Denise Rich, San Diego
Member Since May 2007
Artist Statement Biography:
Denise Rich, a San Diego native, is most recently gaining a sizeable audience for her cow paintings. Her interest in art was fueled by family. As a child her great-grandmother Warnock colored with her for countless hours. The smell of oil paints and turpentine still remind her of her Grandma J's studio and oil paintings, and watercolor lessons from her Father were the most valuable use of the dinner table as far as she was concerned.
At the age of 9 she was a founding member of a group at school that raised money for homeless animals. Combine her foundation of artistic expression with her ability to appreciate animals as individuals and it's no mystery that Denise is quickly becoming recognized as "one of the [dairy] industry's biggest up and coming artists..." (Holstein Foundations's Art Auction catalog.)
Each painting starts with a real live cow, first framed within the viewfinder of her digital camera and then translated in oil, in a style she calls "painterly realism" on either canvas or panel. Her specialty is capturing the character, personality, and posture of each cow in a way that everyone can truly appreciate, especially those who know them the best.
Denise has studied with several internationally known art instructors in San Diego and most recently gained a sizeable following for her cow paintings. She receives commissions to paint them as well. Her art is included in a "Cowlendar" for 2006, introduced at the World Dairy Expo, as well as licensed for commercial print use.
Exhibitions
2005 East County Art Association "Masters of the Moment"
2006 Roswell Museum Art Center
Awards
2006 Roswell Fine Arts League "Honorable Mention"
2006 Roswell Fine Arts League "Sponsor Award"
Commissions 2006
American Jersey Cattle Association
American Guernsey Cattle Association
Holstein World
California Milk Advisory Board (Painting the 'Happy Cows" of the Real California Cheese campaign)
In Print
2005 2006 Calendar for Animart
2006 JDIP 2nd Annual Conference U.C. Davis Abstract Book Cover
2006 Original titled "Cow Head" Licensed for use in print ad Prince-Agri products
2007 JDIP 3rd Annual Conference Texas A$M University Book cover
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