Trail Ridge Road
12 x 16 in.
Pastel
Available through the Brookwood Gallery, Westcliffe, CO
Growing up in the midwest Lorie Merfeld-Batson began studying art at a young age, apprenticing under her father nationally known oil painter Gerald Merfeld. She continued her education in classical techniques of painting and figure drawing at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the Palette & Chisel.
While pursuing a nursing degree and raising children Lorie continued to paint part-time, but after moving with her husband and children to Colorado, she was inspired by the colors and textures of the western landscape to begin painting full-time. Lorie is accomplished in oils and pastels and is involved in several organizations including the American Impressionist Society, Signature member Plein Air Artists of Colorado, Signature member Pastel Society of Colorado, and a founding member of the Sangres Art Guild. She has won several awards at national shows, has works in many private collections, and has been included in several Invitational Shows including the Governor’s Invitational in Loveland , The Sedona Plein Air Exhibition, Telluride Plein Air and Estes Valley Plein Air Shows . One of her paintings was published in Jack Richeson’s fine art book Plein Air New Mexico which showcases 72 artists and represents some of the best contemporary plein air work in the country.
Painting in an impressionist but representational style, Lorie paints plein air and studio works from her home in the Wet Mountain Valley. She finds the process of painting itself exhilarating, “looking for the colors and values, finding the patterns in nature and putting the pieces of the puzzle together on canvas or paper is a never-ending challenge and a constant learning process that I will never tire of.” She frequently enjoys hiking and traveling by horseback into the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near her home to gather material for painting, and travels to New Mexico and abroad add variety to her repertoire of landscapes.
Lorie is represented by the Brookwood Gallery in Westcliffe, CO, the Grapevine Gallery in OKC and online at www.loriemerfeld-batson.com.
