LOIS COLLINS

"I didn't know I had any art in me," says Lois Collins of Michigan. She began to paint in her forties, and is now in her eighties. Collins has produced over a hundred paintings. Most of her work shows Michigan's rural Upper Peninsula where she has spent most of her life. She paints skating parties, dances, church-going, and other events, all of them bursting with human and animal figures. Her paintings emphasize outdoor activities: skating, fishing, sledding, dog sledding, boating, and horseback riding. She has also produced a number of paintings of biblical settings and religious scenes, which reflect her beliefs. When she is painting, she says, "I'm happy and all is right with the world."

She creates her version of the world, based largely on the one in which she grew up. She uses recollections of the past to produce art. Memories are important to her and she does prefer to show what she describes as "restful, peaceful, happy events." Collins' paintings are colorful and cheerful, but her own life has had dark periods. Born during the Depression, she was placed in an orphan home when her father was hospitalized. A childless couple who lived on a farm in Skanee, Michigan adopted her.   *click image for larger view

	Apples for Sale #2 Oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches SOLD		Dog Sled with Rabbit Oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches SOLD
	David and Samuel acrylic on canvas 12 x 16 inches, framed $375 SOLD		Moses and the Angel acrylic on canvas 12 x 16 inches, framed $375 SOLD
	Jumping Rope and Birds acrylic on canvas 12 x 16 inches, framed $375 SOLD		Joseph and His Coat oil on canvas 24 x 36 inches $950 SOLD
	Boy on a Swing acrylic on canvas 12 x 16 inches, framed $375 SOLD		Warehouse oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches, framed SOLD
	Jesus and His Court oil on canvas 23 x 29 inches, framed $750 SOLD		Grandma's Suburban Garden acrylic on canvas board 30 x 15inches, framed $350 SOLD
	A Gathering Storm oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches $250 SOLD		The Windows acrylic on canvas 24 x 36 inches $950 SOLD
	Mary Madganlene acrylic on canvas board 15 x 30 inches, framed $295 SOLD