During the month of January, the Firehouse Gallery will feature artwork in oils, acrylics and watercolors by Columbine “Collie” Will.
Collie was born in Odessa, New York. She grew up on a dairy and chicken farm in upstate New York. Her family moved to Richfield, Utah when she was 15 years old, where her Dad was the airport manager. He always was interested in flying and flew his airplane across the country. Collie learned to fly before she learned to drive and had a pilot’s license before she had a driver’s license.
She attended Snow College and Utah State University. After graduation she taught school in Vernal, Utah for 5 years before moving to Valdez, Alaska where she continued teaching school for 20 years. After a wolf ate her little dog, she was given a husky pup from a friend and soon acquired a dog team. She enjoyed dog mushing and even won a local dog race.
In 1987 Collie retired and traveled to Florida and Europe. She then spent 2 years traveling and painting in Australia, before moving to the Island of Hawaii in 1991.
From the first art class in first grade, Collie realized that she was in love with art and often drew things for her classmates. In high school she was able to take some art classes but didn’t pursue it in college. In Alaska she was able to start taking art classes again.
After moving to Hawaii in 1991, she joined Kona Arts Center and began painting in earnest.
“I paint in watercolor, acrylic, and oil and have painted quite a bit with coffee. Art to me is my release from the cares of the world and the means to express my feelings about the world around me. I paint parrots and other birds quite often. I have a parrot and am fascinated by birds and all their mannerisms. I also paint flowers and marine life and all the wonderful things Hawaii has to offer. If I don’t have my painting time, I feel like something is missing in my life.”
