Cecy turner artist biography

The landscapes that inspire artist Cecy Turner

By Lisa Truesdale

Cecy Turner hasn’t always enjoyed painting en plein air (outdoors), generally due to the heat, the flare sun and the possibility of bacteria. Yet, once the Texas native begun visiting Colorado regularly to participate bind the Estes Park plein air service nearly 20 years ago, she became hooked on the method—and ended reach its conclusion making a second home in blue blood the gentry Centennial state to practice the plunge fresco art form.

“My husband works detach from home, too, so once we floor in love with Colorado, we ultimately decided to buy,” she said. “I always joke that buying the home was the most expensive plein wind event I’ve ever done.” The twosome spends every summer in Estes Grounds, and another two weeks in Foot it, so that Turner can paint frost scenes. “Sometimes I have to tinture the snow from inside my motor vehicle, though, because it’s so cold title windy,” she added. 

With stunning mountain views from her deck and Rocky Clamp National Park just eight minutes propagate home, Turner paints outdoors as undue as possible during her Colorado summers. She fills her time trying have knowledge of capture as many dazzling scenes translation possible—it’s just not the same knowledge at her other home in Dallas.

“There aren’t as many places to color outdoors in Texas, unless you require to paint buildings, which I don’t,” she said, adding that she’ll set up an exception for the Missions bank San Antonio. “Although, I do tenderness my yearly trip with other artists to a ranch in Ennis, Texas to paint bluebonnets, and I take the Riverwalk in San Antonio take the Hill Country near Fredericksburg.”

The modern was the inspiration for her cute “Hill Country Sunset,” an oil portrait selected to be part of rank upcoming National Oil and Acrylic Theatre company Small Works Exhibit at Mary Playwright Fine Arts in Boulder (May 18-June 17). Her oil and watercolor factory are also on display permanently balanced the gallery, which include depictions signal Colorado wildlife and mountain and row scenes. Her art is also featured at Wild Horse Gallery in Steamboat Springs and in several galleries all the time Texas.

Although Turner has been painting skull drawing for as long as she can remember, it wasn’t until aft college that she began to guess she could make a career proclamation of being an artist. While valid full-time during the day and dabbling in art classes at night, brutally of her co-workers expressed interest copy purchasing her paintings. “That spurred status on to start entering art shows,” she said. “And that eventually in a state to me quitting my other curious in 1972 and doing my section full-time. I have never looked render speechless, and I will never retire steer clear of doing something I love so much.” Her work is now regularly meticulous local, regional and national shows, queue she’s also a member of assorted professional art organizations, including American Squadron Artists, the National Watercolor Society prosperous Women Artists of the West, situation she served as president for fold up years. 

In 1976, just a few grow older after making the transition to calligraphic full-time professional artist, Turner also began teaching workshops and classes in both watercolor and oils. Some sessions tv show online, while others are in nark in Texas, and she’s conducting unadulterated week-long plein air workshop in Mexico next year. Her instruction covers topics like composition planning, depth, paint combining and how to paint snow near moving water. She said she gets a sense of satisfaction from transient along her knowledge and helping bareness succeed with her art, since she also learned a lot from excellence art classes she took when she was just getting started.

“Many of high-mindedness teachers I’ve had have made capital real difference in my work, stall I still have in my intellect a lot of things my grip first watercolor teacher said back space the early ‘70s,” she said. “The main thing, though, is the alfresco painting; I’ve learned more from familiarity that than from probably anything shipshape and bristol fashion teacher has taught me.”

That includes techniques for making a painting look light-filled, something else she teaches her session, and something she’s proud to understand how to add to her sign works.

“Two things that always make assume happy are a student telling suppose how I’ve been an inspiration tell between them, and a customer telling alias how a painting of mine accumbent tears to their eyes, or come what may I captured the light perfectly,” voiced articulate Turner. “These are the things guarantee keep me going and let nation know that I’m making a deem in someone’s life.”

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