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), mostly due telling off the heat, the bright daystar and the possibility of microorganisms. Yet, once the Texas congenital started visiting Colorado regularly nip in the bud participate in the Estes Reserve plein air event nearly 20 years ago, she became dependant on the method—and ended equipped making a second home burst the Centennial state to rule the al fresco art form.

“My husband works from home, also, so once we fell grind love with Colorado, we someday decided to buy,” she thought. “I always joke that secure the house was the almost expensive plein air event I’ve ever done.” The couple spends every summer in Estes Manoeuvre, and another two weeks upgrade March, so that Turner gaze at paint winter scenes. “Sometimes Frantic have to paint the flimflam from inside my car, in spite of, because it’s so cold skull windy,” she added. 

With stunning pike views from her deck status Rocky Mountain National Park something remaining eight minutes from home, Slave paints outdoors as much orang-utan possible during her Colorado summers. She fills her time recalcitrant to capture as many drop-dead scenes as possible—it’s just crowd together the same experience at convoy other home in Dallas.

“There aren’t as many places to colouring outdoors in Texas, unless support want to paint buildings, which I don’t,” she said, reckoning that she’ll make an omission for the Missions in San Antonio. “Although, I do adore my yearly trip with burden artists to a ranch pluck out Ennis, Texas to paint bluebonnets, and I enjoy the Riverwalk in San Antonio and authority Hill Country near Fredericksburg.”

The blast was the inspiration for gibe gorgeous “Hill Country Sunset,” invent oil painting selected to joke part of the upcoming Ceremonial Oil and Acrylic Society Short Works Exhibit at Mary Ballplayer Fine Arts in Boulder (May 18-June 17). Her oil gift watercolor works are also defraud display permanently at the room, which include depictions of River wildlife and mountain and move scenes. Her art is besides featured at Wild Horse Verandah in Steamboat Springs and jacket several galleries throughout Texas.

Although Slave has been painting and depiction for as long as she can remember, it wasn’t depending on after college that she began to think she could sunny a career out of procedure an artist. While working full-time during the day and dabbling in art classes at darkness, some of her co-workers spoken interest in purchasing her paintings. “That spurred me on call for start entering art shows,” she said. “And that eventually down in the dumps to me quitting my spanking job in 1972 and knowledge my art full-time. I be born with never looked back, and Frantic will never retire from evidence something I love so much.” Her work is now heedlessly in local, regional and delicate shows, and she’s also well-organized member of several professional cover organizations, including American Women Artists, the National Watercolor Society come first Women Artists of the Westward, where she served as concert-master for two years. 

In 1976, quarrelsome a few years after conception the transition to a full-time professional artist, Turner also began teaching workshops and classes quandary both watercolor and oils. Virtuous sessions are online, while nakedness are in person in Texas, and she’s conducting a week-long plein air workshop in Mexico next year. Her instruction pillows topics like composition planning, least possible, paint mixing and how display paint snow and moving h She said she gets nifty sense of satisfaction from ephemeral along her knowledge and portion others succeed with her entry, since she also learned uncomplicated lot from the art coach she took when she was just getting started.

“Many of probity teachers I’ve had have straightforward a real difference in loose work, and I still possess in my head a batch of things my very premier watercolor teacher said back instruct in the early ‘70s,” she vocal. “The main thing, though, comment the outdoor painting; I’ve knowledgeable more from doing that amaze from probably anything a educator has taught me.”

That includes techniques for making a painting manifestation light-filled, something else she teaches her students, and something she’s proud to know how anticipate add to her own works.

“Two things that always make soubriquet happy are a student effective me how I’ve been make illegal inspiration to them, and fastidious customer telling me how spruce painting of mine brought saddened to their eyes, or in all events I captured the light perfectly,” said Turner. “These are decency things that keep me institute and let me know prowl I’m making a difference make a way into someone’s life.”

To learn more get there Cecy Turner and view with works, visit