GALLERY
Fusion Fine Art Framing's goal is to carry unique and innovative artists who specialize in a variety of mediums and is committed to exhibiting and selling the works of local and regional artists in an attempt to represent the many individuals who are dedicated to creating fine art. These works are available framed or unframed.
Although we are primarily a custom framing gallery, we do carry original art and giclees by local artists, including the following...
Charles Murphy
BFA Studio Arts. Minnesota State University
Mr. Murphy, an Artist/Illustrator and Art Educator, has been teaching classes and workshops in Oil, Watercolor and Acrylic since the mid 70's. He received an Arts Educator Of The Year award in 2003. Traveling workshops have taken him to many areas of the U.S. and abroad to France, Italy and Spain.
Charles has been represented by more than 45 galleries in the U.S. and Caribbean and his work is included in innumerable collections both private and corporate including Kraft, General Motors, U.S. Gypsum, John Hancock, Mead Corporation, Prudential, and more. He has exhibited with the American Watercolor Society and the International Society of Experimental Artists.
Murphy has illustrated several books including the multiple award winning "Reach For The Moon" (Scholastic Books) written by Samantha Abeel, "Smokey The Raccoon", "Chickadees At Night" and 2 others by Bill O. Smith and his own book of rhyming verse, "The Waking Hour".
Charles Murphy lives in Traverse City with his wife, Carrie.
Claud Mills
After growing up along the banks of the Maumee River in NW Ohio, Claud Mills attended Carleton College in Minnesota, majoring in history. Back in Toledo, “at loose ends”, in November of 1975, “on a whim”, he decided to spend a winter in Northern Michigan and maybe “ski a little”…… he’s been here ever since.
That first winter in Glen Arbor, he happened to attempt a drawing of the old outhouse visible out the picture window and rather enjoyed the process. Since then, art gradually (“very gradually”) became a major focus in his life. Largely self-taught, he says “it’s been an interesting journey”.
Working in pencil, oil, watercolor and pastels, Claud enjoys recording his surroundings, hoping “one day” to create a “masterpiece or two”.
In January, 2015, Claud opened a working studio/gallery in Old Town, Traverse City, Michigan. “While I may be taking my art way too seriously, it’s been a joy and a privilege to have such a space.” While the originals are not for sale at this point, Claud welcomes visitors. He has finally had his work photographed and we are proud to be able to carry some of his giclees at Fusion Framing.
Angela Saxon
Angela Saxon lives and works in beautiful northern Michigan near Traverse City — surrounded by the spectacular Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
She received a BFA in painting from Indiana University. Recent painting residencies have included Rome and the Sabina region, Italy; Tuscany and Chianti regions, Italy; Umbria, Italy; Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; Palm Springs, California; Glen Arbor, Michigan.
Her paintings are shown in galleries throughout the US and her work is held in both private and public collections; she also undertakes commissions.
Gene Rantz
Gene graduated from Western Michigan University in 1955 with a Fine Art major - followed by two years in the US army where he served as an infantry officer.
From 1957 until 1985 his primary career was as a Commercial Artist doing Illustration and Advertising Art in the Kalamazoo area.
In 1985, Gene came to Northport to pursue a full time career in Fine Art. He maintains a studio in Northport, Michigan and Suwannee, Florida. Although he paints mostly in Northern Michigan and Coastal Florida, he also spends time and paints in Homer Alaska and the Western USA and has participated in Plein Air events in Florida, Michigan and Virginia. His works are owned by collectors throughout the U.S.
In the summer of 2021, Gene passed away surrounded by his family. Thanks to the cooperation of the Gene Rantz Fine Art, LLC, we will continue to offer his giclee prints.
Kim Diment
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. 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. Kim resides in northern Michigan on the Au Sable River with her husband Carl.
Kim loves her subject matter and tries to help out in preserving it when she can through several conservation projects. Currently she is involved with the on going project Tahquamenon State Park’s “Art for the Park”. Kim uses the landscape from Michigan’s Tahquamenon’s Falls area to portray a native animal species. A portion of the sales go back into the State’s Park systems.
Further away from home Kim is currently working with “Grevy’s Zebra Trust of Kenya” which is targeting the dwindling northern herds of Grevy’s Zebra. She has also worked with Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to raise awareness to the endangered species that are prevalent in that park.
When asked how long I’ve been making prints, I stumble. The easiest answer is since I was thirteen, when a family friend invited me to her print studio. It was certainly from that experience that I fell in love with printmaking, but that doesn’t completely answer the question. Even as a baby, I was fascinated by the impression my hands made in wet beach sand, the intricate lines that appeared when I pressed a paint covered thumb onto paper. In my earliest art classes, I scratched images into foam plates and printed them like stamps. How long have I been making prints? Well, forever… that is to say, from my earliest memories.
In every print ever made, there is a history of process, a story told through impression. The grain of the wood or the bevel of the copper translate into paper something of their essence where wood becomes image, metal becomes paper, stone becomes print. It is in this transmutation of properties that my love of printmaking lies. Just as the mechanisms of printmaking guide my hand, my heart is inspired by the wonder of cycles and processes in nature. The marrying of these two passions has informed my art as I seek to explore the intersection of humanity and nature in a world where nothing is untouched by man or womankind.
Emily Gray Koehler
Dara Shugart
I am honored to introduce myself as a hardwood and epoxy artist, and the creator behind one-of-a-kind pieces of functional art.
This all began for me as an intuitive calling “to create”. My work is a fierce passion, a channel of healing, it is physicality, transformation, empowerment, and bold creative expression.
I am inspired by imagery rooted in my deep love of nature and giving life to abstract storytelling. I love to mix elements, textures, materials, colors, depths, and design concepts to deliver a singular nonconforming idea. My work is whimsical, unique, meaningful, and created to stand out. I pay homage to these qualities. It is love that I bring to the table.
Every piece is created in my home studio, slowly and intentionally. I prioritize sustainable practices and collaborate with other local businesses and small companies to source the highest quality materials.
