Living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with all its beauty and inspiration is a gift that any artist would appreciate. Vicki draws upon this inspiration for many of her paintings, as well as creating images that are more dreamlike and abstract in nature. She has been painting in oils for close to 40 years and teaches painting lessons at Isothermal Community College, Tryon Painters and Sculptors, and out of her home studio in Tryon, North Carolina. She also is available to teach alcohol ink workshops for those wishing to explore this vibrant medium.
Originally from Indiana, Vicki grew up not far from what is now the Indiana Dunes National Park and this was always one of her favorite places to be by the scenic dunes that overlook Lake Michigan. She began drawing at an early age, and was encouraged to do so by her mother, who also was artistic. At the age of fifteen, she took her first oil painting class at the Northern Indiana Artist’s Association. Later, at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri, Vicki began her formal art studies, then went on to earn a degree in Fine Art from The University of Southern Indiana. She took additional courses in realistic drawing and plein-air painting through The Atelier art school in Minneapolis in the 1990s. It was there that Vicki met her most inspiring teacher, Ceceile Hartleib, whom she credits with teaching her more about painting than she ever learned from any other teacher. They spent many years going out and painting on location together. Vicki owned a picture framing business and traded framing for critiques from her teacher. In the late 1990’s, she also started teaching painting classes through Adult Community Education in the Minneapolis area. An opportunity then arrived to move out west in the summer of 2004.
Vicki and her husband moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and began showing her work in galleries and participating in exhibitions as well as studio tours. It was living in Santa Fe (with all its gorgeous sunsets) that inspired her to create her “Above the Horizon” series of sunrise and sunset paintings. After spending six years in New Mexico, she and her husband decided to move to North Carolina. Here she continues to paint skyscapes, landscapes, dreamscapes, metaphysical paintings, and abstracts in oil, acrylic, pastels and alcohol inks.
Vicki’s paintings have been shown in over 80 exhibitions, many of them solo. Her paintings hang in private collections across the United States, and she welcomes commissions. She is represented by galleries in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as several online.
