Finding Joy in the Landscape

After three years as a member of the Palmer Lake Art Group (PLAG), oil painter Anne Dye has become an active and enthusiastic member of the local art community. A Colorado native with a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors, Anne finds inspiration in the natural world and particularly enjoys the challenge of capturing its changing light and atmosphere through plein air painting.

For Anne, choosing a subject begins with light. Standing outdoors with 360 degrees of possibilities can be overwhelming, so she looks for scenes with strong, interesting light, clear contrast, and a compelling focal point. Once she finds those elements, the composition begins to take shape.

“Light and contrast reveal form,” Anne explains. “Once I identify a focal point, the composition begins to take shape around it.”

Although the subject itself is important, Anne believes that lighting is what ultimately gives a painting its energy and character. Her goal is not to reproduce a scene literally, but to capture its essence, mood, and feeling through a loose, impressionistic approach.

The Joy of Painting Outdoors

Anne describes several things that drive her as an artist, but perhaps the most important is simply the joy of painting and creating something beautiful.

She especially loves working in plein air because it allows her to experience nature directly while she paints. She relates to Winston Churchill’s description of finding “joy in a paintbox,” and feels that same sense of joy when she is outside with her paints.

Being in nature also gives Anne a deep sense of reverence for the world around her. Painting has taken her to places she might not otherwise visit and introduced her to people she might never have met.

“I enjoy the challenge of capturing the essence of my subject,” she says. “My goal is not to paint like a camera, but to bring heart, mood, and feeling into my work.”

Why Oil?

Anne currently works primarily in oils, although she has explored watercolor and pastels throughout her adult life. She appreciates the permanence of oil paint and the ability to rework an area when necessary. She also enjoys the practical advantage that oil paintings can be framed without glass.

For Anne, however, the medium is more than a technical choice. It is part of the pleasure of the creative process—the opportunity to experiment, learn, and continually discover something new.

A Foundation in Drawing

Anne’s artistic education began long before she became a dedicated oil painter. During college, she was fortunate to study for two semesters with a strong drawing instructor. Solid drawing is an essential foundation for a realistic style.

After retiring in 2019, Anne was able to devote more time to developing her skills as a painter. She studied oil painting with Richard Dahlquist at the Anita Marie Gallery for approximately five years. During that time, she learned valuable lessons about creating depth, using color temperature, developing strong compositions, and randomizing elements within a painting.

She has also continued her education through workshops and classes with Chris Alvarez, Thomas Blackshear, Chuck Mardosz, and Eric Rhoads. Each experience has contributed something new to her evolving artistic practice.

Inspired by John Singer Sargent

Among the many artists Anne admires, John Singer Sargent holds a special place.

She is particularly impressed by Sargent’s ability to create beautifully defined compositions while placing color and value with remarkable precision in every brushstroke. His exceptional drawing skills, combined with his understanding of natural light and color temperature, are qualities Anne greatly admires.

For Anne, Sargent demonstrates how strong drawing, composition, value, color, and light can work together to make a painting beautiful and full of life.

A Mother Who Encouraged an Artistic Life

Anne’s artistic journey also has deep family roots. She credits her mother, a watercolor artist who exhibited in a gallery in Colorado Springs, with helping set her on the path toward becoming an artist.

When Anne was in a teenager/young adult, she and her mother traveled together to numerous scenic locations, including Cripple Creek, Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Grand Canyon, where they painted and experienced an artistic life together.

Her mother’s encouragement went beyond those early painting trips. She encouraged Anne to attend art school as her skills developed, and they remained involved and supportive of each other’s art career for life.

Anne’s husband, Mike Dye, has continued that tradition of encouragement. Married for more than 33 years, Anne and Mike would camp or take day trips together, giving Anne opportunities to paint while would Mike read, listen to music or enjoy the surroundings. His informal critiques have provided another important source of support and feedback.

Their partnership reflects a shared appreciation for Colorado’s landscape and for each other’s interests.

From Graphic Design to Teaching—and Finally Painting

Anne was born in Denver and raised in Colorado Springs. Her family’s frequent trips into the mountains helped foster the love of nature that remains central to her artwork today.

A few years after high school, she attended the Kansas City Art Institute, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She went on to spend many years working in graphic design, including a position with a theatre book publishing company as graphic designer and publicist, followed by eight years as a freelance designer. Her work included creating business logos, brochures, posters, and other public-facing graphics.

Midway through her career, Anne made another change and entered the teaching profession. She taught art in Colorado Springs’ District 11 for approximately 16 years.

Retirement finally provided the freedom to devote more time to her own artistic development.  Anne finally had time to paint and, in particular, the plein air and to develop her calligraphy.

The Challenge—and Reward—of Plein Air Painting

Anne became involved with the Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC), where she spent more than six years coordinating the weekly schedule for local plein air painters in the Pikes Peak region. She coordinated with members and property owners to provide a wide variety of painting opportunities.

That experience deepened both her love of plein air painting and her appreciation for the community surrounding it.

Painting outdoors comes with its own unique challenges. Weather can change quickly, light and shadows are constantly moving, and artists must make decisions rapidly as circumstances change.

The reward of painting on location is sensing the magnitude of creation and a sense of the Creator behind it.  Plein air painting takes an ordinary day and fills it with awe and gratitude. 

A Thoughtful Approach to the Painting Process

Anne’s paintings begin before the brush touches the canvas. She believes that thoughtful preparation can make the difference between a painting that works and one that doesn’t.

Her first step is usually to create small value studies and explore the composition through thumbnail sketches. Thumbnails need to be in the same proportion as the panel being used so that the composition remains the same.

To simplify the process, she often uses a fine-point Sharpie along with gray scale markers representing various value ranges. These studies help her determine whether a composition has the contrast and visual interest she is looking for.

“If I like the thumbnail, there is a better chance the finished painting will be more interesting,” she says.

Once she begins the painting, Anne starts with a block-in, establishing three to five basic shapes along with their values and color temperatures. She works to identify three or four distinct values and connect shapes within those values early in the process.

From there, she gradually refines the painting, adding smaller shapes and details while maintaining the overall structure of the composition.

Advice for Fellow Plein Air Painters

For PLAG members who are beginning to explore plein air painting, Anne recommends simplifying the experience at first.

She suggests working on a small panel, and narrowing down the subject matter, zooming in on something.  Work only in black and white paint, or gray scale, for several outings. Eliminating color decisions can make the transition to painting outdoors less complicated while allowing artists to concentrate on value, shape, composition, and the unique demands of working in changing conditions.

Anne also emphasizes the importance of painting with others. Having fellow artists nearby provides encouragement, moral support, and an opportunity to share experiences and feedback.

And when a painting becomes frustrating, she remembers advice from one of her teachers: return to the basics – shape, value, temperature, composition.

She also finds inspiration by studying the work of her favorite artists and talking with other painters.

A Growing Connection to the Palmer Lake Art Group

Anne values PLAG not only for its artistic opportunities but also for the friendships and sense of community it provides.

“It is a wonderful way to connect with other artists,” she says. “I value the friendships I have made and enjoy being part of a community of people who like talking about art.”

She appreciates PLAG’s active schedule, including its many exhibitions and monthly educational programs, which expose members to new ideas and different media.

Those opportunities have also helped Anne gain greater public exposure for her work. Over the past two years, she has been honored with four first- and second-place awards in PLAG exhibitions, including the Library 21c Color Splash shows and the Fall Small Works shows at Bella Art and Frame Gallery.

Through PLAG, she has also had opportunities to exhibit at galleries and venues including the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center and the Manitou Arts Center.

Continuing to Explore

In addition to PLAG, Anne is a member of the Plein Air Artists of Colorado and the calligraphy guild Summit Scribes.

Her artistic journey continues to be one of exploration—of Colorado’s landscapes, of light and color, and of the possibilities within oil painting. From the early influence of her mother and her college drawing instructor to years of graphic design, teaching, and continued study with accomplished artists, Anne has developed a thoughtful approach that combines strong fundamentals with an appreciation for spontaneity.

Most of all, she continues to find joy in painting as a way to create beauty and appreciate nature.

For Anne Dye, painting is a way to slow down, observe the world more carefully, connect with nature and other people, and transform an experience of place and light into something lasting.

Interviewed by Kathleen Seelye