Artists of Figures | 2025 Feb Archives - ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal | Call for Artists

Gold Artist of the 2025 Figures call for artists.

Olivia Patricia O’Neal

Olivia-Patricia O’Neal straightforwardly shares her observations on canvas, but just like the first black-and-white films, her paintings don’t seem still. They speak and start a simple conversation about life with you.

Olivia-Patricia’s images portray everyday situations or evoke powerful mythology. These paintings exist in other dimensions—half in reflection, in the memories of the old days, and the other half in the powerful family dynamics. In every moment and figure, a wise old soul can share its knowledge and revelation, letting its audience explore their fantasies and encouraging them to process life’s happenings.

These paintings are not mirrors but rather conversation pieces at a party, directing the chatter and small talk into dialogues about the true nature of human beings. They encourage connection, drawing you in with their raw authenticity, where the lines between observation and emotion blur. The work doesn’t shy away from life’s complexities; instead, it gently invites viewers to engage, ask questions, and consider what art reveals about themselves. Doing so creates a subtle but powerful impact on how we perceive and relate to the world around us.

Olivia-Patricia’s work is rooted in the human experience and never stops shifting and rediscovering new voices. Each piece she creates is like an open-ended conversation, where the viewer is invited to participate in making sense of the world through what they see.

There’s a vulnerability in her subjects, a quiet energy that feels close but distant enough to leave room for time and reflection. The viewer gets a personal tour of the mysteries of everyday life and routines.

Olivia-Patricia’s work shares the intelligence and emotional power expressed in the drawings of Kathe Kollwitz. One can see the earnestness and interpersonal connection both artists convey and produce with their unique way of observing human figures—figures inspired by the roughness of stone and the softness of a carefully placed brushstroke.

Olivia-Patricia O’Neal, originally from Tennessee and raised in Nashville, earned her Master’s degree from the New York Academy of Art. She travelled to Italy, where she deepened her expertise in sculpture at the Cooperativa in Pietrasanta. Over the course of her career, Olivia-Patricia has exhibited her work in 14 solo shows and 27 group exhibitions, with her pieces represented in international galleries. She has worked in studios in the United States, France, and Mexico. A selection of her work is housed at Château St. Philippe, where she maintains a studio for part of the year.

Olivia Patricia O’Neal is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Figures call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the 2025 ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.

pterrelloneal.com

Gold Writer of the 2025 Figures call for artists.

Iraida

Mythodesign

He moved to a different country.
I have a new passionate boyfriend.
The other one.
Not for the first time…

Iraida’s ways of writing capture the simplicity of life in the entangled means of living, encouraging readers to follow their own lead and inspiration to walk through life with a swing in each step.

Iraida’s text flows like a soft stream next to a powerful mountain, considerate of each turn yet free of any rules. The writing lets the reader be part of an intimate moment, shared in the vacuum of time, like a memory that unfolds and merges with the reader’s personal experiences. With its lucid and watery sensations, the poem provides an atmosphere ranging from a rainy day in front of the fireplace to a busy date in the city centre. This kind of writing changes with every read, depending on the time and space the reader can provide. The lucid imagery and careful attention to detail give the text a tactile quality, as though readers could touch and feel the figures of writing on the page.

Inspired by various art forms—songwriting, classic and modern paintings, as well as filmmaking—Iraida brings a distinct voice to their writing. Filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, with his lifelike and patience-testing moving images, appear unmistakable in this text. His work lingers, like Iraida’s, inviting reflection and holding a silence that stirs thought. Both create a space where a pause is welcomed, allowing the audience to halt, notice, and carry on.

Iraida’s work holds this kind of presence, where simplicity meets complexity and silence is the source of creativity. There are countless encounters and stories in Iraida’s writing—humans who cross paths and part ways, ancient figures travelling between the airy skies and the earthy depths of hell. The travellers in these stories create their own passing of time, their presence gently floating downstream like leaves in a wild river. These stories unfold without judgment or preference, leaving space for the reader to interpret and connect with their own life stories. Iraida’s ability to combine a range of inspirations and influences makes their writing resonate deeply. The atmosphere shifts fluidly and evokes sensations that are interpersonal.

Iraida writes poems and prose, humbly calling them “just texts.” Beyond their creative practice, Iraida works as a university lecturer in literary studies and semiotics. They also lead extracurricular creative writing groups, encouraging young voices to find their own forms of expression.

For Iraida, art and human connection are inseparable. Their belief in the unique ability of every individual to inspire—even in the smallest of ways—permeates their artful writing and teaching.

Iraida is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Figures call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the 2025 ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.

Silver Artist of the 2025 Figures call for artists.

Mike Stengl

Embodying ideals and societal narratives, the female figure has arguably been a central subject in art. Its prevalence is what makes this topic challenging as well. A painter, Mike Stengl, seeks to give personal optics on every figure he depicts.

When discussing his style, the author replies, “A great painter once said, you are not painting the subject matter; you are painting how you feel about the subject matter. I use any and every style and technique in my arsenal to this end: impressionistic, representational, abstraction.” Indeed, even giving a cursory glance to his pieces on the pages of this issue, it is easy to notice how variously they were created. Bold colour palettes, expressive brushwork, and geometric structuring unite all three,

In The Pacific, Stengl portrays a figure standing against a tranquil seascape, her body rendered in a harmonious interplay of warm and cool tones. The soft pastels of the background contrast with the bold reds and blues of the figure, drawing attention to her presence within the vast landscape.

This Way Then takes a more fragmented and expressive approach, using vibrant colours and dynamic composition to capture the sense of movement. The figure is depicted with bold strokes, done, as in all other works, with a flat bristle brush. Angular forms emerge from the abstract background, contrasting with the definite surroundings of the first image.

In White Blouse, Stengl ventures further into abstraction, breaking the form into geometric shapes and muted earth tones. The figure becomes an interplay of intersecting planes, blending the silhouette with the elements of cubism.

Mike Stengl’s works echo the legacy of artists like the famous French painter Henri Matisse. This association evolves from the author’s method of combining intensive colour contrasts with laconic forms to bridge non-figurative art and realism. At the same time, he doesn’t step over the line, behind which the corporeality of the female figure is completely deconstructed with a cold, contemplative gaze. All of his characters emanate sensuality and individuality through poses and gestures.

The artist is not looking for a non-existent perfect body but searches for ways to express the personality of each given model. This strategy offers a unique perspective on the female form, fusing naturalistic elements with modern abstraction to achieve a tension between representation and interpretation.

Mike Stengl has exhibited works since 1997 throughout Eureka, California, showcasing new creations as opportunities arise and local galleries evolve. As the artist himself notes, the exhibitions have been sporadic yet deeply connected to the community’s dynamic art scene. Beyond Eureka, the artist’s reach has extended to Portland, Oregon, with a show at Embellishments Studios, and participation in the Works on Paper exhibition at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Mike Stengl is the Silver Artist of the ArtAscent Figures call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the 2025 ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.

https://www.tumblr.com/mikestengl

Kaden Sebastian

Contemporary art aspires to present humanity in the diversity of its bodily, societal, and emotional aspects, introducing the previously marginalized figures. Giving form to his personal experience, Kaden Sebastian intertwines symbolism related to queer culture with the realistic depiction of its representatives.

The featured acrylic paintings belong to the two series by the artist. Their conceptual underpinnings are immediately visualized through the shapes of the custom-made canvases that reference the episodes of the movement’s turmoil history.

For instance, The Pink Triangle paintings with the portraits of the singers Luka Bazulka and Lil Nas X draw on the symbol initially used to stigmatize the LGBTQIA+ community. In the 1930s and 1940s Nazi Germany, individuals identified as homosexual were forced to wear downward-pointing pink triangles as a marker of persecution and dehumanization. Decades later, during the 1970s, activists within the LGBTQIA+ movement reappropriated this symbol, flipping it upward. This reimagining transformed the pink triangle into a powerful emblem of resistance, pride, and solidarity. The series explores the duality of its history—its origins in oppression and its evolution into a beacon of empowerment and visibility—while reflecting on how reclaiming symbols can reshape collective identity and cultural narratives.

The tie-like shape of the canvases from the Lavender Drag Queens series, with portraits of iconic drag artists, overlaid on the paisley pattern often used in the designs of handkerchiefs, hints at the handkerchief code. It was a discreet signalling system popular in the 1970s. Coloured handkerchiefs in back pockets conveyed sexual preferences and identities. Kaden chose lavender as a symbol of drag queens, praising the community’s ability to connect and thrive despite societal rejection, bridging queer history with modern self-expression.

All portraits approach the classical realistic manner of rendering the details. The sensuality of the male figures reminds of the paintings by Caravaggio. The Italian master was renowned for his dramatic use of chiaroscuro and naturalistic depictions of the human form. His compositions are often discussed in the context of queerness due to the homoerotic undertones in many of his works that suggest an intimacy and subversion of traditional gender norms. While keeping traditional aesthetics of the human figure’s depiction in mind, Kaden charges it with different meanings and honours the enduring fight for representation and equality.

Kaden Sebastian is a queer artist specializing in painting and animation, currently based in the Los Angeles area. Originally from Connecticut, he received dual degrees in animation and fine arts, with a concentration in painting, alongside a theatre minor at Ball State University (2018–2024). As a motion graphics artist, he was a story co-lead and animator for the production of Moonlight Escape short film (2021). Kaden’s work has been featured in prominent exhibitions such as Ball State’s Annual Juried Student Art Show and Foundations Show, as well as the Richmond Art Museum’s 124th Juried Annual Exhibition. He is recipient of the College of Fine Arts INNOVATE Grant.

Kaden Sebastian is the Bronze Artist of the ArtAscent Figures call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the 2025 ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.

kadensebastian.com