Debby Koonce
Debby Koonce
Plein Air Impressionist
A painter of landscapes who specializes in the exploration of the uses of light and shadow in oil and acrylic media, Debby Koonce is inspired by vistas, architecture, quaint alleyways, gated compounds and garden settings. These challenging studies reflect the light of different times of the day and the changing seasons. Her sense of color and scale and interplay of dark and light are focused to create a feeling of realism that is heightened by imagination.
Debby has been drawing and painting from a very early age. Moving from charcoal to pastels to oil painting, she transitioned from still life to dynamic paintings of landscapes and architecture. She developed a love for painting outdoors where she is challenged and inspired by the actual light and the passing day. Her plein air paintings are spontaneous impressionistic translations of her natural surroundings. Her compositions are fresh depictions of shadows, sunlight, atmosphere, and color.
She studied at Rochester Institute of Technology and California College of the Arts where she majored in fine arts. She is a member of the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts and has been a member of the Bedford Gallery Guild for the past fifteen years. She is also a member of the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, the Alamo Danville Artists’ Society and the Blackhawk Gallery, where she is the current curator, the Lamorinda Arts Alliance and the Lafayette Gallery. She was honored to be a 2008 White House Christmas ornament artist. She is an exhibitor and guest lecturer at venues throughout the East Bay Area.