Artist Biography:
From the time of my childhood growing up on my great grandfather’s homestead near Crofton, Nebraska, a love of the land and a deep respect for the awesome power of nature was engrained in me. My roots were firmly planted in the prairie soil of northeast Nebraska, and my journey into the world of art began by watching Mom. I remember several occasions where my sister and I followed Mom to the banks of the Missouri River where she set up her easel and spent the afternoon painting. I was fascinated by how she could transform a flat blank canvas into a beautiful work of art—She could work magic with a bit of paint and a brush. I took a couple art classes in high school, but when it came time to choose a career path, science, coupled with my passion for teaching, was the road I took.
With a teaching certificate in science education in hand I moved to Sidney, NE in 1981. I met my husband Gary, a local wheat farmer. We built a house and moved to his family farm east of Peetz, CO. I knew that this was where I would put down my own prairie roots. Now several years later, after raising two children, and teaching science for nearly 30 years, I’m renewing my love of oil painting. I’m a work in progress, inspired by the vastness of this big-sky world I live in. I hope to continue in the footsteps I followed as a child watching Mom as I set up my own easel on top of my prairie roots.
"If you don't try - you won't know you can...." Marie (Mom) Janssen
