Featured Artist Ilene Richard

Enjoy Ilene Richard’s delightful portfolio, and be sure to visit her website for more from this talented artist.

 

 

I have been fortunate that I have been able work as an artist my whole life. Since I have been a child I have been able to lose myself in the process of creating art, and knew that this was the field of work that I most wanted to be involved in. Being a very driven and determined individual, I spend a lot of time researching and experimenting to figure out what is needed to excel in my work to be able to compete in such a competitive arena.

 

 

Over the years, I have reinvented myself in the art world. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, my plan was to illustrate children’s books. I was slightly sidetracked and decided to pursue a jewelry design career instead. I loved working in the jewelry industry and was fortunate to have gotten my jewelry work into a lot of prestigious galleries all over the country. My jewelry work was also published several times in national trade magazines.

 

 

Although my jewelry career was taking off, my passion for children’s book illustration still remained. I continued to follow my passion and went back to school at the Museum School in Boston and the DeCordova Museum School.

 

 

With my education, drive and ambition to have books published I created a portfolio that enabled me to attract agents who helped me achieve my dream. I am honored to have had many books published by many publishing houses such as Random House, Scholastic, Kar-Ben, Highlights Magazine, Spider Magazine, and Leapfrog to name a few. I am still working as a children’s book illustrator while expanding my fine art career.

 

 

For many years I have been working passionately creating acrylic paintings on canvas. I believe all my years of drawing and painting illustrations has helped me to be able to create my acrylic works. My collections consist of figurative, animals, floral and who knows what else in the future?

 

 

My work focuses on a more close-up approach with color being a very strong element to my work. I enjoy using color in its purest form and experimenting with how colors interact with each other. A strong design and vibrant color palette is what makes my work definitively mine.

 

 

I have exhibited my work at Art Expo New York and Miami and other juried exhibits. My work is in galleries from New Hampshire to Florida. In 2012 I was written up in Art Business News as being one of the Top Fifty Artists to watch. I am also a member of the National Association of Women Artists and other artist association in my area.

 

 

Although my art career path is varied, the lessons that I have learned in each and every avenue has made me a much better artist. Everything that I have done is intertwined into my work and the understanding of it all helps me, and the clients I work with.

 

Ilene Richard invites you to follow her on Facebook.

 

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