flowers, pose for pin-up artist Rolf Armstrong. Woody learned how to draw from watching Armstrong as well as other pin up artists and continued his art education at The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, before moving to California to work in special visual effects design. In Hollywood for the past 30 years, Woody has worked in the motion picture and television industry doing everything from concept art to storyboards. His art has been on display at the San Diego Comic Con art shows and in various magazines and paper back book covers with science fiction and fantasy themes. His main hobbies are over-eating, procrastination, and watching too much cable T.V. www.woodywelch.net

Artist #37: Misha Tyutyunik

Misha Tyutyunik is a contemporary painter who lives and works out of Brooklyn, New York. He was born in the Ukraine, and moved to The United States when he was seven. A graduate of Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communications Design with a focus on Illustration, Misha paints and works as a graphic designer for companies such as A&E Television Networks, ENK, Brooklyn Arts Council, and Coca Cola. Influenced by social realism, abstract expressionism, Japanese prints, surrealism and impressionism, his work blends figurative painting with surrealistic dreamscapes, utilizing subdued colors and intense brush strokes, to create unique, mood based parallel worlds. Since the Spring of 2009, Mr. Tyutyunik and a partner have been operating a business called Collective Consciousness NYC, providing creative services and promoting talented, up and coming artists, himself included. Misha has exhibited his artwork throughout New York City, and currently directs and curates a galley he started through his business, in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
www.mishat.com
www.ccnycinc.com