Artist Biography
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Stacey L. Peterson was born in 1978 and raised in Littleton, Colorado. Growing up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Stacey developed a love for the outdoors that influences her artwork today. An avid hiker, backpacker, and triathlete, Peterson draws upon her time outdoors to provide the inspiration for her landscape paintings. She often works on location, and uses her plein air studies as reference for studio works that depict locations in the wilderness areas of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.
At age 31, Stacey is already an award-winning painter, most recently honored with Jury's Top Fifty at the 2008 Salon International show and awards of excellence at the Oil Painters of America’s 15th and 16th national exhibitions. She was featured as one of Southwest Art Magazine’s “21 Under 31” in 2006, and has also had her work published in American Artist Magazine.
Peterson developed a love of art in early childhood, but took a career detour on the way to becoming a professional artist. Although she excelled in the arts as a child and received encouragement to pursue a career in design, she also did well in math and science and ultimately followed the advice of those who encouraged her to obtain a more practical engineering degree. After college graduation, Stacey moved to Houston, Texas where she worked as a process engineer for oil giant ExxonMobil. Homesick for the mountains of Colorado and seeking a creative outlet from her increasingly technical day job, she signed up for weekend oil painting classes and began to realize that engineering might have been the wrong career choice. Shortly thereafter, she returned to Colorado and began to paint landscapes, melding her love of the outdoors with her newfound passion for oil painting.
Peterson continued to work as an engineer for the next four years, designing air pollution control systems for industrial clients. Although she was passionate about the environmental side of her work and happy to be back in Colorado, she felt that a career in art was her true calling. Fulfilling a childhood dream, Peterson quit her environmental engineering job in 2006 to pursue painting full-time.
Primarily a self-taught artist, Stacey’s art education includes coursework at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and workshops with nationally recognized painters Dan Young, Jay Moore, and John David Phillips. By way of formal education, Stacey holds a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science from the Colorado School of Mines.
Peterson is a member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA), and the Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC). Her work can be viewed at Elk Horn Fine Art in Winter Park, CO, Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte, CO and Wild Horse Gallery in Steamboat Springs, CO. Stacey lives in the small mountain town of Granby, Colorado with her husband Nathan, three year old daughter Aspen, and new baby boy Owen.
RESUME
Born:
July 18, 1978 - Salt Lake City, Utah
Awards:
2009 Best of Show - FineArtViews Art Competition
2008 Jury’s Top 50 – Salon International
2007 Utrecht Award of Excellence – OPA 16th Annual National Show
2006 Savoir-Faire Award of Excellence – OPA 15th Annual National Show
2005 Best Oil Painting – Colorado Emerging Artists Exhibition
Publications:
Grand County Living Magazine, "Engineering Creativity," Summer/Winter 2009
American Artist Magazine, “Into the Heart of the Southwest – 20 Painters Interpret the Forbes Trinchera Ranch,” March 2007
Southwest Art Magazine, “21 Under 31 – The Next Generation,” September 2006
Selected Exhibitions:
2009 Two-person Show - Elk Horn Art Gallery, Winter Park, CO
2009 Salon International - Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2009 Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show - Loveland Museum, Loveland, CO
2008 Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale - Mountain Oyster Club, Tucson, AZ
2008 Miniatures and More - Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO
2008 Three-person Show - Roundhouse Gallery, Fort Collins, CO
2008 Salon International – Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2008 Colorado Governor’s Invitational Art Show – Loveland Museum, Loveland, CO
2007 Solo Show - Angler Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2007 Estes Park Plein Air - The Link Gallery, Estes Park, CO
2007 Oil Painters of America 16th National Show – Whistle Pik Galleries, Fredericksburg, TX
2007 Into the Heart of the Southwest – Forbes Galleries, New York, NY
2006 11th Annual Holiday Miniature Show – Angler Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2006 Oil Painters of America 15th Annual National Show – Dana Gallery, Missoula, MT
2005 Colorado Emerging Artists Exhibition – Gallery 821, Denver, CO
Education:
2008 Mentorship - Jay Moore
2005 Plein Air Painting workshop – Jay Moore
2004 Plein Air Painting workshops – Dan Young, John David Phillips
2003 Landscape Painting workshop – Jay Moore
2000 B.S. Chemical Engineering - Colorado School of Mines
Affiliations:
Oil Painters of America - Associate Member
Representation:
Elk Horn Art Gallery – Winter Park, Colorado
Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery - Crested Butte, Colorado
Wild Horse Gallery - Steamboat Springs, Colorado
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