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219 E Main, Dayton, WA 99328     Toll Free: (800) 755-2124     Local: 509-382-2124

Bonnie Griffith

Landscapes

Artist' artwork/info

Bonnie Griffith's Bio:

View Bonnie's website at: http://www.bonniegriffith.com

"My pastel paintings are a representation of the beauty I see in our local Oregon and Washington. I want the viewer to feel the seasons, have a sense of the time of day, the color, the warmth of the sun, the cool of the gray days; to be able to walk into the picture and experience it."

As a child I grew up in central Montana on a cattle ranch. The remoteness of our home allowed a kid to explore and create to their heart's content. Long winters kept busy kids in-doors and what better time to create art! Being born to artistic parents lended to experimenting with different media and the encouragement that is essential to one's artistic development. Only a mother with her own artistic nature could love a kid who gets into her oil paints and drawing material and begins to "create." I was the kid. Create, I did.

I have painted since a child, always looking into new mediums that would express my feeling of what I was painting. Pastels have been my answer because of their pure, vivid color, the texture one can create to give the painting almost a dimension.

My subjet matter is nearly exclusively landscape; most of which I find in Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington. Most of the paintings are done on actual parts of the countryside.

My art education is that of many workshops in several medium types in Illinois, Washington and Montana. My pastel painting evolved in the early 1990's and has become nearly my exclusive medium to work in. I have paintings shown in Washington, Oregon, Montana; collectors in numerous states, Canada and Austrailia.

Awards include Jurors Award at the Carnegie Art Shows, Walla Walla Valley Art Guild Shows, Little Theater Art Show, Yellowstone Exhibition Show (Montana) and the Yoga Inn Show (Montana). I won the People's Choice award at the YWCA art auction September, 2004, and most recently Ochre Fields won an honorable mention award in the Pastel Journal's 8th Annual International juried competition "The Pastel 100 Competition" in the Landscape and Interiors division.

I also do stage set design and painting and poster designs for The Dance Center in Walla Walla and design for Elite Dance Center in Richland, WA.

My greatest support is my family, Les, Justin, Chris, Kate and Stacey, who always encourage my continued painting! They patiently tolerate late dinners when painting is going well and frequent stops to photograph a shot that will manifest into a later painting.