About the Artist
About Lydia
Lydia has a Bachelor of Arts in both graphic design and fine art from Metropolitan State University. She worked as a designer and art director for several companies before becoming a partner in a Colorado creative agency for over twenty-five years.
A desire to create a more personal vision led her back to fine art and she has pursued her passion in painting since 2001. The late Elizabeth Mowrey, author and Master Pastelist from the Pastel Society of America, continues to influence both her approach and attitude towards painting.
Lydia is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of Colorado. She has received numerous awards for her pastels and her work in both oil and pastel can be seen at the Art Center of Estes Park in Estes Park, Red Canyon Art in Lyons, and Mary Williams Fine Art in Boulder, Colorado
She enjoys teaching classes and workshops in pastel. Her work is held in private collections throughout the U.S.
Lydia is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of Colorado and has earned numerous awards for her pastel work. In 2018, she won second place at the Plein Air Artists of Colorado competition. The following year, she received the Heilman Award of Excellence at the Colorado Pastel Society’s Mile High National Show, along with two honors at the Estes Park Plein Air Festival: Best Town Painting and winner of the poster contest.
In 2022, Lydia was awarded the Dick Blick Award of Excellence for her painting Winter's Eve at the Mile High International Show in Central City. In 2024, she received the Elizabeth Mowrey Poetic Landscape award for her piece The Sheltering Sky at the same event.
Most recently, in 2025, she was named one of the top ten artists in Artists Network Magazine's Over 60 Art Competition for her painting Along Dallas Divide.
She enjoys teaching classes and workshops in pastel. Her work is held in private collections throughout the U.S.
She also participates annually in the Open Studios Tour in Boulder. To see her work on their website visit:
Education
BA Metropolitan State University 1984
Graduated with Honors
Professional workshops with Elizabeth Mowry, Paula Anne Ford, Desmond O’Hagen, Jake Gaedtke , Lee McVey, Bruce Gomez, Marc Hansen, Jane Hunt, Liz Hayward Sullivan and Barbara Jaenicke.
Professional Experience
Art director and owner, Epicenter Creative 1993 – 2020
Fine artist 2008 – Present
Professional Memberships
Signature Member Pastel Society of Colorado
Plein Air Painters of Colorado
Oil Painters of America
Louisville Art Association
International Plein Air Painters (IPAP)
Pastel Society of America
