ABOUT VICKIE LEIGH KRUDWIG
Artist Vickie Leigh
I loved art at an early age! When I received my first set of fat crayons in Kindergarten, I was over the moon with joy. The smell of wax and cardboard, and a set of primary colors allowed me to express myself to the world. I knew I wanted to be an artist then. I drew whenever I could, on paper, on sidewalks with chalk, and sometimes on the walls in our basement, much to my parents’ dismay.
Sixty years later I still live and breathe art. My vast art supply stores have grown from my first box of crayons to a variety of mediums such as acrylic, assemblage, markers, oil paint, pen and ink, and watercolor. This use of mix-mediums allows me to explore the dynamics between the various elements while creating an image that is rich in texture and vivid colors. More importantly, I like to think each piece of art tells the viewer a story—a personal one in which they themselves are a part of.
My father, George Randolph Douthit, III, rediscovered his passion for art in his adulthood. He too, saw potential in every landscape, tree, flower, bird, or insect. Wherever he traveled, he carried paper, paint, brushes, and a thermos of hot coffee to be shared with those who painted with him. He encouraged me, my siblings, and my children to find their inner-artist and set it free. We did so on the green covered hills and valleys in the Rocky Mountains, and in our own backyards.
The process of creating is a spiritual process for me. I love that I can step into worlds filled with symbolism and cosmic matter through various styles of art—from realism landscapes to modern abstract expressionism. I am inspired and moved by ancient rock art and petroglyphs found on canyon walls in Colorado, and the American Southwest, and worldwide. These ancient artists found ways to express themselves and the passage of time by carving or drawing images onto rocky canyon walls. Lines, dots, and even color, tell stories of their relationship to the natural and spiritual worlds where all things are connected.
Between 2000 and 2010, I worked as a co-author and illustrator with tribes on numerous book projects for their children and educators. I developed a deeper appreciation for the spiritual connection to the earth, its people, the creatures and plants that inhabit our planet. Holy men from the Ute, Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes shared many amazing creation stories of the People themselves and were generous in sharing many spiritual lessons along the way. My favorite story was that humans were made of the very same elements as the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. So too, I believe, are the mediums I use when creating my art.
Whether I create a mountain scene, a close up of a brook flowing in an alcove in Zion National Park, or images similar to the Ancestral rock art, I am connected to the Holy while I work. I start with a color or a basic form, and the painting itself seems to propel me forward, directing my heart and hands. It is in the images I create that the viewer will connect to my art in a more visceral way, reaching beyond what the eyes can see. I hope the colors and subject matter will touch the spirit inside themselves, so they too, might feel a sense of belonging and wonder to this amazing and vast world of ours.
It is my belief that each of my paintings has their own spiritual energy, and will connect with the right person at the right time in their lives. When they see it, they will know it was painted just form them.
— Vickie Leigh