88 WWW.SOUTHWESTART.COM • AUGUST 2019
Artists of
UTAH
What inspires you to paint? I am inspired by
nature, people, beauty, color, design ... you
name it! Life is beautiful. I see opportunities
to record an experience into brushwork ev-
erywhere.
How would you describe your style? My
style has been described as painterly and
bold. The longer I experience the world of
art, the more I am drawn to the more cre-
ative and spontaneous styles of work.
How did you fi rst get interested in art? As
a teen I was very moved by beautiful art. I
would stand in front of a piece and study it
and wonder how it was created.
What is your creative process like? I tone
my canvas with either burnt sienna or aliz-
arin crimson to get rid of the white value.
Then I draw directly on the canvas with ei-
ther pencil or a Degas fi lbert brush and olive
green tempered with lots of turpentine. Us-
ing the largest brush I can for any given area,
I begin blocking in the darker values and
then start building in middle values. Then
I switch to a walnut-oil medium and con-
tinue to correct the drawing as I work back
and forth from background to foreground.If I keep my brush loose where I can, some
“happy accidents” may happen.
What have been some of the highlights
of your career? The fi rst show I entered
as a professional artist brought me a Best
of Show award. I’ve won quite a few more
prizes along the way. I was accepted as a Sig-
nature Member of American Women Artists
in 2004 and Oil Painters of America in 2008,
winning their Zhiwei Tu Color Award.
What galleries represent your work?
http://www.bonnieconrad.com. EBonnie Conrad
cMakin’ a Splash!, oil, 18 x 24.
eBit of Lakota, oil, 12 x 9.