Lee Copen

Born in South Africa, in 1966, Lee was drawing and painting the land, people and animals that surrounded her, before she even started school. Her family moved to Chile when she was 12 years old, where her love of drawing and painting continued. In 1982 the family moved to Colorado, here Lee encountered her first formal art education. Lee has traveled extensively throughout her life; including Zimbabwe, Peru, Bolivia, England, Scotland, Greece, Sweden and throughout the United States. Wherever she went, she painted; filling sketchbooks with beautiful drawings and watercolors. She continued to study art at the University of Northern Colorado, and received a BFA in drawing and painting. After college she pursued a career as an architectural illustrator. In 2000 Lee returned to college to receive a teaching certificate and has been teaching art in a public high school ever since. Both careers allowed Lee to continue painting on her own and building skills. In 2010 she started to pursue fine art professionally. Since that time she has earned numerous local and regional awards and her art can be found in private collections throughout the United States.

Whether working in the studio or on location her work is inspired by the beauty and diversity that can be found in nature. She currently lives on a small farm in Missouri; painting the hills, farms, rivers and springs of the Ozarks. Her work reflects her love of the land.

She is influenced by many great landscape painters, especially George Inness and Isaac Levitan.