Alex Petersen is an artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. Being raised with a mother who was also an artist and teacher, art has long been a defining part of her life.

Alex works with encaustic over pen and ink drawings when not hiding from the dark or wildly chasing after rainbows. Finally receiving a proper diagnoses of bipolar II after years of dealing with a brain full of chiaroscuro, she is just now trying to get used to a new normal.

Alex has had solo shows throughout the Portland area, including the Bella Perla Gallery and the Tyson Gallery, as well as numerous public venues. Current works focus on themes of isolation and introspection, and the subtle strangeness of childhood memories and dream states. Animals are often featured prominently, serving as symbolic manifestations of the hopes and fears of childhood that sleep within us all.

You may find more of Alex’s work on her website here.

Lorelei Beckstrom hails originally from Minnesota. After studying painting, sculpture, and graphic design for seven years, Beckstrom relocated to the mountains of Colorado in 1994, thus fulfilling a childhood dream to move to the west. She took a long hiatus from fine art to build an off-the-grid dream home, and while she lived in a tipi adjacent to the structure-in-progress, found herself stretching canvases on tipi poles and resuming her artistic passion.

After a diagnosis of Bipolar II in 2004, her painting became her primary form of therapy. Leaving her high-stress publishing business and closing her yoga studio, she finally had time to focus on her health and on her painting.

Beckstrom originally became known for her acrylic, wire, and etched plexiglass paintings and installations of brains, neurons, and machines, but after 20 years, returned to oils and a more academic narrative figurative approach. It was then that she began to immerse herself in a world of wire walkers and audiences, painting with what she eventually realized was an ironic passion—the artist actually harbors a fear of both heights and crowds. Beckstrom theorizes that she’s responding to her “fears in some odd way, and painting to work through them.” Beckstrom says she realized that she had “been an artist for all those years, but not a painter.” She now very much considers herself to be a painter. Beckstrom often feels like she’s leading the painting, up until a point, and then it leads her. “The world created in the painting becomes richer than real life- more real, almost.”

Beckstrom has shown prolifically in Colorado, where she co-owned the award-winning Rubbish Gallery, and her work resides in collections in the United States, Mexico, and England. She is represented by The Modbo in Colorado Springs and the Carla Wright Gallery in Denver. Her most recent work can be viewed at www.loreleibeckstrom.com.

My name is Sarah. I live in Kent, UK. I have two sons at home. I’ve struggled with depression for many years and had a lot of therapy. I only found out I had bipolar disorder by co-incidence some 8 years ago but never really knew or understood what that meant to me. I have used my art to help me express the various stages of my journey, the extreme changes mood can have from one day to the next, and how differently I have felt about myself, my beliefs and the world around me. Continue reading →

I am Louise Ryan and I am a 42 year old passionate artist. As an artist I have a love hate relationship with my bipolar. My illness can bring me such creative energy and vivid ideas. It can also drain my life-force and cloak me with melancholy. But the beauty and tragedy of the human condition is always at the core of my art. I rejoice in my elation and acknowledge the aesthetic of torment. “The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.” Anaïs Nin. Continue reading →

Gloria Mikyska is a regular contributor to our Facebook Page and has written a page about her experiences with bipolar disorder in her article, “How Bipolar Disorder Blessed Me”. She is also an artist, and has shared with us some of her paintings. Gloria has a lifetime of experience with bipolar disorder, having dealt with the condition for fifty years, and brings that experience to her artwork. Continue reading →

Amy Zing Gray is an artist from Portland, Oregon. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder five years ago. She works in theater, and discovered pastels through art therapy sessions. Since that discovery, she has assumed the artwork as her own, drawing regularly. She has found artwork very helpful in expressing and dealing with her symptoms. She has her own Facebook page dedicated to her artwork, which can be found here. Continue reading →

Benjamin Graebner grew up in Colorado and was a competitive swimmer and loved to snowboard the mountains. He is a 2010 graduate from Ave Maria University in history. While studying for his undergrad, Ben was, as yet, undiagnosed and not in touch with any medical assistance and it is a tribute to his strength and determination to have completed his degree considering how he was suffering. He is currently working towards his master’s degree at Palo Alto University for clinical psychology. Now twenty-three years old, Ben was diagnosed in January, 2011 as Bipolar 1. Continue reading →