Carlyn is an art teacher, wife, and mom of two who expresses herself through bold black lines, dots, and textures. Her work, often inspired by animals, uses pointillism and pattern to convey emotion. A 40-year-old punk at heart, she believes everyone can create art.

Dylan returns to Art Battle after previously competing. A designer living and working in Boston, he’s been drawing forever, loves swords, and insists George is the best Beatle. He’s a multitalented designer drawn to large, complex problem spaces, documenting and dissecting systems like healthcare and accounting. In addition to his design work, he paints landscapes, figures, album covers, and abstract pieces, hosts gallery events, tables at markets, and has even taken the stage at MAGFest.

Eli is an art student at MassArt on the path to becoming an illustrator. He’s been creating art for as long as he can remember and has no plans to slow down. He’s taken part in Art Battles at Lamplighter before and loved the fun, welcoming atmosphere. He’s excited to join more events with other artists and people who simply enjoy being around art.

Emily, a self-taught painter, has been creating art since she was five. Her work is figurative and vibrant, with color and form working together to express the emotions she wants to convey. For Emily, art is a way to communicate without words, and it has become as natural to her as writing.

Jess, also known as Pickles, has been an artist as long as she can remember. She focused on ceramics but also studied being an art teacher with a focus on painting and sculpting./sf

Judy is a corporate worker by day and a painter of angry animals by night. She works mainly in acrylic and oil, focusing on portraiture and monochromatic pieces. Growing up, she wanted to be a cartoonist, a claymation artist, a CSI investigator, a lawyer, and a punk singer. Eventually she realized her true passion was taking a stick and moving colorful mud around a surface. Over the years her interests shifted from Family Guy characters to portraits, movie scenes, real people, and animals—each telling stories without words.

Marija’s work searches for a sense of wonder, inviting observers on an adventure to discover the secrets hidden in the intricate details of her paintings. She is drawn to symbolic portrayals of nature, traditional crafts, dreams, shamanic and meditative experiences, and feminine representation across cultures. Through shamanic practice, meditation, and dream analysis, she accesses visions of the subconscious and spiritual realms, bringing them to life through various artistic mediums. Since 2018, she has participated in many exhibitions and art projects locally and internationally.

Mona Sahney is a 23‑year‑old self‑taught landscape painter who began teaching herself to paint in 2017 and quickly found art becoming the central passion in her life. In 2018, she launched an annual fundraiser selling her work to support an organization in India that helps children with shelter, education, and medical care—an effort that has since raised nearly $4,000 and remains one of her most meaningful accomplishments. Her paintings celebrate the natural beauty and brightness of the world, and she hopes her journey shows that art is driven by passion, not innate talent, and that anyone can make a difference, even in small ways.

Rachel is a self‑taught artist who blends traditional media like ballpoint pen, oil pastel, and acrylic paint with digital techniques. She’s most inspired by birds and fish, capturing them in bold, colorful strokes. Her last art competition was a chalk event in Pennsylvania at sixteen, and after moving back East, she’s excited to reconnect with her community’s art scene. She loves fast, expressive creations made with acrylics and oil pastels and is ready to jump back in.

Sam went from never having painted to painting every day in 2019, falling in love with the experience and the process. They work improvisationally and almost always on multiple pieces at once, inspired by whatever medium is in front of them—marker, acrylic, house paint, anything. Their influences come from friends, the kids they work with, existentialism, and cartoons, all feeding into fast, intuitive, ever‑evolving creations.

Kevin Sullivan (Sensei23) is a professional fine artist and illustrator with over 20 years of experience creating original acrylic works. His practice centers on narrative-driven artwork, combining technical realism with expressive design to translate photographs, memories, and conceptual ideas into compelling visual pieces. Throughout his career, Sensei has collaborated with internationally recognized companies including Microsoft, Rhapsody, Audi (Seattle), and Elysian Brewing Company. Now based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Sensei's Art Dojo practice includes commissioned portraiture, pet memorial paintings, landscapes, architectural subjects, and concept-based works.