Growing up in a household with two artist parents was, to say the least, a dream come true, for I was born with the artist spirit and blossomed well under their creative nurturing. My father, Wayne K. Blickenstaff , currently a writer, was an illustrator and fine artist in the “hey day” of commercial illustration before photography became the popular mode of advertising and made life difficult for the illustrators. Magically he managed to support our family and give myself and my two brothers a good artistic foundation. My mother, Betty Evans Cook, was (and is still) a fine artist and filled my head with all sorts of creative ideas through her own overflowing creativity.
Throughout my early years I had numerous art instructions from my parents and other professionals and eventually attended Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia for a year and a half in the mid-seventies. Immediately after my stint in college I headed to Colorado and began my art career in earnest.
My professional career has spanned thirty four years so far and has included illustration, graphic design, mural painting, teaching, and fine art. Portraiture has remained my passion and become my specialty. Whatever the environing conditions of life, you can always find me behind an “art desk” of one kind or another, be it an easel, a camera lens or a computer!
I have exhibited in many art shows over the years and have won many awards, the most recent being the Lorenzo di Medici Presidents Award at the 2007 Biennale in Florence, Italy.
