((L) Mirror Pond Swans, (R) Quail Spin | Art by Vivian Olsen
Vivian Olsen had set her goal to become an artist when she was ten years old . . .
. . . “Throughout my life, I’ve loved animals and have been so inspired by them that I’ve chosen them as the primary subjects in my paintings. Growing up with animals as playmates I loved their beauty and pleasant natures and that feeling has led me to portray paintings of wild animals such as quail, wolves, owls and others, all captured realistically using watercolor, pastel or oil paints.”
“Recently though, due to being confined at home because of COVID, I painted a few abstract paintings. I enjoyed it for a change. I felt a lightening of focus — I could play and make mistakes, and correct them, or not. There are no rules, and I felt like a child playing with paint again. Wow! What artist wouldn’t want to create some abstract paintings?
My first one started as cubes of many colors, big ones, little ones and finally some lines giving movement. It was static! I decided to kick it up a bit by tipping the forms, and interrupting the formulaic look. The result looked like a mass of crazy chicken coops — so of course, I added chickens, and finally their nemesis, the fox. But I wasn’t finished — birds became a fun focus for experimentation and I free-painted strong colors and lots of movement to some quail, ravens and swans. Free of inhibitions — it was just playtime and fun!”
Vivian Olsen knew when she was ten that she wanted to be an artist, but it was many years later at home with three little girls that, with persistence and years of study, she earned an art degree and later a master’s degree in science- biology. She had set her goal to become a wildlife artist, and finally reached it, becoming well-known for her realistic paintings of wildlife and other animals. Vivian taught Art at Socorro High School in New Mexico, teaching there for nearly 20 years. During those years, and up to the present, she has always continued to paint as a professional artist and to exhibit her artwork in galleries, juried exhibits and art shows throughout the Northwest.
Vivian, who lives in Bend, is a member of the High Desert Art League, the Watercolor Society of Oregon and the Plein Air Painters of Oregon. In 2021, Vivian published a children’s book, The Good, The Bad, and The Goofy with Amazon. Her recent artwork may be viewed at Hood Avenue Art Gallery in Sisters, and on her website, vivianolsen.com, along with a review of the children’s book.