Wendy Musser

Painting in both pastels and oil, Wendy is primarily an plein air painter. Smaller works are often completed on the site of the painting and then used as studies for studio paintings.

Image of a pastel rendering of a green hillside with mountains in the background
Afternoon in Buncombe County - 17 x 23 - Pastel		 Image of a pastel rendering of a river bank with woods in the background
Up the River Bank - 11 1/5 x 15 1/5  - Pastel

Wendy is a North Carolina native, born in Greensboro, North Carolina. Acrylic, oil and pastel landscape painting has been her primary focus. Her education includes obtaining an Associate of Arts Degree from Peace College, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Returning to school later, she completed a second major in Interior Design at Meredith College and continues to work as a Commercial Interior Designer.

Her career includes positions as a technical illustrator, a manual and CAD draftsperson, a picture framer, art gallery assistant and an interior designer. She is a Commercial Interior Design Consultant and is the Owner of Starry Night Art and Frame. Professional accomplishments include the passing of the National Certification for Interior Design Qualification and Professional Membership in the International Interior Design Association.

After years of working in art related fields Wendy aspired to return to her college art training. She then began to study studio painting under Mary Anne K Jenkins in 1995. To better understand the landscape and to capture the inspiration of being in nature as one paints, in 2001 she began studying “plein air” pastel painting. Due to the array of pastel colors available the medium has energy and immediacy that makes painting on location an exciting experience. Translating the stimulation of painting in nature into a vivid yet harmonious image of colors is a rewarding challenge. The pastel paintings are generally worked to near completion while on the painting site. Back in the studio the pieces are evaluated and finishing touches are added. Once finished, they may become an inspiration for larger scale oil paintings.

Believing that learning should be a life long experience Wendy has continued to study pastel painting with Kevin Beck, Albert Handell, Richard McKinley and Susan Ogilvie. And most recently studied plein air oil painting with Libby Tolley. She is a member of the Fine Arts League of Cary, the Durham Art Guild and the Pastel Society of North Carolina. She has been accepted in and received awards in juried shows in the Triangle Area since 1997. Additional works can be seen at The Collectors Gallery in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, at Heart of Living Gallery in Greensboro, North Carolina and at The Little Gallery of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.

Celebrating Landscapes, by Wendy

Plein air painting is not only observing the object as you paint it, but painting in the out of doors. My first experience with the medium of dry pastels and my first experience of painting in nature were at a workshop.

I was immediately hooked. I am convinced that painting out in nature is both the most challenging and most rewarding painting experience. Not all of my selected painting locations are breath taking. All, however, are unique and the test is to create an inspiring image from any location. Concentrating on a single focus of interest among a vast array of subject matter is very challenging. Light changes so quickly that what you see in constantly changing. As I paint the light is quickly moving, the birds are singing, the bugs are biting, the air is refreshing (or muggy, or freezing) and the subject is directly in front of me for translation into a painting. Dealing with the distractions of the elements and working hard to capture a moment when the light is favorable intensifies the painting process to both exciting and exhausting.

My goal is to capture the beauty of the places that I have discovered and to lure viewers to want to visit the very spot where I have painted. God has given us a great land that is quickly being altered by our actions. I hope that my painting experiences can preserve a glimpse of the natural beauty of this great land and to entice others to take time to celebrate the environment we have been given by visiting the gift of our landscape

Wendy may be contacted by telephone at 919-387-0224
or via the E-Mail contact form when visiting Wendy's web site.

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