Terry Lawson Dunn - About the Artist

Terry Lawson Dunn was born in Los Angeles, California and was immersed in a world of art from day one. With two commercial artists for parents, art materials and large tables were always available as playthings. Although she pursued wildlife science and environmental communication as a career, creating art has been a way for her to capture the natural places and wild animals she loves.

Soon after undergraduate school, she worked on bird research in Panama. During the afternoon siestas, she would pick up her pen and inks or watercolors and visually record the colorful birds she studied each morning. When she moved to Costa Rica, she continued to spend time in tropical rainforests, drawing and painting what she saw. In more recent years, she has traveled to the Amazon basin and back to Central America in search of striking new subjects. Her detailed tropical bird portraits can be found in homes from Latin America to the United States.

Upon moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2001, she quickly became infatuated with the wide open spaces and clear sunlight. By switching to soft pastels, she was better able to capture the rich colors and dramatic lighting that she found in the Southwestern landscape. Using archival sanded paper as a surface, Terry layers numerous colors of pastel one on top of the other, sometimes wetting sections of the piece midway to create an underpainting. She primarily selects realistic colors for her pastel paintings, but will also add a few unexpected colors to the mix.

More recently, Terry has begun painting on furniture in a bold, unique style not seen on other painted furniture. Typically, her furniture paintings have a botanical theme and are composed so the best features of each individual piece of furniture is emphasized. She finds pieces at auctions, used furniture stores, but also refinishes pieces clients already own. Occasionally, she will paint a new or used piece of wood, then commission local blacksmiths to create hand-forged table legs. The end result is a piece of furniture that is either partially or fully "recycled" and ready to liven up any interior space.

Terry hopes her paintings will not just be a record of beautiful things, but an expression of the affection she has for nature. By sharing the beauty of the outdoors with others, she hopes to inspire them to appreciate the importance of open spaces and living things...whether it's a sweeping wilderness or one, small flower.