Main Street Gallery is delighted to have Cambridge artist Winter Storm as guest artist for July and August. Her show of unique paintings and drawings is entitled “A Winter Storm in Summer.”

Winter Storm was actually born Winter Coachella Christine De Lacruz, a name she says reflects her diverse lineage of Puerto Rican, Native American and African descendants. When she started making art, however, she decided to embrace Storm as her studio name, a name that aptly suits the fierce manner in which she approaches her paintings as though taking the canvas by storm. The self-taught artist uses vivid, often pulsating colors and passionate brushstrokes to create compositions that she says express emotions like joy, pain, triumph and loss.

When she first started making art, her pain, she says, became her purpose and her artwork became an outlet for her feelings. From abstracts and landscapes to portraits of people and animals, her works are full of movement, energy and verve.

She says her favorite artists are Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Picasso and that their influences live on in her portfolio of works. Winter is not only a prolific artist but works in the mental health field as well as with the drug and alcohol population. She says, “helping people to find their greatest version of themselves has given me a greater sense of empathy for the human condition and has informed my artwork considerably.”

In addition to Cambridge, Winter’s work has gained attention in several venues in the Washington, D.C. area. At the D.C. Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Wilson Building in Washington, the artist was honored to present D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser with a portrait she painted of her. Her most recent presentation was in Chicago at the Mosque Maryam where she gifted Minister Farrakhan his portrait.

“A Winter Storm in Summer” will open on Thursday, July 7 and run through Sunday, August 28. There will be two artist receptions from 5 to 8 p.m. on Second Saturdays, July 9 and August 13. Main Street Gallery is located at 518 Poplar Street in Cambridge, in the city’s Arts and Entertainment district. Gallery’s hours for this show are Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors may also see the exhibit by appointment by calling the gallery at 410-330-4659 or browsing the gallery’s website at www.mainstgallery.net.

Main Street Gallery is Cambridge’s only artist-owned and run cooperative and is currently reviewing work from prospective members and guest artists. Contact the gallery if interested in being a part of this vibrant artist community.