• Michael Albrechtsen
• Barbara Applegate
• Kenn Backhaus
• Garin Baker
• Simon Balyon
• Susan Blackwood
• Marianne Caroselli
• Scy Caroselli
• Beth Parcell Evans
• Howard Friedland
• Michael Godfrey
• Paula Holtzclaw
• Mostafa Keyhani
• Marla Korr
• Dorothy Lampl
• Lili Anne Laurin
• Elizabeth Miller McCue
• Alexandria Michaels
• Nicholas Oberling
• Neil Patterson
• Arleta Pech
• Elizabeth Robbins
• Margret Short
• Brian Slawson
• Rene Snyman
• Karen Vance
• Leonard Wren

Karen Vance

Clearing Skies over the Maigue River

As Winter Yields to Spring

Karen Vance was born in Chicago into the Swartwout family of artists, of six generations. Her upbringing and education; the Art Institute of Chicago, Village Art School with the late Joe Abbrescia, in Skokie, Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Denver Art Student's League, and numerous studies with many of the finest living painters; Carolyn Anderson, Clyde Aspevig, Scott Christensen, Mark Daily, Quang Ho, T. Allen Lawson, David Leffel, Michael Lynch, William Reese, Richard Schmid, Burton Silverman, and Michael Workman, to name a few, brought her to her passion and profession.

Vance’s art art career includes 12 years as a graphic artist and the past 26 years creating fine art professionally. Karen's paintings are in the permanent collections of The Buffalo Bill Historical Museum – The Whitney Gallery Western Art, The University of Denver, Wells Fargo Bank of Denver, First Interstate Bank of Wyoming and Montana, Winter Park Resort, the Winter Park Arlberg Club, Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort, The Austrian Consulate, Vienna, Austria, and in notable private collections including, Lord and Lady Waterford, of Curraghmore, Ireland and fellow artists; Quang Ho, and Russell Chatham. The largest collection of Vance’s paintings have recently been acquired by Bob and Suzanne Fanch, and is open to the public for viewing at The Heck’s Lodge at Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort, 10 miles North of Winter Park, in Tabernash, Colorado.

Awards

• Buffalo Bill Cody Art Auction – William E. Weiss Purchase Award, Best Painting Award, and People's Choice Award
• C.M. Russell Art Auction - People's Choice Award and Arlene Hooker Fay Memorial Award
• Women Artist’s of the West -Award of Excellence
• Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters National - Best of Show, People’s Choice and Plein Air Magazine Publisher’s Choice Award
• Nomades Del Arte -- Best of Show
• Colorado Governor's Invitational - Best of Show, and awarded a teaching grant from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Other shows and exhibitions include: Plein Air Painters of America, Catalina Island, CA; National Arts Club, New York, NY; the University of Tulsa and Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK; the Bradford Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY; the Denver History Museum; Hockaday Museum, Kalispell, MT; the Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN; and over 50 Gallery Invitationals and 10 solo shows since 1998.

Memberships

• National Arts Club and California Art Club
• Emeritus Signature Member of Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters
• Master Signature Member of American Women Artists
• Master Signature Plein Air Painters of Colorado
• Member of Rotary Club International
• "Citizen of the Year" award in her local community of Winter Park, Colorado