Contributing Artists to the PSL Starter Kit 2025
These artists have heeded our call to artists, and their art has was chosen to be a part of the 4th Annual PSL Starter Kit program. We proudly feature them and welcome you to learn more about them, explore their art, and see where they draw inspiration in their creative process. They are from all over the USA, from the Florida coast, the Midwest, the Northeast, the Mountain West, to the coast of California.
SL Yang / Lori Mitchell / Melissa Pape / Galina Hitching / Janna Sue Steagall / Leticia Plate / Cristina Henley / Callie Gardemann / Francis Ambrose
What motivates you to make beautiful art? I enjoy creating first for myself and letting my emotions out and second to show others it is OK to have emotions.
What’s your favorite medium to work with? I work with many mediums. My most unique is melted crayon on canvas. I draw directly on the canvas with my less dominant hand as it melts. The heat is controlled by my dominant hand.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others? Amazing and grateful!
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you? So my people have done extremely kind things for me. I once traveled to Africa to teach kids art. I had a very limited amount of money on me. Less than $30 on the way home and all my credit cards were maxed out. I had to check a bag and couldn’t because I did not have the $80. The airline attendant checked my bag for me so that I could travel home.
What is your favorite inspiration quote?
Or a compassionate quote? “Without Action, there is No traction.” – K
“In a World full of Muffins, Be a CUPCAKE.”-Kiera Anderson
What motivates me to make beautiful art? What’s your favorite medium?
I don’t know that I am motivated to create “beautiful” art. I think I am just motivated to draw and create and if it turns out beautiful, great. But if I set out to create beautiful art, that feels like too much pressure and not much fun. I think I am more about just being in the moment and capturing what is going on around me. Sketching at coffee shops for example. The sketching keeps me in the moment and I capture little even day moments that might otherwise go unnoticed or remembered.
Pen and watercolor are my favorites. I keep a travel watercolor kit and water brush in my purse at all times. I also have a small watercolor sketchpad and a black waterproof pen.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
It makes me feel happy and grateful to be able to share a little art that might brighten someone’s day.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
I am happy to say that so many stories flooded my memory. This one floated to the top.
I was fresh out of college and I was on my way to a job interview in my little VW bug. The gas gauge didn’t work and I ran out of gas on the freeway. I safely pulled over to the side but had no cell phone. I was only there for a few minutes before a woman in a big truck pulled up behind me. She said she could bring me to the gas station. I hopped in and realized I didn’t have a cent on me. She said not to worry. She had a little gas tank in her truck so filled that up and paid for my gas and took me back to my car. I had told her I was on my way to a job interview so she proceeded to put the gas into my car so I wouldn’t smell like gas at the interview. I asked for her address so I could repay her but she just asked that I do the same for someone else someday.
What is your favorite inspirational quote?
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Mary Oliver
Or a compassionate quote?
“If you have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
Mother Teresa
What motivates you to make beautiful art? I am inspired by ideas, music, nature, and design. Being highly visual, art becomes my language to process that inspiration and communicate it meaningfully to others. Through my work, I aim to cultivate hope for today and courage for tomorrow. Art is the most powerful way I know to achieve this connection with others.
What’s your favorite medium to work with? I love acrylic paint! It’s incredibly versatile. I can build up thick layers of texture, paint delicate lines with a brush, add dimension with found objects or tools, or create thin washes of color. This versatility allows me to bring a depth of emotion and thought into each painting.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others? We need more love and kindness in our world, especially now. The thought that my work might bring a moment of joy or comfort to someone during their day gives my art practice additional purpose and meaning. It’s a beautiful full-circle moment—creating from love and having that creation continue spreading love.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you? When my son was 9 months old, he needed a seven-hour brain surgery. It meant so much to my husband and me to have our parents and friends sit with us through that entire surgery and visit us during his recovery afterward. Their presence gave us comfort in that uncertain time. This experience taught me the profound impact of simply showing up for others, which I strive to carry forward in my relationships today.
What is your favorite inspiration quote? Or a compassionate quote? “‘Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.’ ― Pema Chödrön, The Places That Scare You
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
As someone who has struggled with depression, I believe we need art that brings beauty into the world without denying the existence of pain and darkness. Beauty can be healing, clarifying, and nurturing. When I create, I seek to share the hope and light that I have found.
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
Oils, Watercolor, and Ink are my three favorite. I create different art with different mediums, so it’s difficult to choose just one!
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
I’m so pleased! My watercolors are birthed from a calming meditative process and I’m excited for that calm and peace to be communicated to those who need encouragement and inspiration.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
After a personal loss, a friend bought me some painted lady caterpillars – watching them become butterflies saved my life at the time and I’ll never forget her.
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
I love to create art because it makes me feel like I did as a kid! I want to share a bit of that childhood magic with others
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
I am a perfectionist so I LOVE to work digitally! My Ctr V gets a workout every time I create!
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
I am so happy that my work can be used to spread kindness and love! I’ve always hoped my artwork would encourage the world to be a more beautiful place.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
The kindness thing ever done in my life has been just showing up during hard times. After I had my baby I was blown away by the people who were willing to just show love and support and show up for me even though I couldn’t offer them anything in return!
What is your favorite inspiration quote? Or a compassionate quote?
One quote I live by is by Britt Nicole: “We get so worried about being pretty. Lets be pretty kind. Pretty funny. Pretty smart. Pretty strong.”
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
I just honestly like making art as a way to express my personal thoughts and feelings as words aren’t my strong suit. As someone who has dealt with anxiety and depression most of my life, art has been such a life saver for me. I hope that when others see my art they can smile and laugh alongside me while looking at my goofy creations. My favorite medium is a ballpoint pen! I went to an open artist workshop and had the honor of sitting next to a person who drew with pen. I loved it so much I challenged myself to do the same. Now I find it hard to use pencils.
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
Ecstatic! We all need little things in our lives that spark joy and I try my best in my day to day to make those around me smile. To be able to do that for folks outside of my home state is an amazing feeling.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
It makes me truly happy! It is truly one of the reasons I draw.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
Just believe in me and encourage me when I was struggling to do those things for myself.
What is your favorite inspiration quote?
Take the time to smile to a stranger. The littlest things can make such an impact.
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
I love to create art because it makes me feel like I did as a kid! I want to share a bit of that childhood magic with others
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
I am a perfectionist so I LOVE to work digitally! My Ctr V gets a workout every time I create!
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
I am so happy that my work can be used to spread kindness and love! I’ve always hoped my artwork would encourage the world to be a more beautiful place.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
The kindness thing ever done in my life has been just showing up during hard times. After I had my baby I was blown away by the people who were willing to just show love and support and show up for me even though I couldn’t offer them anything in return!
What is your favorite inspiration quote? Or a compassionate quote?
One quote I live by is by Britt Nicole: “We get so worried about being pretty. Lets be pretty kind. Pretty funny. Pretty smart. Pretty strong.”
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
I am a professional illustrator, and I knew early in my life that telling stories through images was my special talent. I am inspired to create art that will add sunshine -and maybe a smile- to someone’s day.
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
I love, love line art. My line is often done traditionally with brush and ink but colored digitally.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
It makes me truly happy! It is truly one of the reasons I draw.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
I feel very lucky and blessed in general, so it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. Between my family, my circle of friends and the fact that I get to do art every day, I am just grateful for it all.
What is your favorite inspiration quote?
“Look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping” by Fred Rogers (aka Mister Rogers)
Or a compassionate quote?
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud” by Maya Angelou
What motivates you to make beautiful art?
My work is process-focused versus result-focused. As a plein air abstract artist, I work entirely outdoors. When I work on my craft, I am immersed in protected lands and wild spaces. Working outdoors facilitates my art practice and my focus to slow down, observe, and let go of judgment. I start by creating movement on the paper, and when I enter my flow state/meditative state, I start to look up and take notes of color, shape, and texture. I think we all can fall into loops of being self-critical or judgmental of ourselves and others, which robs us of our freedom and the ability to simply play. My mission is to remind myself and others that we are all artists and we are all creative. It is very important to exercise our creative muscles to create a better world. It is vital to slow down and appreciate our protected lands and let go of our judgments.
What’s your favorite medium to work with?
I love to work in watercolor and wax-based colored pencils! They are very versatile and starkly different from each other, which allows me to have more stimulus to work with when getting out of my head and slowing down.
How does it make you feel to know your art will be utilized to spread love and kindness to others?
It makes me feel really happy and proud of the process I have created. I created this process because I needed solace from my negative thoughts and habitual thought patterns. The idea that processing my sometimes negative emotions or thoughts has in turn created happiness in others is very healing. It fortifies the idea that it is ok to have negative thoughts and emotions and that the actions you take to process them matter the most.
What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?
I am not sure about the kindest thing of all time… but there was a stranger who was learning to become a composer who heard me sing and struck up a conversation with me. I showed him my visual art, and we talked for a while about art and music, and I played him some of my original music. He left me a long handwritten letter about my songwriting and my art. He told me to never quit singing or making art. He said that my art process is endless and that I have a beautiful voice. He said that we are all made of fragments, and when you put all the fragments together, it makes us whole. I have pretty much been told not to pursue the arts my entire life, so getting that letter was really moving and helped me feel confident in my ability.
What is your favorite inspiration quote? Or a compassionate quote?
“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” – Rainer Maria Rilke