Artists in Residence
Matthew Crane
Vibrant color and energetic movement are the language of my art. Each piece begins as a passionate act of introspection and self-expression. Layer by layer – through washes of sheer acrylics, interlacing drips, gestural mark making, acrylic mediums, and luminous oil paints, I face my own vulnerabilities, transforming them into color, light, and motion. My artistic process is as much about inner repair and spiritual evolution as it is about creating something beautiful to share with the world.
My hope is that my work gives viewers space and opportunity to pause and reflect, inviting them into a quiet exploration of their own inner landscape.
I do not believe my artwork can be fully understood without knowing that I am HIV positive. This reality informs every aspect of my life, and in turn, deeply influences my artwork on a subconscious level. It sharpens my awareness of mortality, the fragility of existence, and the subtle layers that shape our lives. While this perspective may not be visible in every piece, it quietly weaves its way through much of what I create.
Artist Bio
Matthew Crane Fine Art is located in Bellingham Washington, at Whatcom Art Center Studios. His work blends vibrant color, layered textures, and symbolic imagery – exploring themes of healing, transformation, awareness, resilience, and hope. Drawing from his background in Massage Therapy, he approaches each painting as a living energy field, embedding every layer with a different aspect of the spirit within the painting. His process is multilayered, bridging the visual and the visceral, inviting viewers into moments of reflection, empowerment, and hope.
Matthew’s Art has been exhibited in local and national venues, including the Whatcom Art Center, Colophon Café, and the international Proud+ 2025 exhibition at The Studio Door Gallery in San Diego CA. An active member of the Whatcom Art Guild, Matthew has been voted Artist Of The Month by WAG three times this year. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, he often weaves personal narrative and quiet strength into his work. In addition to Original Fine Art pieces, Matthew’s art extends into prints, gift cards, and usable/wearable merchandise, expanding the reach of his vision that art can be both healing and unapologetically alive.
Ceci Lopez
Ceci Lopez has always been a creator, but took her several decades to recognize it. In 2024, at the age of 54, she found art as a way to heal deep grief following the unexpected passing of her mom. This newly found way of engaging with emotions opened her to recognize her deeply held love for making art. She joined the Milan Art Institute in April 2024 and began a journey that would transform her life, worldview, and the way she engages the power within to mitigate the powers without (remembering the wisdom of the self). Art allowed Ceci to tear down deep walls erected to protect her heart from her feelings. Finding art as a way to move through grief reminded her to live from the heart, a teaching she received as a child from her great-grand father.
Ceci’s art is all about feelings and this has helped her in her quest to reconnect with her ancestral wisdom and re-center her sense of self in her identity. With her art, she invites the viewer to enter a world where there is joy, action, emotion, tenderness, and love. A world as it should be, free from rigidity and the fear of feelings. A world where we recognize the energetic world around us as a living teacher, as a partner in how we create life; Art as a gateway to nature and nature leads us back to the heart.
She is a prolific painter and in a very short time has produced several pieces that have been part of juried and not-juried show. Ceci is a member of the Allied Arts of Whatcom County, The Whatcom Arts Guild, and is an artist in residence at Whatcom Arts Center, studio1.
