Work by our featured artists may be viewed and/or purchased online. Read their Biographies below, or click on one of these links to go directly to the galleries:

• Go to the Vijaya Kalyan Gallery
• Go to the Patrick Mulwale Gallery
• Go to the Stephen Cale Gallery
• Go to the 'More' Gallery

Vijaya Kalyan is an artist whose passion for art is apparent in the colors. Color has always been an important aspect of her works. In India on is amid myriad hues of color, so much so that it becomes part of lives without conscious effort. Additionally Kalyan has spent a considerable amount of time in Kenya, again a country famed for its vibrancy and energy. Her earlier works are marked by the tribal vivacity of her figures.

It is these lovely Kenyan paintings that we feature here at the FigTree Gallery.

On her return to India Kalyan continued to work. Gradually the figures vanished though the lavish and vibrant use of color remained to be her hallmark style. As Kalyan herself states" My painting is about the beauty of color and how the color and light can create an upbeat and magical environment. It is highly personal and emotional endeavor." Nature's ability to change colors with every season also inspires the artist.

Kalyan style of work is all about spontaneity and finding the inherent rhythm of life. She begins with loose and thin under paints of color and shapes. She then allows the texture and image to evolve and grow as she paints and reacts to each color and texture continuously building with purely non-representational manner. Each painting achieves a visual balance and rhythm, which in turn creates total love of harmony and color.

Yellow holds a special place in her works, as she says "... I relate it with city under the sun, Nairobi (it's known as city under the sun) where I spent 12 years. It's blue sky and beautiful flowers that spread across like a carpet on the drive-way, the rainbow, the Sun and the rain are all the basis of my thoughts..." The artist lives and works in Mumbai.

To view more of Vijaya's work, go to: www.vijayakalyan.com

Patrick was born in Kaimosi, a small town located in the western province of Kenya, Africa. He is the sixth of nine siblings and his parents both are ministers living in Kenya. After completing his early education in Nairobi, he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, then Kenya Post and Telecommunications before pursuing further studies in the United States.

He came to America in September 1984 and graduated in 1988 with a double major in Bible and Religious Education from Mid America Bible College in Oklahoma City.

He then moved to Anderson, Indiana, where he earned a Masters degree in Christian Education and completed another Bachelors degree in Business Management. It was at this time he began his hobby of experimenting with various media to create sculptures of scenes of his daily life growing up in Kenya. Utilizing sunflower seeds from his garden, banana peels, soda cans, stockings and other everyday items, Patrick creates living snapshots of moments in time.

Although receiving no formal education in art, Patrick’s hobby has turned into a passion in which he could express his feelings and share his experiences. His childhood memories have proved to be his greatest inspiration for the sculptures he creates. Further inspiration came from seeing a Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell’s ability to capture a single, ordinary, everyday event in a portrait and convey the viewer volumes has continued to motivate Patrick on how to tell his story through his art.

Patrick's dioramas are on exclusive display at the FigTree Gallery & Coffee Shop.

Patrick stops in to work on new dioramas

Introduced to photography by his older brother Bill (of Cale and Whyte Studio in Indianapolis), Steve continued to learn more while working as a photographer on the school paper during both his high school and college years. During his tour of duty in the Air Force, Steve was involved in the research of advanced photographic reconnaissance techniques.

After moving to Brown County in the early 80's, Steve's love of photography was rekindled. He has combined his knowledge of black and white infrared photography and precision laboratory techniques learned in the service to produce a most unique style of photography. Steve was a first place winner many competitions including: 1996 Heritage Arts competition in photography, 1997 Black and White Honeywell Center, 1998 "Black and White Scenic" 1998 Indiana State Fair, 1999 Eagle Creek Park competition. He also was the winner in cover contest for Bloomington 2000 Chamber Directory; Best of Photography in 2001 Carmel International Art Festival.

Utilizing a mixture of modern and vintage equipment and techniques, he even continues to use some of the cameras that he has had since high school.

Contact Figtree at 812/988.1375 or by email at