Our Featured Artists

I have been drawing from early childhood. It was a talent my father and mother passed on to me. Besides reading and pretending to be a teacher, drawing was my childhood pastime.

Lynn is an artist in the Black Hills and has been a NPWS member for about 2 years. Her paintings include scenes of the surrounding area as well as other locations. Her work in watercolor offers her more spontaneity and is less cumbersome when painting on the spot, however most of her paintings are done from photographs.

Helen was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. Her Dad taught her early the love of nature, frequently visiting botanical gardens, and family fishing trips, growing his own corn in a very unproductive soil in their backyard. He instilled in his daughter the simple things in life.

Lori has been painting watercolor on and off for thirty years, taking a big break to raise her kids. She has painted with a few groups and still paints weekly with friends. Since she grew up on a farm, she is drawn to prairie landscapes and farm scenes. Her style is constantly evolving, going from tight details to loose flow.

Carmen grew up in Colorado where her love for art started at an early age. She graduated from Dickinson State University with a B.S. in Art and English Education. As a current studio artist, and part time instructor, Carmen enjoys living in the Black Hills where inspiration to create comes easily.

Bonnie is a California girl who relocated to the Black Hills several years ago. Her love of nature and flowers show up in many of her paintings. She works mostly in watercolor but also enjoys creating pieces with mixed media and collage. Bonnie also enjoys designing pieces using decorative papers, embossing, arcrylics and inks.

My love for watercolor started at a very young age. I grew up in eastern South Dakota, but I have lived in Rapid City for 37 years. I enjoyed teaching art for 30 plus years to middle and high school students.

My love for watercolor started at a very young age. I grew up in eastern South Dakota, but I have lived in Rapid City for 37 years. I enjoyed teaching art for 30 plus years to middle and high school students.

My love for art started at an early age. Mom used to tell the story of when I was 4 or 5 years old, and she would realize she hadn’t seen me for several hours anywhere in the house. She would walk back to my room and find me coloring or painting with no regard for time or anyone else…

I’ve always had an interest in painting but it did not become a reality until later in life. Oil was my first venture into painting and then the opportunity to study watercolor arose and it captured me and is now my medium of choice.

Jill has been Co-Vice President of the NPWS for three years and is a highly valued member of our team. She is also an amazing artist.

Cookie is originally from Florida but became a South Dakota resident in 1987. She enjoys all methods of painting. Watercolor, acrylic, oil, and ink. She also has a wheel, kiln, and enjoys creating and doing pottery.

The closest I came to a paint brush before I retired a few years ago was when I painted the trim “forest green” on all the buildings on my family’s homestead ranch in northern Wyoming. I was born and raised there, the oldest of three girls (all of whom were to be boys) where I loved the farming, animals, breaking…

The closest I came to a paint brush before I retired a few years ago was when I painted the trim “forest green” on all the buildings on my family’s homestead ranch in northern Wyoming. I was born and raised there, the oldest of three girls (all of whom were to be boys) where I loved the farming, animals, breaking…

After leaving Dickinson in 1989, my husband, Bruce and I lived in Mobridge for ten years before moving to the Black Hills area. I have had the good fortune to be able to study art with numerous instructors by enrolling in classes at USD-Springfield, UM-Duluth and DSU and regularly taking workshops and other classes.

Delores lives near Black Hawk, SD and enjoys a variety of subjects from babies to buildings, and a variety of mediums, from pencil to batik. She loves painting outside or inside, projects are always percolating in her mind. She enjoys workshops to share ideas and methods.

I was born and raised in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. My education was in the sciences that led to work as a laboratory technician. A desire to travel materialized with life cruising aboard a sailboat across the oceans. After 10 years of sailing I arrived in the U.S.A. where I met and married my husband Jon. We…

I was raised on a ranch east of Newell, one of six children. I went to college at SDSU and BHSU where I got an art degree in Art Education. I was fortunate to study with Dick DuBois at BHSU. I have taken many watercolor workshops throughout the years and learned techniques from all of them.

I retired in December, 1998, as microbiology lab supervisor after nearly 30 years at the State Health Laboratory, Pierre. I graduated with a B.S. in clinical laboratory technology in 1964 from SDSU.  My only art experience was drawing sophomore biology plates; however, I have always been crafty and sewed clothes for myself, 2 sons, and husband, often creating my own…

“Art from the Heart” Gwen Ray grew up on a ranch on Lower Spring Creek.  She and her husband currently live on Box Elder Creek east of Nemo, South Dakota. At an early age, she developed an appreciation for art and explored different mediums.  There was something about transferring a scene with paint and brush that made her soul come…

After retiring, Nora and her husband moved to Rapid City. It was at that time Nora decided to pursue watercolor. She is now a workshop junkie, and has even traveled to France, Italy and Spain to attend workshops. Nora is currently taking classes with Nancy Ashley and previously studied under Richard DuBois. Nora is a Signature Member of NPWS and…

Nancy grew up on a ranch near Fairburn, South Dakota.  She enjoyed drawing and creating art as a young person and pursued her artistic interests in high school and later at Chadron State College.  She is a retired high school art teacher and now shares her love of painting by teaching adults watercolor.  Nancy enjoys creating in a variety of…

Jackie Long has been doing something in art for most of her adult life. One of her works was accepted by Hallmark Cards. She created a number of art pieces using etched glass which were prominently displayed in two restaurants in Nebraska. She turned her focus to watercolor and mixed media in the last several years.

Sarah is a contemporary water media artist, and texture abstractionist. She loves and works in all mediums. Born and raised in Ohio, she eventually moved West and has lived in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota since 1986. Sarah has developed a unique style in her painting that has gained her two signature memberships in WYWS, and NPWS. Sarah…

Sherry Thurston’s enjoyment in all things creative provided a natural attraction to the art medium of watercolor. Some of the excitement of watercolor for her is when the paint and paper start to do some “creating” on their own. This relationship is something that feels exclusive to watercolor and will be found evident in the loose, organic style of her work. She spent…

Watercolor has been one of my favorite mediums for over 50 years, and continues to provide unique opportunities and challenges, as well as an invitation to explore new techniques. It also is extremely accessible, as I maintain a covered palette that is always ready to use, allowing me the ability to paint for any length of time without a lot of…

I was born and raised in Rapid City, where I still reside.  I come from a large family with 10 siblings. I am the youngest girl, with four older sisters and six brothers.  My husband Pat and I have four children ranging in age from 31 to 15 years old. We are almost empty nesters with one left at home. I spent…

I was born and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota in Spearfish.  That is where I spent long summers doing things that you can do for free or cheaply, like tubing down the glacial creek, walking to the library, reading in my treehouse of three planks of wood nailed in a black walnut tree, or going tent camping. …

My passion for art began at the early age of five when I took classes at the Des Moines Iowa art center.  Although, when it came to my career, I followed in my Dad’s footsteps, choosing the more practical field of architecture.  After 15 years of practice, I moved on to other art related vocations, including my own wedding photography…

Bill is a South Dakota native living near Deadwood, S.D. He has lived in the western part of the state since he was a second grader. It was then that he learned he could draw. While watching a fellow student sketching on paper, Bill was encouraged to do the same, with some success. Bill began to study art formally while…