Eldon Warren
“I do the majority of my work plein air. What motivates me is a desire to let others know where I’ve been, what I’ve seen and how I felt about it. Sometimes that isn’t easy but I think I manage to always touch the viewer in some way. I am most drawn to subjects that are filled with bright sunlight and long dark shadows. In this part of the country that isn’t hard to find.” When I was a youngster I roamed the prairies, the river bottoms and the back roads. Today my paintings are nearly all about those kinds of places. My impressionist style is about bigger brush strokes, softer edges and less detail allowing me to capture the essence of my subject without saying too much. When someone looks at one of my paintings I’d like them to be able to add their experience to what I’ve done and feel the small tug inside that says, “I think I’ve been there.” When I’ve made that kind of connection I’m happy.”
-Eldon Warren
Eldon Warren is an impressionist oil painter of the western landscape. He was born in Nebraska in 1952 and now makes his home in Colorado. Growing up, there wasn’t money to buy paint and brushes and the other things a young artist needs so Eldon spent most of his time with a pencil and paper drawing the things around him. He ended up at Colorado Boys Ranch, at La Junta , Colorado, in 1967. The Ranch Administrator’s wife, taking an interest in the development of Eldon’s artistic skills, took him to town and bought oil paint, brushes and canvas. This marked the beginning of a life long career as an artist. The first step beyond high school art classes was with Art Instruction Schools, a correspondence course that taught the basics. That experience set a solid foundation in drawing and put Eldon on the right path. His art education after that took place in workshop settings and every “good” art book he could find. After graduating high school in La Junta in 1970, Eldon moved around quite a bit, not really settling anywhere until 1981. After high school he worked as a laborer in Sidney, Nebraska. He spent time in Houston, Texas working as a roofer, then moved back to La Junta and worked as a machine operator in a factory. He spent a couple of years in Portland, Oregon as a welder then settled in Denver in 1981 and has been there ever since.
Select Exhibitions and Awards
Painting the Parks 2003, Director’s Choice Award, Award of Merit
RL Foster Gallery 2nd Annual Drawing Exhibition 2004, Best Figurative
Colorado State Fair Fine Art Exhibition 2004, Meritorious Award
Top 100 Arts For The Parks 2004
Oil Painters of America National Show 2007, First year entry
Estes Park Painting The Parks Plein Air 2004, Peoples Choice Award
Estes Park Painting The Parks Plein Air 2005, Bronze Medal Award
American Impressionist Society National Show 2007 Honorable Mention
Hilligoss Invitational Salon Show 2007, Award of Excellence
Winter Gallery, Monument, Co. Sept/Oct 2007 One Person Show
Koshare Indian Museum, LaJunta, Co. 2007 The Kiva Presents... artist series, one man show
Oil Painters of America National Show 2008, Second year entry
