An Atlanta-based contemporary semi abstract fine artist working in oils and mixed media, my work combines intuitive and layering approaches using original and found collage papers, handcrafted natural inks, eco-friendly spray paint, and handcrafted mark-making tools. As an enchanted "imagemaker" through the visual arts, writing / blogging, and photography, I treasure sharing them from my studio, travels, and on social media.

I most often start off painting and collaging intuitively and sometimes impressionistically for my first layers, then adding representational symbols, animals, and nature-inspired themes on top of the abstract work. Adding hidden elements of words, images, and text add to the dynamic of each piece. This intuitive, playful, and yet intentional process most often yields powerful results on the canvas:  emotive, sometimes ethereal, and visually appealing.

A life-long learner and researcher, mixed media work offers the perfect opportunity for creative play. Boredom adverse, I prefer keeping things engaging and fresh, from original pieces to commissions to classes and courses. A major influence for me is to experiment in my art journals - a favorite way to “try on” new techniques, mediums. and tools, and also to process life. Absorbing what I've learned from my creative exploration, I find that clients delight in seeing what new things I come up with after taking new ideas and techniques from the art journal page to the canvas.

So if that sounds fun, intriguing, and beautiful (and I hope it does!), I would be incredibly honored to have you join me on this creative journey! Just click on the button below and become an “Insider” :)

I have been a creative guide in various forms since 2012, through workshops, creativity coaching, and classes, both online and in-person. In addition to in-person mixed media classes and presentations in the Southeastern U.S., I also offer online courses and creative communities.

At this time, I am utilizing my studio to film and offer online courses plus workshops and communities on the Zoom platform. The online space means I've been able to serve an international community, especially in the U.K., Australia, Europe, and New Zealand.  You can find out more about my online courses at the LEARN tab (click here).

There are many creatives like myself who enjoy learning, growing spiritually, and sharing within a network of like-minded individuals. And becoming very comfy with online platforms - plus  sharing the gift of encouragement - I have formed communities with an international audience.  I have a heart to see others discover and flourish in their creativity and life - all the while cultivating joy, peace, and laughter in the process. 

1 - Creative Café with Debra Hart Studio (since 2020), a free Facebook community for creatives of all kinds and all places. Members come around one another in creative practice, prayer, sharing their creative happenings, and spiritual growth, with two opportunities per month to connect with Debra (a YouTube “live” and a Zoom call).

2 - Creative Café SOUL Collective with Debra Hart Studio (since 2023), a subscription-based creativity and spirituality group launched to meet the needs of those wanting a deeper, heart-focused, more intimate experience with a creative tribe. Each 5-month session meets on Zoom twice monthly to push further and deeper into spiritual practices, the prophetic, and mixed media art.  There is a private Facebook group where we meet to discuss art journaling, journaling prompts, and what the Lord is showing us, plus it includes bonus art journaling / mixed media instructional videos.

Keep reading for more info on Debra's creative story - and a whole bunch of pics 😂

I’ve been a creative girl since running amuck in the fields and wilds of my rural Michigan childhood home, encouraged by my parents and family to pursue all the creative leanings from a very early age.

From the earliest days, I remember making doll clothes, writing and illustrating stories into hand-made books, making my own gift-wrap out of paper grocery bags, writing a family ‘newsletter’ with pen-pal cousin Diane, and creating handmade greeting cards. All this creative mess spilled out onto my math pages, in the form of horse drawings, and led my 3rd grade teacher to recommend that my parents “get the girl some art lessons so she’ll quit doodling on her school work!”

I don’t think that suggestion was meant all that kindly, but I can thank Mrs. Pringle (promise I didn’t make that up!) and local artist, Donis Haynes, who saw my work in a 4-H art class not longer after and recommended the same thing. Soon after, from age 9-18, I became privately tutored by award-winning Mason (MI) Art Guild artist, Vesta Eckhart. As an instructor myself now, I am grateful for the incredibly solid foundation that Vesta provided in realism drawing (charcoal, pastel, conté crayon, pencil, and pen & ink), as well as oil, watercolor, palette knife, and abstract painting. She taught me how to handle just about every subject, and would often read from art history books while I worked. Vesta encouraged me to enter local art shows and cheered me (and my parents) on as I won awards. With such a wide exposure at such a young age, I had little trouble self-teaching later on when mixed media, collage, and acrylics caught my fancy.

A Southern girl for over 40 years now, I’ve been actively involved in the worship and creative arts in some form or another for most of that time. It’s been my privilege to teach mixed media, collage, and art journaling classes since 2012, and to serve as a leader in the creative team of Futures Church (previously Influencers Church) since 2015. I’ve been mentored spiritually by Deitra Shoemaker (Listen To Your Life facilitator) since 2011, as an artist & entrepreneur by Matt Tommey (matttommeymentoring.com) since 2017, where I have served as a mastermind leader and now a mentoring program team member. I’ve also aligned since December 2022 with Joel McKerrow for coaching and mentoring through his School for Creative Development, based out of Melbourne, AU, and in 2024 with Craig Cooney for prophetic mentoring and training through his Prophetic Transitions community based out of Northern Ireland.

I began showing my art publicly in 2017 in various gallery and shows, and teach art journaling & mixed media techniques at Influencers Arts Academy. Invited to be an assistant oil painting instructor at the John Campbell Folk Art School in Western North Carolina, I spent a week helping a favorite master oil/plein air artist & Floridian, Robin Popp, and would have taught in 2020 and 2021 except for the pandemic. I assisted another mover-shaker artist friend, Amy Smith, at her Devotional Creativity Art Retreat in the Pinehurst area of North Carolina; and was juried as an instructor in 2020 for the distinguished Gathering of Artisans (gatheringofartisans.com) near Asheville, NC.

My art life has mirrored real life, fraught with stops and starts, but an extended season of emotional and trauma healing means that I’m now free and freely creating again. I am amazed every day that this is the path I’m finally on … and I adore seeing clients’ reactions to a commission or show piece they’ve purchased, or a creative flame that gets sparked in one of my classes.

It’s a joy and privilege helping others come alive, discover, and restore through the creative arts in my classes, workshops, private creativity encouragement sessions (a combination of art instruction and straight-up encouragement about creativity, identity, and heart-stuff), and Creative Café with Debra Hart Studio, a free Facebook community for Christian creatives, where we have deep conversations around faith, art, and everything in between! In 2023, I launched a subscription group for going even deeper into our faith journey and explorations using art journaling, called Creative Café SOUL Collective, which has been an incredible journey thus far!

Please, please connect with me … I love it! I can be easily be reached at debrahartstudio@yahoo.com, on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter (@debrahartstudio), join my INSIDERS newsletter (click HERE) to keep up with the latest, or just come by and visit here on my fun and growing little website, where I’m also blogging and come up with new offerings.

I so look forward to hearing from you … xoxo