StudioWorks artists
StudioWorks is home to studios for twelve professional artists, all of whom live locally. The expansively wide range of styles and mediums create a beautiful, exciting collections of quality artwork under our roof.
Scroll down to see more of these artists works, or click the images below.
Doris BarahonA
Doris Barahona
Doris Barahona was born in Santiago, Chile, but has been living in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 1997. She is an abstract painter with realist tones. She is primarily a mixed media artist, including shellac, India inks, and oil in her work. Doris has always had a "thirst to learn" which has led her to explore painting by doing a residency with Andy Braitman, as well various workshops with well-known artists around the country. She studied Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and later earned her PhD in Education from UCLA. She has spent the last 26 years in education and continues to be involved in K-12 learning through her involvement in Odyssey of the Mind.
Doris believes that the juxtaposition between intellect and creativity is part of the never-ending process of being an artist. She creates based on the process of thinking and letting go, where one feeds the other in a continuous loop of breakthroughs. Her art reflects the patterns in nature that surround her. Her aim is not to paint a tree but to paint “treeness”, thus capturing the essence of the objects around her allowing the viewer to reach their own conclusion about what they see.
She was selected to be one of the class of 2023 ArtPop Street Gallery artists where her piece entitled “Earth and Sky” was featured on a billboard in Times Square as well as on local billboards and digital installations around the country. She was recently selected by ArtPop to join their Board to help continue the mission of ArtPop to support local artists and to make art accessible to all in the community. In 2023, Doris won second prize at Mooresville Arts Springfest for “Murmur in the Wind” and was selected to have her piece “Purple Rain” included in the new Novant Health Agnes Binder Weisiger Breast Health Center.
Contact Doris:
Allison Chambers
Allison chambers
I paint because I have to! Creating art is my therapy, breathing joy into my soul. I love to paint the places, experiences, and moments that stir my heart, and I hope my viewers feel that passion and energy when interacting with my work.
I create color and texture-driven paintings on a medium to large scale with impasto style. With an appreciation for beautiful brushstrokes and liberal use of a palette knife, my distinct aesthetic allows me to combine all of these elements in any series. I find it exciting to experiment with color and although my primary medium is oil, I enjoy mixed media as well. By bringing my passion and experiences to the canvas between colors, textures, and bold strokes, my work blends reality with imagination.
My advice to aspiring artists is paint often and put ”miles on the canvas”. Be true to yourself and your style will find you. I view everyday as a blessing to be able to do what I love and am called to do…paint.
I was born in Wilmington, NC, but have lived in Charlotte, NC much of my life. For 20 years, I had a successful career painting faux finishes and murals before returning to the canvas after a series of life changes. In 2007, a major change occurred when I married my husband Jay and went from a Mom of 2 to a Mom of 6 (5 girls!). In 2008, I began studying oil painting and discovered my true passion. I became an artist in residence at Braitman Studio in Charlotte, NC and since have been painting full time in oils, building a home studio, teaching oil painting and art business workshops around the southeast, and even leading painting workshops in the south of France!
Contact Allison:
Christina Dowdy
Christina Dowdy
Celebrating vibrant color and interesting form, Christina explores all types of subject matter. She is drawn to uncluttered compositions — highlighting depth, color, and dramatic highlights. Creating a mood or atmosphere by harnessing the power of color and contrast is her mission — whether a calm, peaceful scene, or a playful, bright abstract. A native of North Carolina, Christina’s deep roots in this beautiful state provide the source of endless inspiration.
Christina Dowdy grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, and now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband and family. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Christina took many art history and studio art classes as an undergraduate. After continuing on to earn an MBA, Christina worked in the field of Marketing until taking the leap to become a full time artist. Christina has studied with Rita Allred, Andy Braitman, Stephen Early, Miriam Durkin and attended numerous artists’ workshops and seminars. She also enjoys the tradition and challenge of ongoing life drawing classes. In 2019, Christina established the StudioWorks Artist Collective and Gallery in Charlotte, NC. Housed in a beautiful, historic building in the Dilworth Neighborhood, StudioWorks offers an exciting workspace and gallery representation to talented, regional artists.
Contact Christina:
christinadowdy.com | email Christina | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest
Lesley Downey
Lesley Downey
Lesley Holland Downey joined StudioWorks Gallery in 2019. She is a student of Andy Braitman, Allison Chambers, and Nicholas Stewart at Braitman Studio, working in oil. At a very young age, she was drawn to artistic expression in many forms whether it be dance, music, art. photography, writing and literature. Her first job was as a makeup artist which turned into a lifelong fascination with color, form and dimension.
Lesley grew up in Durham, NC and attended UNC-Chapel Hill and majored in Journalism. She feels fortunate to be able to marry her journalism background and her beauty obsession in her side gig—For the past 7 years, she's been living her dream job as the Beauty Editor for Peachy the Magazine which has a wealth of creative and talented women contributors.
Lesley loves buying original art, and that she still love some pieces she bought as much as 20 years ago. She feels like there’s something inside us all that tells us what we love when we look at it. There is no wrong or right when it comes to what you are drawn to. She is so thankful that back in 2008 after moving to Charlotte, she stumbled into the Center of the Earth Gallery in NoDa and met Ruth Ava Lyons and Sharon Dowell, artists and all around amazing women. She also happened to be Liz Orvos’s neighbor and thinks her painting is brilliant and has such a spontaneous energy. So in meeting these cool women, she felt like the universe was telling her something.
In 2012, Lesley signed up for an oil fundamentals class with a friend. It was truly scary trying something new but her teachers Allison Chambers and Marcy Gregg had her hooked on using a different part of her brain. That first class led her on her current path to continuously learning about art through painting landscapes, still life, and figure. She is most drawn to abstracted expression with beautiful color. One of Lesley's teachers calls her style “dreamy”, which she likes, having never been one to be exact or methodical. She's inspired but the countless artists whose work she admires, the beauty in nature, and the ever-fascinating human form. Lesley is a student, first and foremost, and to her that’s the exciting part — that learning will always continue.
Contact Lesley:
Christine Dryden
Christine Dryden
Christine Dryden is an emerging oil painter with a long history of collaborating with other artists, galleries, and interior designers as a graphic designer and marketing consultant.
Christine began her study of oil painting in 2018, studying with several local teachers before 2020 closures. After a year of enthusiastic daily painting in her home studio, in 2021 Christine joined StudioWorks Artist Collective and began selling work locally. In addition to StudioWorks' monthly South End Gallery Crawls, she has exhibited at Charlotte’s 2022 SHOUT! Festival, Glave Kocen in Richmond, VA, the McColl Center and Christ Church Gallery in Charlotte, FridayArts in Rock Hill, Camino in Winston-Salem, and Florence Thomas in West Jefferson. Christine’s artwork can also be found wrapping utility boxes in two Charlotte neighborhoods: in South End at the corner of South and Bland, and in front of Plaza Midwood’s historic fire station.
In 2023, she was selected for an artist residency at Wild Acres Retreat in Little Switzerland, NC, and was the recipient of the ASC Creative Mecklenburg Grant, funding travel to workshops in Scottsdale and Laguna Beach. Christine has studied with Peggi Kroll Roberts, Scott Gellatly, Suzie Baker, Viktoria Majestic, Miriam Durkin, Nicholas Stewart, Andy Braitman, Angela Nesbit, and Anne Harkness.
Before joining the collective in 2021, Christine created our StudioWorks branding, website, and signage. She continues to work with small business clients to design books, logos, websites, and other marketing materials.
Aside from her four years at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism, Christine has lived in Charlotte since 1985. She is married with four children, 17-22, and is inspired by frequent visits to the North Carolina Mountains.
Contact Christine:
Jenny Fuller
Jenny Fuller
Artist Statement
Painting is an attempt for me to understand the radiance, color, light, shadow and wonder that surrounds each of us in nature. Whether I am captivated by majestic trees, misty mountains or the vastness of the sea, the process of describing beauty in paint truly fascinates me. Each time I interpret what I see onto a canvas, the process changes my basic understandings and I view the world differently.
There exists a feeling of expansiveness for me in the outdoor world. The expression of a horizon or a woodland path offers that same openness and sense of possibility for the viewer to move off the canvas and into their own world.
I am drawn to both vibrant and muted colors. Using paint to convey a feeling or mood is a challenge that remains exciting to me in my abstract work. The puzzle of shape, line, and surface alongside the desire to balance light areas with anchoring areas provide an endless series of problem solving moments. I hope to move the observer’s eye through the canvas with contrasts in color and texture.
Layering paint to create areas of thickness while leaving other parts of the composition thin is a goal that drives my process for both abstract work and the more representational pieces. I want my audience to experience something handmade and almost sculptural in places.
I began painting with Andy Braitman of Braitman Studios in 2003 because I was drawn to learn how to create beauty. I have attended workshops with Cape Cod artists Cedric and Joanette Egeli, travelled and painted in Brantome, France with Connie Winters in the fall of 2007, participated in oil portrait sketch classes with Miriam Durkin (2009, 2012), attended a figure and portrait workshop with Stephen Early (2010) and a palette knife workshop with Angela Nesbit (2011). I most recently enjoyed classes in Leiper’s Fork Tennessee with Anne Blair Brown in the fall of 2019. My work is exhibited at O’Brien Gallery in Greensboro, NC, Artsource in Raleigh, NC, Wynne Peace Interiors in Pawleys, SC, and StudioWorks Artist Collective, Charlotte, NC.
Other local exhibitions/auctions
Art with Heart, multiple years
Carolina Art Soiree for GBS/CIDP Foundation 2011, Juried 2012, 2013
Providence Gallery Holiday Art show, 2010, 2011
"The Power of Innovation: Art Inside The New Energy Age”, Siemens, Juried Show Nov. 2011
Andy Braitman group show, Tyler White Gallery Greensboro, NC March/April 2012
Braitman Studio Artists' Exhibit, Red Sky Gallery Charlotte NC January 2013
Solo Show: O’Brien Gallery Greensboro NC, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, & 2019, 2023.
ArtSource Group Show 2024.
Jenny Fuller Personal Life
Jenny a native of North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She and her husband, Bill, have lived in Charlotte since 1993 and have three sons. She enjoys her time with her family and friends, as well as, painting, hiking, reading, fishing, trying to hit a golf ball, travel most anywhere, beach time, and all types of music.
Contact Jenny:
Sally Higgins
Sally Higgins
Sally Higgins is a Charlotte, North Carolina, artist working in oil, acrylic, encaustic, photography, watercolor and mixed media. After pursuing drama, music, photography and other creative endeavors all her life, Sally turned to painting about thirteen years ago. She has taken courses at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Penland School of Crafts, Cullowee Arts, and has studied with marvelous local and national teachers. As a lawyer in the courtroom, Sally's profession is filled with words, and she embraces painting to express what is better said without words.
Contact Sally:
Tammy Langdon
Tammy Langdon
It was love at first brushstroke. Tammy Langdon first discovered her natural, hidden talent for painting during a “paint-with-friends” class in 2013 while looking for new hobbies after becoming an empty-nester. Now over a decade into her “encoreer,” Tammy’s works within the Charlotte art community have become both well-known and loved.
Tammy’s passion for art has inspired her to pursue a lifelong learning artistry résumé. Her journey began in 2014 by taking weekly classes and attending painting workshops from various artists throughout the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. In 2018, Tammy completed the Artist in Resident Program at the Braitman Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, under renowned artist Andy Braitman. Tammy further curates her love for art by traveling to Italy and France to paint on location. Recently, Tammy added to her résumé by studying in Aix-en-Provence, France, where the works of masters like Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso have all been associated.
Mystic, majestic, transcendental; Tammy’s works often provide just enough substance so that the viewer must use their own imagination to complete the scape. Largely inspired by nature, Tammy’s work gravitates towards low-country landscapes, seascapes, and florals. While she creates primarily abstract marsh scenes in high-key colors by using a variety of brushes and palate knives, Tammy also has an eye for softer, more neutral palates.
Tammy’s love for art, combined with her seasoned business background, led to her 2020 purchase of a permanent location for StudioWorks Gallery in the historic Dilworth Neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. StudioWorks offers extraordinary artwork directly to the public from the studio’s many talented artists.
Originally from California, Tammy has called Charlotte home since 1971. She and her husband, Richard, are the proud parents of their two grown sons, who both reside in South Carolina. Tammy and her family enjoy spending time at DeBordieu Colony in Georgetown, South Carolina, where she often draws much inspiration for her works.
Contact Tammy:
Sharon Lampke
Sharon Lampke
Those who know me might describe me as a driven person, and that is apparent in my work. It’s a very deliberate process of trying to tell you so much information and dialogue with you through imagery and color. I am emoting and expressing with the paint, but also trying to comfort and calm and bring order/peace to the (seeming) chaos. I strive to make you fall in love (with the painting) and to bring you the joy and satisfaction that comes with a visual experience which touches the heart.
Ultimately, the process of painting, of building the image is what drives me. Color and texture are key. I love interacting with the progression of the image as it changes layer by layer. I want your eyes to dance with me around the canvas: comforted here, shocked there, intrigued.
I tend to paint places I love; beach, marsh, mountains, urban landscapes… with an abstract edge. My goal is to create a beautiful, timeless painting, not mimic a photograph.
After retiring from a career in Graphic Design and raising 4 children, I have come full circle to my love of creating beautiful art. I currently study fine art at Braitman Studio and am showing at StudioWorks Gallery, 307 East Blvd, Charlotte NC and Island Art Gallery in Pawleys Island, SC.
I love commissions. Please feel free to contact or follow me.
Contact Sharon:
sharonlampkeart.com | email Sharon | 704-996-3745 | Instagram
Michelle Levi
Michelle Levi
Michelle has worked as a visual artist and arts educator for more than twenty-five years. She received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Art Education from Florida International University. Inspiring creativity with students in underserved communities, including young adults with intellectual disabilities has enabled Michelle to share her passion for art and art history with students of all ages. As an Artist in Residence at Levine Cancer Institute, Michelle facilitates creative activities for patients, nurturing well-being for body and mind.
Her energetic paintings and mixed-media compositions are inspired by the shapes, forms and patterns found on daily walks. Working from familiar or even ordinary surroundings and exploring improvisation, Michelle creates a nice context of working between comfort and unpredictability. As a Miami native, Michelle embraces the use of bold colors that celebrate the elegance of the natural world that surrounds us.
Michelle was awarded The Denis Diderot Artist-in-Residence Grant at Chateau d’Orquevaux in Champagne-Ardenne, France. Her work has been included in juried exhibits at The McColl Center for Arts + Innovation, SouthEnd Arts, and Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach California.
Contact Michelle:
Patti Moore
Patti Moore
Patti Moore is a California native who spends most of her time escaping the chaos of daily life behind an easel. She views creating art as fun, relaxing and a way to slow down, focus and appreciate the beautiful details of the life that surrounds us. Never taking herself too seriously, Patti strives to keep work loose in style, allowing images to evolve using color and texture. She believes that art should evoke a response or emotion of some kind – usually calm in nature - and allow for individual interpretation.
Patti has always been creative and enjoys the outlet painting provides after a career in business, and raising children. Patti graduated from UC Davis with a marketing degree and UNC Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School with an MBA. After many years in wine marketing and sales, Patti is now a full-time artist. After a short stint in New York, Patti and her husband, Battle, chose to raise their family in Charlotte, NC. They have lived in the Myers Park area for the last 18 years and have three wonderful children. Patti has been fortunate enough to travel the world and live/work in some of what she calls some of the best cities in the United States. This often provides inspiration for her work.
Patti began her painting career with Andy Braitman. Her medium of choice is oil on canvas, yet she also enjoys experimenting with mixed media. Patti was recently featured in QC Exclusive Magazine and her work can be found in local Charlotte galleries and boutiques.
Contact Patti:
Angela Schellpfeffer
Angela Schellpfeffer
Always enjoying creativity and having an interest in artful expression, I started dabbling with oil painting in 2014. I’ve learned so much about confidence, risk-taking and trusting God during this journey. I love to paint and miles on the canvas contribute to my personal growth, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Being drawn to beauty in nature, I try different techniques to create a soothing, yet exciting painting. Beginning with a textured canvas, I apply a solid stain. Next, I layer from large, loose shapes and brush strokes to more refined applications with each pass-through. In addition to brush strokes and knife work, I like to use stencils, brayers, cold wax and other tools within my work. I hope the viewer feels joy and exhilaration when exploring my pieces!
Over the past ten years I have studied under Nicholas Stewart at Holt School of Fine Art, Andy Braitman, Allison Chambers, and Dottie Leatherwood. Recently I attended an abstract workshop with Chris Groves and look forward to a second Provence, France, workshop with Allison Chambers in 2024. I have participated in art exhibits in Wilmington and Charlotte.
As a Charlotte NC native, I graduated from South Mecklenburg High School and received my degree from UNC Chapel Hill. I married my wonderful husband John in 1994 and we have 3 amazing sons. In addition to painting, spending time with my husband and enjoying our second home in Wilmington NC, I love hot yoga, traveling, reading, and time with family and friends.
