"My passion for painting has everything to do with my wonder and appreciation for God's amazing creation. Watching a spectacular sunset or a mountain meadow sunrise, observing my horses in a field of rich grass and dandelions, or riding up a sagebrush covered hill...all of this inspires me to capture these fleeting moments in oil or pastel.

I'm fortunate to live in the mountains on the Colorado/Wyoming border, and blessed to be able to witness these scenes on an almost daily basis. I want to use bits of beautiful color and light to convey the beauty I see around me, a desire I truly feel is God given."

Debra Mickelson is an award-winning artist who resides in the northern mountains of Colorado, painting in oil and pastel the mountain, prairie and wildlife scenes that are her very backyard.

Debra was raised in the farming and ranching country of central Nebraska. She realized her passion for creating art at an early age, but was somewhat frustrated at the limited educational opportunities that rural Nebraska presented. Her early art education consisted of lessons in drawing and oil painting from an interested teacher, and correspondance courses from the University of Nebraska. Attending college at Kearney State, she found the resources and encouragement she needed, and her passion for painting grew. A move to Colorado in the late 70's further developed her love of the landscape in art.

Recently, Debra has studied under locally and nationally known artists, including Patti André, Lorenzo Chavez, Mark Hansen, Jeanne MacKenzie, Mark Silvers and Clive Tyler. Her most recent awards include a "Best in Show" at the Northern Colorado Artist's Association 2006 "Capture the County" all-medium show, awarded by respected western landscape artist Russ Tanner. Debra is represented by Art on Mountain Gallery in Fort Collins, Colorado and by Artisan's Gallery in Laramie, Wyoming.