DREAMER.  ROMANTIC.  LIFELONG LEARNER…

Ok, I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember.  My parents influenced and encouraged me throughout my life, always telling me I could be whatever I chose to be.  To this end, I would consider it to be a huge disservice to them should I not pursue the wonderful opportunities I have been privy to.  My father was “old school” and left most of the parenting to my mother, never really offering advice to my brother and I while growing up.  But a few years ago on one of our almost weekly long distant phone calls, my father (now passed) and I began discussing aging, legacies and life in general.  He offered me this little gem.

He said that after working in the auto industry as a very talented craftsman for over 40 years the day he left all of his efforts were quickly forgotten and new, younger tradesmen would fill his shoes.  That we could spend our days working in an office but after you leave nobody really remembers what you did or how you did it.  But, he offered I had a gift that could impact people and even long after I’ve left this earth, my art would still be here as a reminder of what I created, how I saw my world and that, he said, was worth something.

As you see from my style and subject matter I enjoy painting the simpler things in life.  Items from my surroundings, my home and things that delight me.  It is a conscious decision to paint the way I do and it brings me immense satisfaction and joy.  My formal art education began with private study at a small studio in my hometown by copying the work of other artists and working from models. My understanding of art flourished under the guidance of Australian artist Nan Rogers at her studio, focusing on landscapes, composition, the principles of design and color studies.   Years later I enrolled at our local university as a fine art student but very quickly found that my preferred style of realistic or impressionist painting was discouraged by the teachers who encouraged students to paint abstractly and where very little emphasis was placed on traditional skills such as drawing.  With two small children to support I changed to a computer/business major.  I’ve continued to learn and expand on my art education by way of private study and instruction via workshops with some of the world’s best artists.  I’ve also taught many workshops in the areas of pastel, drawing and colored pencil and love showing students how they can develop their skills and improve their art.  I prefer to paint from life in the studio or outdoors in the field and found that my art improved greatly when I learned to really focus on my subject or scene and eliminate the unimportant clutter.

This artistic life is not for the faint-hearted but it sure is one heck of an adventure! I want to thank you for taking the time to visit and if you are still reading this far down the page then I sincerely appreciate your interest.  I love hearing from visitors and count many of my collectors as friends.   Finally,  I try to live by this phrase – “People don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care.”

All the best to you and yours!

Colleen

I have original works of art available as well as high quality. professionally produced prints.  I do take on several commissions throughout the year depending on current workload.

“A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). ”

It starts with an idea.  Sometimes visions come to me in the quiet hour before I drift off to sleep.  I see images and colours and my mind composes possible paintings.  This has become more evident since deciding to return to my love of painting.  I’ve been so distracted these past few years pursuing other things that my painting had, until now, fallen by the wayside.
I LOVE to collect things, set them up in my studio and begin the process.

CONTACT US

PO Box 1382
Bethany, OK USA 73008