Debra Sindt Painting
In the striking wildlife paintings of Colorado-based artist Debra Sindt, the first thing you will notice is the eyes. There, a compelling sense of the animal’s individual personality and emotion is powerfully expressed. Then your gaze will be drawn to the creature’s bearing and stance-its quiet alertness, its interaction with others of its kind. It all tells a story, set within the gorgeous hues and often soft-focus surroundings of the animal’s natural world. Beyond this, the other story Debra’s paintings invariably tell is of the artist’s lifelong deep connection with-and intimate understanding of- the subjects she paints.
Amazing Realistic Oil Paintings From Nature By American Artist Debra Sindt
Raised on an Iowa farm, Debra remembers countless hours of wandering and exploring on horseback or foot, through pastures, woods, and creek-side trails, encountering and observing the many forms of wildlife she came across. By the time she was six a sketchpad was her constant companion, and plein air sketches became another means of learning about the creatures that shared her life. Frequently that sharing took the form of caring for orphaned or injured animals-among them, lambs, foals, kittens, baby raccoon, ducks, and geese. “There’s hardly a childhood memory that doesn’t involve caring for or drawing animals,” she says.
In high school Debra took every art class available and found herself magnetically attracted to painting with oil paints. ” From the first moment I brushed the oil paints onto the canvas,” she recalls, “I knew I had found the perfect way to express my deep connection to this world I love.” She immediately began receiving commissions and selling paintings and it was her desire to continue art studies in college. But as often happens, marriage, children and helping with the family business intervened, and it was years before she returned to art.
In 2000, the family settled in Colorado, providing Debra with access to the magnificent wildlife of the Rocky Mountain West. When her youngest child left home, her passion for painting returned to center stage. Workshops and studies continued with acclaimed artists including award winning equine and wildlife artist Kay Witherspoon and a mentorship with nationally recognized landscape painter Jay Moore. Working with such artists helped hone Debra’s innate talent, and within a year her work was being juried into national shows. By the end of the second year she had received a Best of Show award and gained gallery representation, where her first paintings sold within weeks. “Once I started applying paint to canvas again,” she recounts,” “everything exploded. It was like deep inside of me I was and always had been a wildlife artist, and the moment that part of me saw an opening it broke free and reclaimed my life. All the images, smells, and emotions stored up in me all those years came pouring out on to the canvas.”
Today Debra’ home and studio in the mountain foothills are surrounded by aspens and pines and visited frequently by mule deer, elk, coyote, fox and occasionally moose. Within a 10 minute drive the artist can reach the habitat of bighorn sheep. While her first works on returning to painting reflected her childhood intimacy with animals through a focus on close-up wildlife portraits-especially capturing the animal’s essence in it’s eyes-recently Debra has begun incorporating more of the landscape into her art. In either case, her time at the easel is unequivocally joyous, her brush moving quickly and seemingly effortlessly across the canvas. “It never feels like work.” she says. “It just pours out of my heart.”
– Gussie Fauntleroy
RESUME
Debra Lee Sindt Resume
Commercial Experience
1994-2000 Landscape architect for private and commercial entities throughout Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska
Education
- 2012-2013 Witherspoon Academy of Fine Art
- 2014 Mentorship Program, Jay Moore
- 2014 Workshop with Jan Martin McGuire
- 2016 Workshop with John and Suzie Seerey-Lester Montana
- 2016 Workshop with John and Suzie Seerey-Lester Cortez, Colorado
- 2016 SKB Workshop with Jan Martin McGuire, Fredericksburg, Texas
- 2016 Workshop with John Banovich, Fredericksburg, Texas
- 2017 Workshop with Jan Martin McGuire
Exhibitions
- 2012 Lines Into Shapes, Estes Park Colorado
- 2013 Cheyenne Frontier Days Spirit of the West Exhibition, Cheyenne, WY
- 2013 EAA Exhibition, Evergreen, CO; Awarded “Best of Show”
- 2013 “Featured Artist” Seven Arrow Gallery Woodland Park, CO
- 2013 Lines Into Shapes, Estes Park Colorado
- 2014 “Featured Artist” Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Mile High Chapter
- 2014 Cheyenne Frontier Days Spirit of the West Exhibition, Cheyenne, WY
- 2014 Lines Into Shapes, Estes Park Colorado
- 2015 Cheyenne Frontier Days Spirit of the West Exhibition, Cheyenne, WY
- 2016 “Honorable Mention” Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Premier Art Program
- 2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days Spirit of the West Exhibition, Cheyenne, WY
- 2018 “Featured Artist” Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Premier Art Program
- 2019 Invitational Equine Group Show, Santa Fe, NM
- 2019 Southwest Art Artistic Excellence Finalist
- 2020 “Featured Artist” Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Premier Art Program
Representation
- Manitou Galleries
- 123 West palace Ave.
- Santa Fe, NM 87501
- PH: 505-986-0440
- Manitou Galleries
- 225 Canyon Road
- Santa Fe, NM 87501
- PH: 505-986-9833
Associations
Oil Painters of America
"READY FOR THE CHALLENGE" ___ Chosen 2018 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Premier Art Program "Featured Artist" Prints Available
"Time To Reflect" 20"x 24" Oil on Linen A while back I gave you a peek at this painting in the beginning stages. Well here it is all finished and ready for it's upcoming Exhibition at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both this piece and the bobcat in the snow, "The Chase" that I posted a couple days ago, will be a part of the group exhibition, featuring eight of Manitou's artists. The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs through the end of May. I feel so priveleged to be a part of this show with such a great group of talented artist. If you happen to be in Santa Fe check it out, you won't be disappointed!
"The Big Black Bear" was delivered to Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, NM on Monday and I got the email yesterday (Thursday) that it was already sold and headed for it's new home! Thank you Bob and Charla Nelson, Suzanne, Jamie and everyone at Manitou Galleries. What a privilege to be represented by such a great gallery in one of the best art destinations in the nation!
What good news! I was just notified that my painting "Fun and Games" was sold by Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe New Mexico and is headed for its's new home in LA! I love Manitou Galleries, they're the best!
Debra Sindt Painting
"THUNDERBEAST" ___ 30"x 37" Oil on Linen- Bison- Prints Available
"In The Presence of Royalty" Since I've been asked a number of times recently about my painting process and how to know when a painting is finished, and since I had already posted a couple of previous photos of this painting in various stages as I was working on it, I thought this would be a good time to share a little more information with everyone on that subject. My painting now has a coat of retouch varnish on it and I just got it back from my photographer/printmaker. Like I said last week I still had some tweaking to do on it which you will mainly notice by comparing the eyes on the elk on today's photo with my last post of this painting. I didn't change the color of the elk, the previous photo being too orange was due to it not being a very good photo, and actually this photo is not golden enough and too dark but maybe it's just my monitor. I did some background work on the trees but that was mainly it. Theres a fine line between making the final necessary adjustments on a painting and getting into that never ending cycle of changing things... obsessing over whether or not the painting is good enough. I like to remind myself that there is no absolute right way of painting. All artists should and do paint differently because we all have a different vision, a different story to tell and a way of telling that story that is unique to each person. That being the case when I'm at the point of finishing my painting I like to put it on an easel in my living room and just enjoy it for a few days, while I'm having a cup of tea or going through the stack of mail that has invariably piled up while I was engrossed in painting. Things like composition, values, anatomy etc. were all worked out prior to this. Now I want to look at my painting with fresh eyes and see the big picture. I like to ask myself questions like: Does the painting tell a good story? Do all the various elements in the painting come together in a way that brings all the attention to the main point of the story or are there elements that distract from it? Have I captured a special moment in time, recreated that unexpected heart pounding encountered with wildlife that inspired me to paint this particular painting in the first place? Have I created something that elicits an emotional response, that will touch people's hearts as mine has been touched? If I've done that... the painting is finished. As most other artist will tell you, we will always see room for improvement in a painting and that's good! Growing, learning, challenging ourselves will help us all become the best versions of ourselve possible and it's what makes being an artist so wonderful. It's also why it's now time to move on to another painting, so the things we've just learned can now be used in creating our next piece. So for me...I'm now off to my studio and another clean white canvas that's waiting for me on my easel! How exciting! Have a great day and happy painting!
"Snow Patrol" What a day! I've been busy working on a new elk painting and getting ready to go on a photo shoot in Montana and I just stopped for a minute to check my emails and what a surprise! Manitou Galleries just notified me they sold another one of my paintings! Thank you Linda and Jen! And thank you to all my Facebook friends for all your kind comments and encouraging support. Big big hugs all around
"Are We There Yet" 12"x 16" Oil on Linen So, I decided to put this painting into the upcoming show at Manitou Galleries since my painting "A Proven Leader" had already sold. I sent it to the gallery on Tuesday and was notified it has been also sold. Thank you Suzanne and everyone at Manitou Galleries! You're the best! I have to say this was a hard painting to part with though. Every now and then you paint a painting that you really just don't want to let go of and this was one of those for me. But I'm very happy that someone else is getting to enjoy it now and... I had a print made for me so I can still see it and enjoy it every day too!.
Thank you to everyone at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe NM for the recent sale of my 28"x 40" oil painting "Head On". You're the best!
"No Rival" 24"x 36" Oil on Linen Well Manitou Galleries has done it again! Thanks Linda for all your hard work and I look forward to painting another bighorn sheep for the gallery soon, as soon as I'm done with my moose that is
Debra Sindt Painting
"Standing Guard" Thank you to Linda at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, NM. You're the best!