By Jessica Jones
Cecy Turner first fell in love with painting as a child, when her father, an insurance salesman with an aptitude for art, began taking drawing classes at night. Turner still recalls the joy and envy she felt as she paged through her father’s newsprint pad and tried to copy his work. He encouraged her interest, and soon Turner enrolled in art classes herself. Even after deciding against an art major, Turner’s art education never waned. After college graduation, she took a job at a bank and attended art classes after work. When she began selling her paintings to coworkers, she recalls, “Painting took me over. I was hooked, and it’s been that way ever since.”
The Texas native has been teaching watercolor since 1976, and although she enjoys the work, Turner says, “My idea of heaven is traveling to paint.” For the last decade, she has made at least 10 painting trips a year—some to national parks in the family motorhome, as well as the occasional trip abroad.
Turner’s passion for the outdoors inspired her move to plein-air painting in oil and watercolor. “Painting outdoors has taught me just to be open and in the moment,” she says. Turner typically chooses landscape and wildlife scenes, but has taken a recent interest in architecture because she enjoys the play of light and shadow and the challenges they present. “If I can recreate the moment, that is a success.” Turner’s artwork can be found at The Victorian Gallery, Dallas, TX; Melange Art Gallery, Fort Worth, TX; and www.cecyturner.com.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” July 2006