1. Relying on shapes, bright colors and positive phrases, illustrator Erin Guido’s work is frequently described as happy. The often paper-based projects are accessible in both content and attainability, with smaller works starting at $25, public installations visible in Hingetown and Tremont, and GIF-style pieces gracing local Instagram feeds. eringuido.com
2. For paintings that detail a deteriorating cityscape fraught with despair, police brutality and gang life, Michelangelo Lovelace’s work is a colorful and even hopeful look at African-American life in inner city Cleveland. His expressive paintings earned him a 2015 Cleveland Arts Prize. lovelaceart.com
3. A National Medal of Arts recipient, Viktor Schreckengost was a prolific polymath who pumped out paintings, sculptures, pottery and ceramics. A heralded industrial designer, Schreckengost was nicknamed the “American da Vinci,” and his bicycles, toys and dinnerware, some of which remain affordable and obtainable, continue to influence modern American life and design.
