Observing the life around her has always been a pastime for Vivian Olsen, first as a child growing up in rural California, and now as an artist roaming the mountains and valleys near her home. These quiet times bring forth the muse from which she draws inspiration for her paintings of nature.

Vivian paints the ordinary lives of animals and birds in the wild - inhabitants of the places she loves to explore. At times it is the habitat itself which is the focus. wildlife, mountains, lakes, scenes of Central Oregon - she captures these subjects in oils, pastel, or watercolor, in paintings that glow with vibrancy and light.

Vivian began painting and drawing as a child and studied art in college because it was the strongest interest in her life. She has been painting professionally for 30 years and has worked as a wildlife illustrator, as an art educator at the high school level in New Mexico, and as a professional artist selling and showing her paintings in galleries and juried exhibits.

Upon retiring she and her husband relocated to Oregon where she can now indulge her love of painting as a full time professional artist exhibiting her art in her new environment.

• Member of - Oil Painters of America, Plein Air Painters of Oregon, Oregon Arts Central, and a Signature Member of New Mexico Watercolor Society