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Local artist makes her home in Castle Pines, Colorado


Article and photo by Carin R. Kirkegaard

Elizabeth Mowry, a renowned pastel painter moved to Castle Pines Village nearly three years ago from a pre-Revolutionary War stone house in the Hudson Bay area of New York State.

Caring for a 35-acre agricultural home required a lot of time and hard labor. There were days when the question would be “Do I paint or weed?” So it was with a bit of sadness that Mowry left her home and moved west. “Colorado has always appealed to me,” said Mowry.

Now that she is here, Mowry is finding the beauty of the state to her liking. It took awhile to get her bearings for the landscape.

“I need to know it before I have the right to paint it,” said Mowry.

Her love for art, painting and nature started at a young age. As a child Mowry’s caretaker was a naturalist in the park behind her childhood home. Her days were spent learning about the plants and animals that were her neighbors. As luck or perhaps fate would have it, the park ranger was also an artist. When he would sketch a plant Mowry would sit beside him and copy his drawing.

Although painting has always been woven within the threads of her life, Mowry did not pursue an artist’s degree from school. While painting may not have filled her class time, during her college years Mowry vividly remembers painting an entire orchard on the walls of her dormitory.

While her children were growing, Mowry would spend her days painting. When she heard the voices of children outside on the street, she would know to stop for the day. Once her three children were in college, Mowry really began to focus on her work with intensity.

This year, Mowry is the Pastel Society of America Hall of Fame Honoree, had a piece included in the Mile High National Exhibition, and was invited to teach a pastel workshop amongst the orchards in Palisade, Colorado. Mowry also spent part of the year as the Artist in Residence in Dinan, France.

For 15 years, Mowry taught at the Woodstock School of Art, in addition to leading workshops both in the United States and internationally. She has received over 40 major landscape awards in both national and international exhibitions. In 2003 she was the American guest of honor at the International Salon of Pastel in France.

Mowry is frequently invited to jury national and international exhibitions. Along with these accolades Mowry has written four books.

To learn more about this local artist visit the website at www.elizabethmowry.com. Her work is also available at Knox Galleries located on Larimer in Denver and in Beaver Creek. Visit www.knoxgalleries.com for more information.

 Elizabeth Mowry’s painting “October Afternoon” featured at the Mile High National Exhibition, Longmont Museum & Cultural Center.

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