An exhibition of artwork by local artist Lee Copen is on display through the end of September at OzSBI, located at 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains.
Growing up in South Africa and Chile, Copen was always an artist. She spent her high school and college years in Colorado, where she excelled in art and earned a fine arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado. She worked as a graphic artist and architectural illustrator before returning to school to become a certified teacher. While living on a small farm in the Ozarks, she taught art at a local high school for 22 years while raising her family.
Now retired, Copen combines her love for painting and the outdoors as a plein air painter. Whether on location or in the studio, her light- and color-filled works reflect a love for the land and realistic landscape painting. She works in both watercolor and oil and has received many awards and honors for her pieces. She is also known for her colored pencil drawings of birds.
“I have always been drawn to the diversity and beauty that landscape has to offer," Copen said. "Painting is absolutely my most favorite thing to do. I have been painting all my life, and painting is simply how I like to spend my time. For me, painting is capturing a fleeting moment of beauty and sharing what I see with others.”
The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Council on the Arts and OzSBI, with partial funding provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Copen's art can be viewed at numerous regional galleries or online at leecopen.com.
