Maria Branch - "Sweet Apples" - El Paso, TX

Maria Branch, El Paso oil painter, has once again agreed to join us. The owner of Maria Branch Studio and Gallery in San Elizario, Texas, Maria has submitted a piece entitled "Sweet Apples."

Candy Mayer - "Bienvenidos" - El Paso, TX

Candy Mayer is a full time artist, using many media. Her greatest love is drawing in any medium. "There is nothing more beautiful than an expressive, fluid line on a piece of paper." Her love of detail and color adds life to her drawings, pastels and paintings.

Candy began her career at an early age and earned a BFA in Art and Art Education at the University of South Dakota. Before settling in El Paso in 1999, she was the sole proprietor of her own business for twenty years, specializing in decorative arts and crafts.

Since moving to the border from Iowa, Candy has been inspired by the history and culture of the area, using the colors and the light that the desert and the surrounding mountains are famous for throughout the art world. Many of her works originate from trips to Mexico and other locales taken with her photographer husband, Charlie.

In addition to her work in the studio, Candy is a member of the Plein Air Painters of El Paso and paints regularly outdoors at many sites in the area. Three of her works traveled to the Department of the Interior Gallery in Washington, DC as part of a larger plein air show. She is active in the El Paso Art Association and the Pastel Society of El Paso.

Candy has exhibited and won recognition in shows and competitions including the Sierra Providence Arts International Show, the Sun Bowl Show, the Paquime Festival in Casas Grandes, MX and many El Paso Art Association events. She participated in an international show, "Mujeres sin Fronteras/Women without Borders" sponsored by the Mexican Consulate in El Paso.

Candy was inducted into the Spirit Lake School's Hall of Achievement as the Outstanding Graduate of 2008 for her hometown in Iowa on October 5, 2008.

Joyce Cunningham - "Serenity" - El Paso, TX

Joyce Cunningham is originally from Minnesota, but now calls El Paso home. Her works of art are mainly acrylic and watercolors. Joyce's inspiration comes from nature.

Lyuba Titovets - "El Paso Dance" - El Paso, TX

Lyuba Titovets was born and educated in St. Petersburg, Russia, receiving her Masters of Fine Arts from St. Petersburg State University. She began her art studies at five years of age, and has worked as a professional artist more than 20 years. While in St. Petersburg, she taught art, illustrated books and was chief designer of stage and costumes for Theatre Mask. Her final position in Russia was as an art historian for the newly established Department of the History of Culture at St. Petersburg State University.

She has had fourteen solo exhibitions in America and many more in concert with her Siberian-born husband, Aleksander Titovets. Since immigrating to the United States, she has won many prestigious awards including Best in Show in the International Miniature Show in Clearwater, Florida; Best in Show at the International Sierra Medical Competition; the Dellman Creative Award at the Annual National Oil Painters of America; and Best in Show in the historic "Year 2000" Sun Bowl Competition.

Her works have been exhibited at Westminster Abby in London, and her paintings have been chosen to represent the United States in a traveling exhibition through American Consulates worldwide. She is an annual guest artist at the Great American Artists Exhibition in Cincinnati, and her name is included in the Archives of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.

The unique and lyrical works of Lyuba Titovets may be found in public and private collections in the US, Canada, Mexico, England, Israel, France, Finland and Russia. Galleries representing the artist are located in Carmel and San Francisco, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; Ruidoso, NM; Boulder, CO; Bozeman, MT; Austin, TX; Cincinnati, OH and Charleston, SC.

Barbara Carrasco - Untitled - Culver City, CA

Barbara Carrasco is an artist and muralist from Los Angeles. Her works have been exhibited throughout the US, Europe and Latin America. Her original mural sketches and drawings are included in the Permanent Collection of Works on paper at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Documentation of her mural works is archived in the California Murals Collection at the Smithsonian Institution (1983). Her oral history is archived at the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution (1999).

Carlos Callejo - Untitled - Los Angeles, CA

Carlos Callejo, muralist and former El Pasoan, has joined the growing list of artists who have donated their time and talent to our cause. He was commissioned by El Paso County to create a mural in the autrium of the County Courthouse. "Our History" spans three walls beneath the glass ceiling of the courthouse. We are so excited Carlos has agreed to participate in this event, which will benefit families throughout the El Paso area.

Tina Fuentes - "Fruta de mi vida y corazon" - Lubbock, TX

Tina Fuentes dreams in color. She touches object and people, and feels the energy around her. A native of Texas, Fuentes was born in San Angelo and raised in Odessa, TX. She earned her BFA and MFA degrees at the University of North Texas in Denton, where she specialized in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Fuentes has taught art in Texas public schools, the Waco Art Center, the University of Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico - and Texas Tech, where she has been for 19 years.

Don Newton - Untitled - Los Angeles, CA

Don Newton joins us from Los Angeles, California. This is the first year we have had artists from outside of the El Paso/New Mexico area. Don is new to the Toma Mi Corazon auction, and we are pleased to have him on board!

Ana Ruth Castillo - "I Want to Love U Thru Every Season" - Los Angeles, CA

Ana Ruth Castillo sent her heart from Culver City, California. A mixed media piece, we are sure that El Pasoans will fall in love with this piece like we did. We are so impressed with all of the hearts we have received so far.