Abstract figurative artist Brenda York is the author and creator of “Big Little Paintings | Short Little Stories.” Her paintings are rich and vibrant in color; her stories wonderfully twisted. York’s characters are strange people painted with a sense of sophistication. The backgrounds of her paintings are typically thick, saturated pigment applied with a palette knife. She then draws back into the paint by writing or etching in symbols and words. Her work is in galleries and collections across the country.