Jeanne Mackenzie’s style of painting is a blend of impressionism and realism. Her paintings are done in oil with rich warm tones and a painterly application. These reflect the bold light and striking contrasts of her favorite still lifes and western landscapes.

Jeanne Mackenzie is a Colorado resident living in the Fort Collins area where she is one of the founding members of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Teaching Credential from San Diego State University she eventually fell in love with and devoted herself to oils. She has studied with Clyde Aspevig, Michael Lynch, Matt Smith and Calvin Liang. Her paintings are featured in several fine art galleries in Colorado, California and Arizona.

Her artwork has earned Merit Awards and shown at juried shows throughout the United States including the Oil Painters of America Show, CM Russell Invitational Show and Arts for the Parks-Top 100 (award of excellence). Jeanne has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine’s Best of the West and My World, American Artist’s Workshop Magazine, Plein Air Magazine and International Artist Magazine–Master Artists. She was invited to be a part of the Richeson Art Series Book and art book Dust on My Shoes/Sun on my Back. Her work has hung in the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Minnesota’s Tweed Museum.  She shares her love of art by teaching national and international (Italy, Guatemala, Mexico) painting workshops and has been on staff at the Denver Art Museum teaching color theory, composition and painting.

EXHIBITIONS/ AWARDS

Colorado Governors Show 2020- Award of Merit – October 2020

American Legacy Art Show – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act- Best of Show – Oct, 2014

American Women Artist- Booth Museum, Cartersville, GA- Oct. 2014

Plein Air Artists Colorado- 2nd Place Award- Juror Karen Vance – August, 2014

Paint the Poudre- 3rd Place Award- Juror Marc Hansen- July, 2014

Larimer County Resources Artist of the Year- 2014

Grand Teton Association/ RMPAP- Artists Choice/Best Painting and GTA Collection Purchase- July, 2012

Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters- Artists Choice Award/Best Body of Work- Crested Butte, July, 2010

CM Russell Invitational Auction – March 2010 and Masters in Miniature, 2010

Outdoor Painters Society Invitational- December, 1009- Merit Award and Jurors Selection Award

Tweed Museum- University of Minnesota- October 2009

Invitational Governors Art Show- Loveland, CO, 2009

Salon International-Greenhouse Gallery – Juror Award-Daniel Greene May, 2009 and 2010 and 2013

American Women Artists Invitational – South Street Art Gallery, Easton, MD-2007 and 2009

Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters-Merit Award-Juror-William Scott Jennings August, 2007

Houston Museum of Natural Science/SKB Foundation- 50 chosen from 1750 entries- March, 2007

Arts for the Parks- Miniature Show – Jackson, WY, September 2004

Oil Painters of America-Howard/Mandville Gallery May, 1998,2002, 2003 and 2004

Arts for the Parks-Top 200- Award of Excellence September 2003 and 2001

PUBLICATIONS

Outdoor Painters/ Plein Air Magazine- Guest writer ‘Why This Painting Works’ 2013-present

Plein Air Magazine– Pursuing Effortless Artistic Elegance- March, 2012

Dust on My Shoes/Sun on my Back- 18 artists’ view on Painting- NH Studios Press-2009

Southwest Art Magazine/ My World – June, 2008

American Artist Workshop Magazine- Fall 2007

Cowboys and Indians Magazine– Gallery Artists- March, 2007

Richeson Art Book- Invitational artist – Plein Air New Mexico 2006

Sky West Magazine- Cover Photo and feature article- July 2005

Southwest Art Magazine– ‘Best of the West’- April, 1999

International Artist Magazine– Master Artists, August, 1999  

Daniel Smith Catalog – Guest writer–article 2002 and 2003

AFFILIATIONS

Richard Schmid Invitational Auction- Charter Member

Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters- Signature member

American Women Artists- Signature Member

Plein Air Artists Colorado- Signature Member

American Impressionists Society

HOME: Evergreen, Colorado
BORN: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

EDUCATION: B.A. University of South Carolina
M.A., M.F.A. University of Wyoming

EXHIBITIONS:

Museum of Art, University of Wyoming
Columbia Savings, Denver, CO
Carlson-Black Gallery, Taos, NM
Breckenridge Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
“A Collection of Paintings” by Sarah L. Lewis
sponsored by Trizec Properties, Inc., Denver, COPUBLISHER:American Masters Foundation, Houston, TX

JURIED SHOWS:

Waterfowl Festival, Easton, MD
Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Charleston, SC
Evergreen Audubon Show:
   Patron’s Award, 1989
   Exhibitor, 1990 – 1993
   Honorable Mention, 1992
National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Show, Osage Beach, MO
Annual International Exhibition of the Miniature Art Society of Florida
Thirteenth Annual Western Regional Art Show, Cheyenne, WY
Colorado Watercolor Society, Denver, CO
Salmagundi Non-member Exhibition, NY
El Dorado 13th Annual Miniature Juried Show, Colorado Springs, CO
   1994, 1st Place – Acrylic
Catskill Art Society “Small Works ’94”, NY
The National Watercolor Oklahoma Exhibition

SELECT
COLLECTIONS:

Clearfield Bank, Clearfield, UT
Peoples State Bank, Grinnell, KS
Boettcher and Co., Boulder, CO/Denver, CO
Georgia-Pacific Corp., Portland, OR
United Bank of Denver, Denver, CO
Copper Mountain Corp., Denver, CO
Storage Technology, Louisville, CO
First Summit Savings, Breckenridge, CO
Central Bank and Trust, Denver, CO
Budweiser, Greeley, CO
National Bank of the Rockies, Boulder, CO
Many private collections

SUBJECTS: Landscapes, Seascapes and Wildlife

“Honoring Jac: Jac Kephart remembered with retrospective show“
The Daily Sentinel, byANN WRIGHT
Dec 5, 2019

Jac Kephart’s first and last abstract works are side by side in the The Art Center’s North Gallery.

The first flashes in yellows and golds with a red rectangle that holds the eye. He painted it in the 1960s on canvas, which was different than the boards he used later, and he named it “The Red 1” for a red 1 toward the bottom, said Pat Kephart, the artist’s wife of 52 years.

Jac Kephart’s last painting also has a striking sliver of red, just above a thick horizontal sweep of pitch that contrasts with silver leaf and aluminum foil below.

“It wasn’t finished, just setting on the easel” Pat Kephart said.

Jac Kephart, 79, died May 16. More than 30 of his paintings, a retrospective including both his abstract and realistic work, will be part of the show “Shepherd + 1” that will open with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at The Art Center, 1803 N. Seventh St.

“He was a bright light,” said Terry Shepherd, director of ceramics and artist in residence at The Art Center, who wanted to recognize Kephart’s work in “Shepherd + 1,” which includes Shepherd’s ceramics.

Kephart had an “engaging curiosity” that extended beyond his own work to the artwork of others, said Shepherd, 67, who was in his early 20s when he first met Kephart.

Shepherd used to stop by Jac’s House of Flowers, the floral business the Kepharts ran for many years in Grand Junction, just to see what paintings might be hanging on the walls.

“I was always curious. What’s he doing now?” Shepherd remembered.

He was just 100 percent artist,” Pat Kephart said. “He was just incredibly talented.”

Throughout his life Jac Kephart was driven to create. “He was constantly sketching. Anything he l The water lilies in a pond near their home became paintings with nods to Oscar-Claude Monet. Boats that Jac and Pat Kephart took photos of during their trips to England, became other works in oil, pastels or mixed media.

“I really wanted to honor Jac by picking pieces he valued,” said Matt Jones, curator at The Art Center. With input from Pat Kephart and Shepherd, the retrospective offers a view of Jac Kephart’s work that shows his development as an artist, his playfulness, unbound and creative, as well as his deep intellectual side, Jones said.

“Jac was a lifelong study,” he said.

A number of Pat Kephart’s favorite pieces are in the show, but she holds all of her husband’s work close for the parts of him that she sees in the nuance of brush strokes, mix of colors or unexpected materials.

“I can’t live without his art,” Pat Kephart said.

“CMU donation honors legendary Grand Valley artist“
By JAMES BURKY [email protected]
Mar 27, 2021

It’s been two years since Jac Kephart died, but the homegrown artist’s legacy remains strong.

You can find his paintings throughout the city, region and state. Colorado Mesa University is rich with his pieces. Now, after a $1 million donation from Jac’s widow, Pat Kephart, the CMU arts building bears Jac’s name with large signs resembling his signature.

“I hope it tells art students to follow their dreams,” Pat said. “That’s what Jac did.”

The donation and Jac’s legacy were honored with a celebration outside of the building on Thursday evening with speeches, food and drinks. CMU art students presented Pat with their own pieces to honor Jac.

Family, friends and fans of Jac recalled a man with a fervent passion for creating. That love extended beyond his own work to that of close friends and total strangers. He encouraged everyone to express themselves, speakers said.

Tim Foster, the outgoing president of CMU, was emotional when talking about his relationship with Jac.

Though he knew him as a close friend for decades, he talked about Jac’s work like a kid talks about their favorite superhero. Forty-four pieces by Jac are featured throughout campus, and Foster rec The message brightened the chilly, overcast evening.

“He wasn’t just a prominent member of the community,” Foster said. “He was just a true friend. I really miss him, and I wish he was here today.”

Jac’s family hopes that the name will ensure that he’s on the CMU campus as long as it exists. For students walking the same path as Jac, it gives them some visibility.

“Our students feel pushed back sometimes, but this makes me feel like we’re getting some recognition,” Art Student Madison Beaty added. “People downplay the importance of art degrees, but art is what makes the world beautiful.”

That’s integral to Jac’s legacy, his friends recalled. He wanted everyone to succeed and for art to be given the recognition it deserves.

Now when walking through the heart of the CMU campus, generations of students will know who Jac Kephart was.

“We want his legacy to be carried on and for the community to know how much he loved art,” said Kim Sparling, Jac and Pat’s daughter. “Art was everything to (Jac). I’ve never seen any artist who really was the epitome of what one should be. It came from his soul, it came from his heart.”