Portfolio | Colorado Creatives

Meet 9 painters and sculptors who hail from the Centennial State

KIRSTEN SAVAGE

Where do you live and work? Fort Collins, CO.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? My artwork is about contemplation and connection. In my figurative oil paintings, I purposefully leave some mystery in the storytelling to inspire critical thinking and personal reflection. I see my landscapes and still lifes as gifts of quiet observation.
What is your creative process like? The initial spark often comes from something I read. I have a mental mantra that hollers, “Paint the light!” as I strive for harmonious color, strong composition, and interesting edges. If I can create a beautiful painting that pulls the viewer across the room to look closer, then I have done my job as an artist.
Where did you study art? I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. I strengthen my studio practice by plein-air painting in Colorado and have attended international workshops with artists Jeremy Lipking and Jeremy Mann.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? I served a four-year term of leadership as chair of the board of directors for the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places. I’ve been juried into multiple Oil Painters of America national and regional shows and won Best of Show at the Art Students League of Denver 2019 Summer Art Market.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I am an avid world traveler and outdoor enthusiast. I love backpacking through sparsely populated parts of the Southwest where the silence is deafening.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? It was always a toss-up between being a forest ranger or an artist. After college, I spent three years living in the woods while working on a trail crew on Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. It was a wonderful and wild job, but after a few years, the lure of being an artist won out.
Where can collectors find your work? Abend Gallery, Denver, CO; www.savagepainter.com.

MARGUERITTE MEIER

Where do you live and work? Fort Collins, CO. I work on location and in my home studio in my basement.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? Nature is my primary muse, and my hope is to capture and share her magnificent beauty and presence with others. Currently I’m focused on painting elements such as water, rocks, plants, and landscapes.
How would you describe your style? People have described my work as contemporary realism with an ethereal or contemplative atmosphere.
What is your creative process like? My paintings develop through observation, memories, imagination, and an inner conversation with whatever I’m painting. Once I gather sketches and photographs of my subjects, I create the final paintings in my studio. I paint with both brushes and sponges, and I “lift” watercolors with all kinds of implements.
Where did you study art? My art education is somewhat eclectic. I attended Prescott College and Antioch University. I was mentored for three years by Navajo sand painter David Chethlahe Paladin. I studied for another two and a half years with visionary painters Aloria Weaver and David Heskin. I have taken workshops with Zoey Frank, Alex and Allyson Grey, Marc Hanson, and Lorenzo Chavez.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? My most important accomplishment was regaining feeling and dexterity in my painting hand after an accident, which took at least 20 years.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I love to hike, travel, practice yoga, and spend time with my family and friends.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I would have chosen to be a medical herbalist or an acupuncturist.
Where can collectors find your work? www.marguerittem.com.

PARKER MCDONALD

Where do you live and work? I live in Longmont, CO, and have a shop in nearby Loveland.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? Since I can remember, I’ve been inspired by the wildlife around me.
How would you describe your style? My sculpture is made with a hammer and welder. I strive for correct anatomy and proportion; I’m a realist. But, like a painter with a big brush, detail is limited. I love letting the process show.
What is your creative process like? My creative process is pretty straightforward; I start with a subject and idea, gather some reference materials, then go straight to the metal. I seldom do many preliminary sketches or maquettes.
Where did you study art? I have an associate degree in art, but the fabricating technique I’m doing now is completely self-taught. I bought my first welder 20 years ago and never looked back.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? I’ve participated in Sculpture in the Park in Loveland for the past 15 years. I have been selected to install many public sculptures, including two pieces in Benson Park in Loveland. I’ve also done the Birds in Art show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin, and I’m a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists. I think, however, the best thing is that for 20 years, people have continued to validate my work by buying it and taking it home.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? When not in my shop or at a show, I enjoy gardening, fishing, sitting around a campfire, or just hanging out with my wife, kids, and grandkids.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? If I weren’t an artist, I think I would be a philosopher.
Where can collectors find your work? www.parkermcdonald.net.

DIX BAINES

Where do you live and work? I work in my backyard studio situated on the edge of my koi ponds and gardens in Parker, CO.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? Landscapes, riverscapes, and waterscapes. I often find wonderful anchors for my compositions that are architectural, such as barns or churches.
How would you describe your style? I am recording things from life, and so often the things of nature are simple. Less is often more, like a solid, deliberate wash and loose brushwork that capture the essence of the feature, but also with tighter variations that might be found in the blending of complements.
What is your creative process like? “Breathing in” the place is essential, and it’s the strongest memory that I carry with me as I am painting an image. Mixing paint on location is by far the best exercise to record color.
Where did you study art? I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in design and worked at an architectural firm for many years. Along the way I took classes with some great painters, such as Kim English and Quang Ho, at the Art Students League of Denver, and I also attended workshops in various locations.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? The biggest highlights are the people I have met along the journey of making a livelihood in art. Every enthusiastic collector is as important as a museum purchase. I have also been fortunate to receive awards, participate in prestigious shows, and have my work included in the collections of the Booth Museum, Yellowstone National Park, and the Broadmoor Hotel.
Where can collectors find your work? McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM; Anticus Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ; G Squared Gallery, Ligonier, PA; www.dixbaines.com.

VICTOR ISSA

Where do you live and work? I lived west of Loveland, CO, for the past 34 years, but my wife and I are in the process of moving to Brighton, CO, a suburb of Denver.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? My sculpting life-focus has been the human figure. I believe there has never been a more beautiful, expressive, or challenging form to master.
How would you describe your style? I work from life, and I try to capture the essence of anatomy as well as movement. Even more importantly, I aim to capture the spirit of the pose or the theme as well as the model.
What is your creative process like? I frequently have podcasts, audio books, or music playing in the background while sculpting. But sculpting is not the same as creating. After hundreds of completed figures, there is a certain amount of muscle memory that can define a form. When I need to decide what to include or exclude, how to solve a movement issue, or how to connect two figures, I need silence to focus and “create.”
Where did you study art? I have an art-education degree from Union College in Lincoln, NE. I also took classes at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where I received my sculpture training from the late Dr. Thomas Sheffield.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? I have had the privilege of creating a wide range of works over my 38-year career. One of the things I have most appreciated is the potential for personal growth and deeper understanding of life’s journey.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I enjoy nature. I have dabbled in photography. And I have been quite involved in music over the years, singing with a chamber group and teaching myself to play a few instruments.
Where can collectors find your work? www.victorissa.com; www.bronzepowerofthought.com.

SCOTT RUTHVEN

Where do you live and work? My home and studio are in Fort Collins, CO. I’m a Colorado native and fortunate to live near my muse, the great Rocky Mountains.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? I love the landscapes of the West, from pristine alpine meadows to farmland to desert canyons. Put me on a hiking trail, a river, or even a dusty back road, and I’ll paint all day.
How would you describe your style? My paintings are realistic yet celebrate the luscious beauty of the oil paint, encouraging viewers to move in and enjoy the brushwork, impasto, and broken color.
What is your creative process like? I go and have a lot of fun in beautiful landscapes that inspire me. I paint while I’m there and take it all in. Back in the studio, I ponder those field studies and the emotions they evoke in me. When the time is right, I attempt to create a studio painting that embodies those emotions and feelings.
Where did you study art? Mother Nature has been my greatest teacher. There is no substitute for painting from life. As for technique, materials, and the fundamentals of art, I owe a great debt of gratitude to artists Marc Hanson, Quang Ho, and the late Richard Schmid. I’m also a museum and art-book fanatic, studying and learning from all the wonderful art created by masters past and present.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? Most rewarding are the relationships with collectors, students, and people who feel a connection with my work. I’m also thrilled that one of my paintings won an honorable mention in the 15th International Art Renewal Center Salon this year.
Where can collectors find your work? Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO; www.scottruthven.com.

CINDI YAKLICH

Where do you live and work? I live in the foothills of Boulder, CO, and my studio is located in House of Serein, a community art space at the mouth of Boulder Canyon. I also have a home studio.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? I love to gather objects that reflect my intention for the painting. That can range from exploring a white-on-white concept to objects that tell a story.
How would you describe your style? I am a 21st-century realist using traditional oil paints on Belgian linen canvas.
What is your creative process like? Once I settle on a broad concept, I start by gathering objects and working on the arrangement. The actual setup can often take hours of fussing. Many times, I do quick studies to work out composition and color issues to make sure I want to spend time on an arrangement. After toning the canvas, I start sketching the idea.
Where did you study art? I have been fortunate to learn from some fantastic artists. I studied with Rey Ford and Jake Gaedtke, and I have taken workshops with Zoey Frank, Robin Cole, Kelli Folsom, Lyn Boyer, Jane Hunt, and Yana Beylinson and at the Schissler Academy.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? Selling my first painting in a show, getting into a gallery, and being commissioned to do a relatively large painting. Some of the best moments come when I paint something and know it’s working because I have seen it come to life.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy? I love the outdoors, hiking, trail running, reading novels, traveling, and animals.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I have always wanted to be the person who names the colors of crayons.
Where can collectors find your work? www.vivifineart.com; www.katefindsart.com; Rembrandt Yard, Boulder, CO.

SHERRY COBB-KELLEHER

Where do you live and work? I live on my family ranch southwest of Delta, CO. After spending 15 years helping with the family business, now I’m back to painting full time at my studio on Buttermilk Creek and loving every minute of it.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? My studio here on the ranch provides the perfect setting for the subjects I love to paint: horses, cattle, and stock dogs.
How would you describe your style? I use a realistic style, employing light, details, anatomical correctness, and authenticity of western tools to capture the otherwise unseen moments of today’s West.
What is your creative process like? I spend hours observing ranch life, seeking out the moments where lighting and contrast will set the mood and help tell the story of the bonds between people and animals. I bring these moments back to my studio and begin the journey of creating a piece on canvas.
Where did you study art? I had the privilege of coming from a long line of artists; my grandmas and mother started me out at a very young age. My formal training began at Yavapai Community College in Prescott, AZ. Since then I have taken workshops with the Cowboy Artists of America, Scottsdale Artists’ School, and Tucson Art Academy.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? In 2004, I was chosen to paint the poster for the American Paint Horse Association’s World Championship Show. I won the Director’s Choice and Patrons’ Choice awards at the 2019 Cowgirl Up! show.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? If I’m not painting, I am raising cattle, horses, and grass or teaching my grandchildren to rope, tie goats, and run barrels.
Where can collectors find your work? www.sherryspaintedhorsestudio.com.

NANCEE JEAN BUSSE

Where do you live and work? I live at the foot of the Colorado National Monument in western Colorado. My studio is in my home.
What are your favorite subjects to depict? The American West is such a vast and beautiful treasure—it allows me to paint landscapes, wildlife, ranch life, and the occasional still life.
How would you describe your style? I love painting realistically, but always with my own twist. Because I paint the things that have an emotional impact on me, my versions of my subjects are subtly romanticized.
What is your creative process like? My previous career was as an illustrator, so I learned to meet deadlines and stick to projects, even during their most unappealing phases. I have decades of photo references to lean on, so when my creative juices aren’t flowing, I can look through thousands of photos and always find something that inspires me to action.
Where did you study art? I studied at Western Illinois University and have both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in art and art education.
What have been some of the highlights of your art career? The highlights are the times when I get into a good show or win a prize. But what keeps me enthusiastic is my own passion for painting.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? My husband and I are avid travelers. We just got home from three months on the road in a 20-foot Airstream trailer. My art form when we’re traveling is creating illustrated travel journals. That process keeps me drawing and aware of my surroundings.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I’d probably be a mediocre art teacher.
Where can collectors find your work? Blue Pig Gallery, Palisade, CO; Uncanny Valley Art Gallery, Grand Junction, CO; www.nanceejean.com.

This story appeared in the June/July 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.