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Sonya Terpening
Though Grapevine, Texas is now home, Sonya Terpening graduated high school and lived many years in Oklahoma. She feels that living in Oklahoma and Texas is living with the fable of the west. As an artist, she is compelled to seek out and share the rich history and legend found in these two states.
Terpening always knew she would be an artist, studying with professionals from an early age. She received an art degree from Oklahoma State University, but believes her real education came while studying with and knowing some of the great American artists such as Betina Stienke, Donald Teague and Richard Schmid. Painting exclusively in watercolor for almost thirty years, Terpening decided it was time to paint again with oils, now mastering both mediums.
Her art is about sharing the fascinating world around her. “When something moves me, be it a story or a scene, I want to express it in color and light so that the viewer can share the feeling,” she states. “There is nothing more beautiful than this great land and the people living in it. I am drawn not only to the American West as it exists today but also to its history. There is something about the past that we all share that makes us better for remembering it. I think art touches the soul and teaches in ways words cannot.”
Terpening was a feature artist at Rendezvous 2006. She has been an invited artist to the Prix de West Invitational, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for fourteen years. Most recently she was awarded the Gold Medal in Watercolor at the 2008, Masters of the American West Show, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California.
Sonya Terpening's paintings are in the permanent collection of Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma; The Forbes Collection, New York, New York; National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Fort Worth, Texas; The Pierce Collection, Corsicana, Texas; Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Great Western Life, Denver, Colorado; and Pawnee Historical Museum, Pawnee, Oklahoma.
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