Photo by Alan Klemm
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About Me.
I loved to draw as a child. Horses, mostly. I decided to be an artist early in life and never gave anything else serious consideration. After earning a degree in Commercial Art I found work in the printed apparel industry. I made custom designs using fonts on transfer sheets, ink drawings with rapidograph pens, stencils cut with a swivel knife from ruby lith on a back lit drafting table using a straight edge and triangle. So many tools and materials to use. It was manual creative work done with skilled precision that I liked, in the company of other fun art elves. I used Corel Draw, Illustrator and Photoshop when we transitioned to digital production, skills I am grateful to have learned. I painted during my years in college, but began in earnest at this time using “How to Paint like the Old Masters” by Joseph Sheppard as a guide. I entered calls for entry engaging in many exhibitions, and selling. I chose to leave graphic art and become a sub contractor, using my painting skills in surface repair. I valued the autonomy, liked planning the best approach and challenges to my skill level. I was excited by the ideas in Patricia Seligman’s book “Painting Murals” and began making murals and ornamental painting during this time. I am a resident artist at Valkarie Gallery in Lakewood Colorado. My creative life is active and seeking calls for entry, gallery representation and commissions. |
ARTISTS STATEMENT
My calling as an artist is to give form to ideas. I like to use descriptions others provide and make the subject manifest. I delight in small details. Choosing clothing and hair styles from the work of great painters of the past for a period piece. Discern the expressions of a crowd. Arranging a tangle of bones and jewels. Each piece is an exploration and study of a new subject.
My preferred medium is oil, using the painting techniques of the old masters. I like that I don’t have to keep rewetting my paint during a long session. Using the transparent and opaque qualities of the different colors, I can build contrast and deeper color with glazing.
I also love trompe l’oeil, grisaille, faux finish and exotic murals. For large scale work I use artists acrylic paint in containers of ready to use consistency.
I want to draw the viewer in with beauty and then at times, leave them a little unsettled by the subject. It’s an exciting time to create art with imaginative realism being more widely represented. I’m looking forward to where my artistic journey goes next.
My calling as an artist is to give form to ideas. I like to use descriptions others provide and make the subject manifest. I delight in small details. Choosing clothing and hair styles from the work of great painters of the past for a period piece. Discern the expressions of a crowd. Arranging a tangle of bones and jewels. Each piece is an exploration and study of a new subject.
My preferred medium is oil, using the painting techniques of the old masters. I like that I don’t have to keep rewetting my paint during a long session. Using the transparent and opaque qualities of the different colors, I can build contrast and deeper color with glazing.
I also love trompe l’oeil, grisaille, faux finish and exotic murals. For large scale work I use artists acrylic paint in containers of ready to use consistency.
I want to draw the viewer in with beauty and then at times, leave them a little unsettled by the subject. It’s an exciting time to create art with imaginative realism being more widely represented. I’m looking forward to where my artistic journey goes next.
ARTIST CV
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
October 2020: Birds, Bees & Beasts, Jane Falkenberg & Lisa Luree Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
January 2020: Rat Tales, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
July 2019: Guest Artist Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
February 2019: When Pigs Fly, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
September 2018: Farmers Market Booth Featured Artist (9/23) Gallery 1505
May 2018: Juried Spring Show Gallery 1505 Denver CO
February 2018: Every Dog has His Day, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood CO
September 2014: The Cloud Show Aurora Cultural Arts District Aurora CO
September 2003: 7th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Lakewood Cultural Center Lakewood CO
April 2003: Up Against the Wall Veda Ellison Gallery Denver
September 2002: 6th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Space Gallery Denver CO
October 2001: 101 Vampires Goog Denver CO
August 2001: 2-D Juried Exhibition Old Firehouse Art Center Longmont CO
April 2001: 5th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Buell Theater Denver CO
January 2001: Colorado Art Open Foothills Art Center Golden CO
May 2000: Celebrate Art Reach at 2nd Annual Celebrate Colorado Artists Denver CO
April 2000: World Horror Con 2000 Art Show Adams Mark Hotel Denver CO
November 1999: The All Hallows Eve Show Dark Millennia Studios Englewood CO
September 1999: Death Equinox Ramada Inn Denver CO
November 1998: CO=Excellence The Gallery Pueblo CO
October 1998: CO=Excellence The Depot Steamboat Springs CO
August 1998: CO=Excellence Emmanuel Gallery Denver CO
September 1997: Colorado Contempto Republic Plaza Denver CO
August 1997: 14th Annual All Colorado Art Show Curtis Arts and Humanities Center Centennial CO
February 1997: My God! Mackey Gallery Denver CO
February 1997: Atropia The Eulipion Center Denver CO
February 1997: Dark Vision 2 Dark's Art Parlor N. Hollywood CA
May 1996: 13th Annual All Colorado Art Show Curtis Arts and Humanities Center Centennial CO
Works held in Private Collections in Colorado, Louisiana and Texas
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
October 2020: Birds, Bees & Beasts, Jane Falkenberg & Lisa Luree Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
January 2020: Rat Tales, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
July 2019: Guest Artist Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
February 2019: When Pigs Fly, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood,CO
September 2018: Farmers Market Booth Featured Artist (9/23) Gallery 1505
May 2018: Juried Spring Show Gallery 1505 Denver CO
February 2018: Every Dog has His Day, Invitational Chinese New Year Show Valkarie Gallery Lakewood CO
September 2014: The Cloud Show Aurora Cultural Arts District Aurora CO
September 2003: 7th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Lakewood Cultural Center Lakewood CO
April 2003: Up Against the Wall Veda Ellison Gallery Denver
September 2002: 6th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Space Gallery Denver CO
October 2001: 101 Vampires Goog Denver CO
August 2001: 2-D Juried Exhibition Old Firehouse Art Center Longmont CO
April 2001: 5th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show Buell Theater Denver CO
January 2001: Colorado Art Open Foothills Art Center Golden CO
May 2000: Celebrate Art Reach at 2nd Annual Celebrate Colorado Artists Denver CO
April 2000: World Horror Con 2000 Art Show Adams Mark Hotel Denver CO
November 1999: The All Hallows Eve Show Dark Millennia Studios Englewood CO
September 1999: Death Equinox Ramada Inn Denver CO
November 1998: CO=Excellence The Gallery Pueblo CO
October 1998: CO=Excellence The Depot Steamboat Springs CO
August 1998: CO=Excellence Emmanuel Gallery Denver CO
September 1997: Colorado Contempto Republic Plaza Denver CO
August 1997: 14th Annual All Colorado Art Show Curtis Arts and Humanities Center Centennial CO
February 1997: My God! Mackey Gallery Denver CO
February 1997: Atropia The Eulipion Center Denver CO
February 1997: Dark Vision 2 Dark's Art Parlor N. Hollywood CA
May 1996: 13th Annual All Colorado Art Show Curtis Arts and Humanities Center Centennial CO
Works held in Private Collections in Colorado, Louisiana and Texas
AWARDS / RECOGNITION
Best in Show 6th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show - Jury's Choice
Best in Show World Horror Con 2000 Art Show - Peoples Choice
Published on the cover of Morbid Curiosity Cure the Blues
Scribbler, A division of Simon & Schuster October 2009
Best in Show 6th Annual Colorado Illustrators Show - Jury's Choice
Best in Show World Horror Con 2000 Art Show - Peoples Choice
Published on the cover of Morbid Curiosity Cure the Blues
Scribbler, A division of Simon & Schuster October 2009
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RELATED EXPERIENCE
Illusory Creations Mural and Ornamental Painting 2006-2009 Painted large scale decorative designs in private homes and in the Parade of Homes |