Debra Ozello and Ralph Parker

Debra Ozello

Debra uses color as a powerful entity in her contemporary still life painting. Her treatment of ordinary objects such as a tube of lipstick or a simple cup of coffee enable one to discover interest, drama and humor in common everyday things.

She prefers acrylic paints because they are quick drying allowing her to change and layer colors. Debra counterbalances these colorful, vibrant paintings with charcoal figure drawings on heavily textured and painted canvases. The contrast challenges her to new ideas. But it is her magnetic appeal to color that drives her to paint.

A native of Arizona, Debra earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University. The next fifteen years kept her moving all over the Southwest. She returned to Arizona in 1996. Debra is a member of the National Acrylic Painters’ Association. Her work is featured in collections throughout the United States. Debra’s work is on display this month at the Flagstaff Festival in the Pines, July 29-31, 2005. For more information about her work, reach her at (480) 451-9114, or on the web at www.debraozello.co m.

Ralph Parker

Ralph Mears Parker is probably best known for his stained glass mirrors. Ralph’s tongue-in-check answer is that this is all just a play on words. Ralph says, “You see my middle name is Mears, which sounds exactly like mirrors, which is what I make.

Ralph began doing stained glass work of all types right after college, over thirty years ago. He opened his own stained glass shop, and was so successful that in the early seventies took his show on the road, and began participating in art festivals.

What Ralph is best known for is his unusual lead finish. All of the lead work surrounding Ralph’s stained glass is very smooth and quite contemporary looking. It is a process Ralph developed right after college, which he kept as his own personal signature.

Ralph Parker’s stained glass mirrors will be on display at the Festival in the Pins, July 29-31, 2005. He can be reached at his studio in Salida, Colorado at (719) 539-7120.