The Artist

Artist Statement

“Painting is my passion.  I paint with joy the drama of the Cascade Mountains bathed in early morning light, the intriguing silence of the High Desert, and the many hues of the Metolius River.  I paint on location.  Mother Nature is my inspiration.”

About Norma

Norma Holmes was born in Carmel, California. “I recall, at a very young age, sleeping on a daybed in my Grandparents dining room. I was surrounded by paintings. Grandpa had painted all of them.

Later on my Mother related to me that  her family spent their summers in Cascadia, Oregon and Grandpa would paint the scenery on the Santiam River. Upon returning to the Monterey Peninsula, he would resume his successful trade as a painting contractor, well known for his creativity with color.

In 1991, I too packed up my easel and headed for the Northwest, settling in Sisters, Oregon.”

Today Norma is committed to painting in her unique style, the diversity and grandeur of Oregon.

Holmes is a Signature Member of the Northwest Pastel Society.  Norma’s talent has been highlighted in The Pastel Journal in March 2004, and in March and July of 2001; the International Pastel Magazine in July 2002, and the Pastel Highlights American Artists Collector’s Edition in 1997.

Her work has won many awards in national and international exhibits including a “Best of Show” in the Northwest Pastel Society International Juried Exhibit 1999, and a second place in American Women Artists International Competition 1998. In 2003, she exhibited in the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky; also showing at the Pastel Society of America in New York in 2002 and “The Best and the Brightest” in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2004.

Norma studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has done special studies with many renowned artists including Doug Dawson, Valoy Eaton, Kim English, Bob Gerbracht, Del Gish, Daniel Green, Lois Griffel, Albert Handel, Margaret Kessler, Joyce Pike, Camille Przewodek, Susan Sarback and Vladen Stiha.

“Every painting is a lesson, a joy, and a challenge.”

Norma Holmes gallery representation is with Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon.  For more information on Exhibits and Awards click here.