Follow Your Arts
"Sky Art Peoria 2026"
ArtsPartners’ Follow Your Arts Gallery will be hosting a special group exhibition of this year’s Sky Art Peoria winners. The artwork featured includes a wide variety of mediums and artistic styles from prints using pochoir, oil and acrylic paintings, paper collage, wood cuts, bronze sculptures, alcohol markers, and colored pencil drawings. The Sky Art Peoria 2026 collection is made by established professional artists, emerging creatives, and student artists. Come in to the gallery to have see the artwork up close by this talented group of artists.
Gallery Hours:
Monday 9am – 5pm | Tuesday 9am – 1pm | Wednesday 9am – 3pm | Thursday 9am – 2pm | Friday 9am – 1pm | Saturday 10am – 2pm
Sky Art Peoria 2026 Artists
Patrick Brennan
The River City
Patrick grew up in Peoria before heading to Wisconsin for college and later spending several years in Denver. Recently, he moved back home with his wife and young daughter, Ophelia.
Art has been part of Patrick’s life for as long as he can remember. He started with drawing and sketching, then gradually explored different mediums and fell in love with creating in all forms. Pottery has always been his favorite, though lately he has been focused more on woodworking and painting. More than anything, he simply loves making things and being creative.
He was incredibly excited for the opportunity to share his work with a wider audience in his community. Art has always been a huge part of who Patrick is, and he’s grateful to be able to connect with others through it.
Patrick shares all of his art on Facebook and Instagram @pbrennan84
Cathie Crawford
Glimmer
Originally from New York City, Cathie Crawford has concentrated on the color reduction woodcut since earning an MFA in 1987 from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where she currently resides.
Her work has been included in forty solo exhibitions, over a hundred juried national shows and thirty-five international juried exhibitions since completing a BFA from The Ohio State University in 1971. Crawford has received fifty-five awards, twelve since 2021. Her woodcuts have been exhibited in thirty-three states as well as Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Italy, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the UK.
Crawford’s prints are included in private and corporate collections in ten countries including at the Print Center New York in New York City; The American University Museum, Washington DC; The Safeya Binzagr Darat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; the Casa de las Americas, Havana, Cuba; the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey and the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria, IL. www.cathiecrawford.com
Eleanor Gentry (LNOR)
Feed Me, Mother!
Eleanor Gentry (LNOR) is an illustrator whose imagination is always at work. LNOR creates worlds and characters that are rooted in her experience and observations, grow in her mind, and bloom throughout her artistic explorations. Eleanor honed in her skills by achieving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Northern Illinois University and currently works as a freelance illustrator. Through her business LNOR LLC, she provides art services, collaborates with other artists, performs live art making, and designs her own products. Explore more with LNOR by visiting her at the Contemporary Art Center and at Studio 1B of Studios on Sheridan, where she shares a studio with artist Katie Fay.
Stacy Hall
You Don't Have to Follow In Your Bloodline
Stacy is originally from Darien, Illinois. For most of her adolescence, she was self-taught as an artist until taking her first formal class in high school. That experience inspired her to continue her studies at Eastern Illinois University, where she focused on 2-D Studio Design. Stacy earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree while also completing minors in Art History and Psychology. During college, she received several honors and awards, including First Place, Best in Show, and Best Amateur Artist distinctions. After graduating, she completed an internship with Hostelling International Chicago as an Art Curator and Coordinator. Stacy later became involved with the Oak Park Art League, where her work was featured in multiple showcases and earned additional recognition, including the People’s Choice Award. Since then, she has earned her Master of Education in Social Emotional Learning from Waldorf University. She currently resides in Peoria, where she works as a Special Education Teacher while also accepting commissioned work from clients across the United States as a freelance artist.
Liz Johnson
Senescence I & II
Liz Johnson earned her Bachelor of Science in 2018 from Bradley University, double-majoring in graphic design and sculpture with a minor in marketing. Shortly after, she created her first life-size bronze sculpture, Prometheus I, for the 2019 Peoria Sculpture Walk. The piece won the People’s Choice Award and is now on display at the Donovan Sculpture Garden in Peoria.
In 2022, Liz earned her Master of Arts from the University of Dallas on a full-ride assistantship. While in Texas, she exhibited work across North Texas, joined the Texas Sculpture Association, participated in an iron pour at Texas Woman’s University and served as Sculpture Graduate Assistant and Gallery Assistant for the Haggerty Art Gallery.
She completed her Master of Fine Arts with distinction at Bradley University in 2024 on a full-ride assistantship, working primarily in cast bronze. During her MFA, she taught rapid prototyping and advanced sculpture courses, helped pour over 2,000 pounds of bronze, contributed to a successful grant for the Donovan Sculpture Garden and assisted in creating the life-size sculpture of Major Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. She also exhibited work at the Peoria Food and Wine Festival and Studios on Sheridan.
Since 2018, Liz has worked in the Marketing and Communications department at OSF HealthCare, balancing her full-time career with her artistic practice.
Her work can be viewed at: https://www.elizabethjohnsonart.online/
Elizabeth Jones
Dunquin Pier, April 2, 7:47 pm
Elizabeth Jones is a current Junior at Metamora High School in Metamora, IL. She has been practicing art from a young age and plans to continue her art throughout high school and into college. Elizabeth has been experimenting with countless mediums, with her favorites including colored pencil, acrylic paint, and pen & ink. Her work has been displayed across Illinois in various art shows, been awarded multiple Best in Show awards, and received two gold keys. She has also displayed her work in Congressman Lahood’s Peoria office as well as his office in Washington DC. Elizabeth’s current body of work has focused on gratitude for one’s life and capturing the awe in everyday things. While she has enjoyed this field of investigation, she is excited for her next object of inquiry and plans to explore the world of fashion and textiles while challenging consumerism in fast fashion.
Elizabeth’s Sky Art piece, Dunquin Pier, April 2, 7:47 pm, is currently being exhibited in Washington, D.C. ArtsPartners will be showing her piece, everyday is all we have, so that viewers can still appreciate her craftmanship.
Rashmi Kannamalla
Be Different, Be You
As a seventh-grade student at Dunlap Middle School, Rashmi has held a deep passion for painting since childhood. Her journey into art has been greatly inspired and supported by her mother, Rishi Shalini Kannamalla, and her teacher, Krishna Mam, who both provide the foundational guidance that fuels Rashmi’s creativity.
Matt Keltner-Smith
Mid Century Modern
Matt Keltner-Smith is a seasoned printing specialist based in Peoria, IL, where he was born and raised. Drawing since grade school, he brings a keen artistic sensibility to every project he undertakes. Outside of work, Matt enjoys photography, reading, listening to music, and exploring graphic design-pursuits that continually inspire his professional craftsmanship. His work can be viewed at https://matthewjk.artstation.com/
Josh Marlow
There's No Face to Fear
Josh is a student at Washington Community High School with a passion for creating and sharing art. He often leaves small sketches in places he visits, hoping they’ll brighten someone’s day and spark a meaningful connection through creativity.
Through his art classes, Josh has explored a range of mediums, including traditional drawing, digital art, video, and animation. These experiences have sharpened his technical skills, expanded his creative perspective, and inspired him to keep experimenting with new forms of visual storytelling.
A devoted Detroit Tigers fan and baseball enthusiast, Josh frequently draws inspiration from the sport. He enjoys creating artwork featuring baseball legends, iconic moments in sports history, and original designs for stadiums and uniforms—blending his love of athletics with his imagination and artistic voice.
Beyond visual art, Josh writes and illustrates comic books, combining images and narrative to develop original characters and stories. He is also cultivating an interest in sports journalism and broadcasting, with the goal of building a career that unites art, storytelling, and sports media. As he continues his education, Josh looks forward to further developing his talents and sharing his work with wider audiences.
Peggy West
Flower Market
Peggy West studied printmaking and earned an MA in Museum Studies at Western Illinois University. She holds a certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration from the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, Illinois) and is a University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalist. She has taught Book Arts at Bradley University and is a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, and the national Handmade Book and Cartonnage Clubs. Her artworks have been exhibited at the Lyme Art Association (Lyme, CT), Indiana Dunes National Park, Peoria Art Guild, The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, The Foster Gallery, The Morton Arboretum, The Buchanan Center of the Arts, The Galesburg Arts Center, The Quincy Arts Center, The MAC (Macomb, IL), fine art fairs, museums, and in private collections. Peggy maintains a print shop (Wild Type Press) and a home studio in Peoria, Illinois. She can be followed on Instagram @wildtypepress.
Cathie Crawford
Photo by Craig Stocks for Playing in Peoria
Originally from New York City, Cathie Crawford has concentrated on the color reduction woodcut since earning an MFA in 1987 from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where she currently resides.
Her work has been included in forty solo exhibitions, over a hundred juried national shows and thirty-five international juried exhibitions since completing a BFA from The Ohio State University in 1971. Crawford has received fifty-five awards, twelve since 2021. Her woodcuts have been exhibited in thirty-three states as well as Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Italy, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the UK.
Crawford’s prints are included in private and corporate collections in ten countries including at the Print Center New York in New York City; The American University Museum, Washington DC; The Safeya Binzagr Darat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; the Casa de las Americas, Havana, Cuba; the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey and the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria, IL. www.cathiecrawford.com
