Bunny Oliver (1940)

Artist Bunny Oliver says about her work: "Painting in a direct manner with vivid colors and bold brushstrokes, the joy for me is in the creation, but the enthusiastic response of viewers validates my efforts." Painting was a lifelong dream for Oliver, but it was only when she was in her forties and had been employed in a variety of fields that she began to work in earnest on her art. In the mid-1980s, she was exposed to the work of a group of New Mexico artists and was intrigued by their color and freshness. She took a workshop with Ray Vinella, one of these painters, near Taos, New Mexico, and became consumed with the desire to paint. Soon she was painting at every available moment as well as studying art through books, museums, and galleries.

In 1989 she began to show her work in local art festivals, and gallery representation soon followed. Her work has since been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the Cogswell Gallery in Vail, Colorado, and Joe Wade Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Oliver has won a number of awards for her paintings, including the "Best in Oils" award at the Austin Museum of Art's Fiesta in 1998.