Welcome to the Special Friends Page
We are delighted to present this page of Special Friends of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS. These highly respected artists share our mission and belief that art can serve as a catalyst for healing individuals, society and the environment, that art can raise awareness and lift our spirits.
The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS website is an initiative of Manhattan Arts International, which was founded in 2000. We decided to launch this website after curating decades of exhibitions related to the healing power of art, both in NYC venues and on the website.
Are You An Artist Who Would You like to Join Our Special Friends?
Visit this page for details.
Corina Ioana
Featured Special Friend of the Week
Corina Ioana is a multi-talented contemporary artist who was born in Transylvania, Romania and currently lives in California. She conveys a vision of the miraculous natural world and human aspirations and their interconnections. She combines her emotive use of color and superb skills in drawing and painting techniques and other mediums.
Corina has received many accolades and has had numerous exhibitions. Her art was selected for our “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Exhibition and the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2026 Exhibition.
Shown above is “Tara”, mixed media and acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 48″. Corina states, “Tara explores emergence, identity, and the traces we carry through time. Built with layered acrylic, glaze, transfer techniques, cement, and mixed media, the figure appears to rise from weathered surfaces rather than rest upon them. Partially concealed within fractured textures, Tara exists between concealment and revelation, memory and presence. The extended hand reaches beyond the picture plane, inviting connection while reinforcing the sense of becoming. Rather than a traditional portrait, the painting reflects identity as something continually uncovered, transformed, and rewritten through experience.”
“Tara” is a departure from Corina’s characteristic vibrant palette. Read this Art Review “Corina Ioana Creates Bold, Vibrant and Empowering Artwork” by Renee Phillips
Visit her website: corinafoto.com
Britt Michaelian
Britt Michaelian creates artwork with focused healing modalities. She states, “It begins with meditation and a cleansing of my energy with sage smoke and quantum healing to purify my soul, followed by a prayer for the divine to send love through me into the artwork. I incorporate ground mineral stones with specific healing properties into the paint and set the intention to create more peace and calm in the world through each painting. By integrating energy healing into each piece, my art is now capable of sending a healing transmission thus lifting the energetic frequency of not only the viewer, but the entire planet.”
Shown here is “Thank You For This Breath”, 48″ x 48″. Britt describes the mixed media she used to create it as “Reiki energy healing, selenite, rose quartz, lepidolite, labradorite, yellow jasper, blue apatite, thulite, aventurine, lepidolite, rainbow fluorite, Sedona energy vortex soil, love, acrylic on canvas”. Her art was shown in “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Invitational Exhibition.
Read an Art Review “Britt Michaelian Creates Transcendent Paintings Infused With Healing Energy” by Renee Phillips.
Visit her website: brittmichaelian.art
Mary Manning
Mary Manning creates breathtaking and mystical works of art. As a self-described “Open Impressionist” she brings her expert use of rich, bold colors, fearless animated brushstrokes, and expressive healing energy to her paintings. Nature is Mary’s source of inspiration. She transforms red mountains, national parks and wild creatures into uplifting and restorative paintings.
Mary’s art is in many personal and public collections worldwide including museums. Mary’s art is in many personal and public collections worldwide including museums. You can view Mary’s art at Arrowhead Art Gallery, Sunset Framer and Art Gallery, Arte’ Framer and Gallery, and Red Cliff Galley — all located in St. George, Utah.
Mary often begins a painting en plein air and completes it in her studio where her art is enlivened with a spirit of spontaneity. She states, “Sometimes a spectacular sunrise or sunset captures my imagination. Storms sweeping the desert change sunny, clear blue skies into a vivid palette of colors.”
Shown here is “River of Gold”, inspired by the Grand Canyon, mixed media, 36″ x 28″.
Visit her website: marymanningnewwest.com
Andi Kay
Andi Kay creates exuberant, innovative works of art using recycled materials that convey her reverence for nature and her desire to lift our spirits. She states, “I create 3-D mixed media bird sculptures and 2-D bird collage from torn paper I make or paint, wire and found objects, then I write a story for each piece. 3-D birds swing on a branch or rest on a wood perch. I love to bring new life to random paper and stray objects and create my interpretation of one of nature’s most magical creatures that lift spirits and embody hope –– guaranteed to fill you with joy.”
Andi’s art has been featured by such organizations as the American Society on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association. Her art was selected for the Manhattan Arts International Online Exhibitions “HerStory” 2026 and “Love, Peace, Unity & Hope”, 2025.
Shown above is “Belle”, handmade and painted paper, found objects and wire on swinging wood perch, 8.5″ x 4.5″.
Visit her website: andikayart.com
Karen H. Salup
Karen H. Salup is a nationally renowned award-winning fine artist. Her ebullient abstract expressionist paintings are masterfully created with a spontaneous and proficient use of color, design and composition.
Her abstract art has been featured in many publications including The New York Times. She has had numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S.
Karen states, “My work evolves through a balance of analytical knowledge and creative energy which you can feel in all my paintings. During my painting practices as a professional artist and instructor, it is advantageous to exercise the basic elements and principles of art, including compositional formats and color theory. The application or building layers with additional media reconstructs the work into abstraction.”
Karen has had her art selected for the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2025 Invitational Exhibition and its “Love, Peace, Unity & Hope” 2025 Exhibition. It was also selected for our “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Exhibition.
Shown here is “Between Thought and Emotion”, acrylic, 24″ x 36″. This painting was selected for our “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 Online Exhibition.
Visit her website: karenhs.com
Alison Thomas
Alison Thomas is an award winning artist in the realm of painterly photography. Her resplendent “Serenity Scenes” inspire the viewer to explore more deeply the way beauty is seen and experienced. She achieves this by removing much of the detail and leaving only the essence. She reminds us, “Many times, our eyes get lost in the details or the flaws and we miss the beauty of the scene before us.”
Alison specializes in vertical and horizontal panoramas. Her work is shown in several galleries in the Virginia and Maryland area. Alison’s art was selected for the “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 on this website and also the Manhattan Arts International website. She was also featured in “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Invitational Exhibition and “The Healing Power of Art Inspired by Nature” 2025 Invitational Exhibition. Manhattan Arts International selected her art for its “HerStory” 2026 Online Exhibition.
Read an Art Review by Renee Phillips on this website: “Alison Thomas Creates Resplendent Nature-Inspired ‘Serenity Scenes’”.
Shown above her ethereal “Lake Snow”, digitally manipulated photography, 12″ x 18″.
Visit her website: serenityscenes.com
Cindy Lutz Kornet
Cindy is an innovative artist who lives in Massachusetts. To create her gorgeous tactile works of art she skillfully applies a variety of mediums that include acrylic paints, encaustic wax, inks, collage, printing and calligraphy. Cindy also teaches the creative process “as a healing vehicle and roadmap for healthy expression.”
She explains, “My objective is to create art that is hopeful, uplifting, inspires courage and even joy. It is my deep desire to help bridge the gap from human condition on earth to a spiritual place in the higher realms.”
One of Cindy’s works of art was selected for the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2026 Online Exhibition. It was also on view in “The Healing Power of Color” 2026, “The Healing Power of ART: Resilience” 2022 exhibition and also “The Healing Power of Color” 2022 exhibition presented on this website.
Shown above is “Soft Presence”, mixed media, 24″ x 24″.
Visit her website: artandsoulofcindylutzkornet.com
Karen Johnston
Karen is a contemporary abstract painter residing in Nashville, Tennessee. With a personal style that both ponders and celebrates nature and life, she paints with a desire to uplift the spirit and stimulate growth. Her belief that art heals inspires her passion toward community work and projects that integrate the arts with healthcare and well-being.
Karen’s award-winning work is represented in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee galleries and can be found in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. Karen’s many exhibitions includes the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2026 Online Exhibition.
Karen is also a dedicated instructor who teaches her personal process of combining the principles of art with meaningful life stories.
Shown above is her gorgeous painting “Living In Full Bloom”, acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 36″
Karen has been inducted into our “World Changers” series. Read “Karen Johnston Artist and Founder of The H.O.P.E. Ministry”
One of Karen’s paintings was selected for our “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 Online Exhibition and YouTube video.
Visit her website: studiokarenjohnston.com
Asami Green
“My art is an invitation to reconnect with the wisdom within. Through intuitive mixed media, I weave acrylics, crystals, natural stones, glass, and Reiki energy into art that embrace the harmony between spirit and nature. Each piece emerges through a meditative process of listening, allowing color, texture, and energy to become a bridge for reflection, healing, and personal transformation.”
She adds, “I believe creativity awakens what already lives within us, offering a quiet haven where the heart can remember its own light, purpose, and infinite capacity to possibilities.”
One of Asami’s healing paintings was featured in our exhibition “The Healing Power of Color” 2026. Her inspirational art was also featured in the Manhattan Arts International “HerStory” 2026 and “HerStory” 2025 exhibitions. You will also find one of Asami’s uplifting paintings in “Artists Celebrate the Color Orange”.
Shown above is “Earthing”, mixed media, 30″ x 30″.
Visit her website: asamigreen.com
Dr. Michael Durst
Dr. Michael Durst is world renowned for his “Fractal Impressionism” works of art which emanate feelings of love, hope, peace and unity. He explains, “Fractals, as the building blocks of all things, often contain sacred geometry. The energy contained within these powerful mathematical expressions can be experienced on a cellular level, resonating energetically, intellectually and spiritually.”
Michael’s magnificent art, based on combining the digital image with many layers of glazing to exude beautiful translucent colors and a 3-D effect, was featured at a Solo Exhibition at the Italian International Art Museum MIIT in Turin, Italy. His work reflects a dreamlike, transcendental quality, allowing the body, mind and spirit to heal as never before.
In an Art Review I wrote and published on this website I state, “Dr. Michael Durst creates resplendent works of art that provide an immersive transcendent experience for viewers.” Read the article: “Dr. Michael Durst is A Colorful Messenger of Elation and Healing”.
I also selected Michael’s art for “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 and 2025 Online Exhibitions and also “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Invitational Exhibition.
Shown above is Michael’s “The Heart of Eternity”: Fractal Impressionism. acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 30″
Visit his website: HeartscapePaintings.com
Teri Leigh Teed
Teri Leigh Teed is an extraordinary, multi-talented photographer, writer, poet and songwriter who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. She is widely acclaimed for her “Healing Spirit Art” Collection.
Teri’s ebullient photographs reveal the life-affirming presence of a power greater than us and serve to inspire and heal us. With her profound spiritual perspective, she creates paintings of Light with her camera, that allow a glimpse into the unseen world of our imagination.
One of Teri’s photographs was selected for “Art Inspired by Nature” 2026 and “The Healing Power of Color” 2026 Invitational Exhibition. Her art was also featured in the Manhattan Arts International “Love, Peace, Unity & Hope” 2025 Invitational Exhibition.
Shown above is “Angels of Orange, Eleanor’s Dream series” from Teri’s Healing Spirit Art© Collection.” Teri states, “May the Angels of Orange” bring blessings of Love, Peace, Prosperity and Goodwill to all.”
Visit her website: terileighteed.com
The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS is An Initiative of
Manhattan Arts Internationalt has been a leading advocate for under-recognized and accomplished artists from around the world. We created our website in 2000 and have been dedicated to promoting and rewarding artistic excellence in all styles and mediums. We offer a curated artist membership program, online gallery, juried online exhibitions, and articles about art and artists.
We founded The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS website in 2015 after curating several exhibitions on the theme of The Healing Power of Art. ~ Renee Phillips, Founder, Director and Curator manhattanarts.com
Are You An Artist Who Wants to Be A Special Friend of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS?
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