losses lead to a dream!   

Denice Peters is a well recognized woman artist in Contemporary Realism Art. This native of NW Iowa has painted with pastels for over 30 years. Her work centers around dramatic light and mood. Her artworks resonate with the viewer and is laced with nostalgia. Her level of skill is garnering her recognition in magazines, national and international competitions. Also achieved a level of talent that earned her a juried member of the prestigious International Guild of Realism and earned Signature Status in Pastel Society of America, MidAmerican Pastel Society and the Iowa Pastel Society and elected as President of the Iowa Pastel Society.

Born in 1958 in LeMars, Iowa, USA, and raised on a farm instilled in her a connection to the earth and midwest values. She incorporates these things into her still life paintings. Married to her high school sweetheart, they raised 2 children with different challenges.

She took it upon herself to hone her talent, learning by trial and error. She took every art class she could in high school and was selected to be in the advanced art class as a senior. In time she developed at style that she refers to as “Blended Reality”. She worked with pastels until she reached the outcome she could see in her head. She was told you can’t paint realistically with soft pastels, but she bucked the trend and painted in her own way. She uses no implements, just pastels and her fingers. To the point of her fingers getting raw. So she becomes a part of the work in every way.

Being an artist is a very important part of her life. Raising children, she wasn’t able to do much art. She worked with oils and graphite at that time. When the children got older, she discovered pastels and was hooked, never looking back. Denice works only with pastels now. It also takes a lot of courage to buck the trend and also to put your work out there in public view. After 7 months of devastating losses, lost parents, her job and broke her foot, she took the plunge and became a full time artist in 2010. Later, Denice worked with Lorenzo Chavez, Tom Christopher, Mike Beeman, Sally Strand and Kathy Hildebrandt. She believes true artistic talent is a God given gift that shouldn’t be hidden. In that regard, she also teaches workshops to pass it forward.

Denice has a growing family of private collectors in the US, and some in England and Mexico. Denice believes, ’It’s humbling to have someone love your work so much that they want to have it in their homes.’ Her soul is poured out in every painting. She is a shy, deep, polite, optimistic and kind person. Her qualities come out in her art. She believes her work should offer a sense of beauty and peace, ‘life is too short to do otherwise’.

She has earned many awards and accomplishments since 2010 when she decided to take the plunge and become a full time artist. She exhibits nationally in many solo and group exhibits, such as in Las Vegas, Colorado, Oregon, Minneapolis and Cape Cod. Denice has received many ribbons and awards, including the “Best of Show” Award in MidAmerica Pastel Society International Competition and an Honorable Mention in “the Artist Magazine’s” Annual International Competition. Not only is she a juried member of the International Guild of Realism, Denice is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, Mid America Pastel Society, Signature Member and President of Iowa Pastel Society, and member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.