Viv's lifelong dream of having a beautiful studio high in the mountains above the Wapiti Valley in Wyoming has become reality.
Original Impressionistic Oil Paintings
After relocating to Chicago, Viv spent several years studying painting at Studio in the Woods in Long Grove Village, Illinois, where she studied under Frankie Johnson among many other painters.
While in Chicago, Viv exhibited at Gallery 14 art gallery in Barrington, Illinois. Viv also did freelance illustration for Searle Corporation, Pond and Garden magazine, and several newspapers. Viv then moved with her husband and two sons to Cody, Wyoming where she continued to paint, attending workshops for several years, and studying under the artist Geoff Parker.
Viv now paints exclusively in oils, completing small studies en plein air on location which she then works up into larger paintings in the studio. All paintings are clearly indicated on the back to be either plein air or studio. Viv's paintings are archival quality original oils painted on italian linen on wood panels, varnished in the traditional methods, then framed in museum quality framing. All of Viv's paintings are guaranteed never to be copied in prints or giclee's. Each piece is unique. The artist does, however, retain the copyright to the image, and it may be digitally reproduced for purposes of advertising and promotion of the artist. When a collector invests in a painting from Viv they receive a unique product at a reasonable price.
Viv'paintings focus on the suggestion of mood and light in the subject, leaving the details to the viewer's imagination. Her impressionistic style lends itself well to her western scenes, portraying the West as Viv sees it on her journey as an authentic painter documenting the beauty and grandeur of what she finds in her wanderings.