Aerial – monoprint with chine colle

Moving through the artistic process intuitively and without conscious thought, Colleen Premer taps into her artistic soul to produce balanced and harmonious compositions. This southern California printmaker is lured by the world of monotype and monoprint for the immediacy of results, but she also lends her creative hand to encaustic painting and intaglio printmaking.

Colleen is highly influenced by her artist mother, Elaine Kennedy, who was an acclaimed local painter and printmaker. She was exposed to the art world at an early age through her mother’s circle of friends and the many art shows, exhibitions and gatherings they frequented together. Although Colleen has a journalism degree and an M.S. in clinical psychology, her passion for art kept tugging at her heart. She eventually discovered printmaking at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts.

Ochre Summer – monotype

Ranging from abstracted shapes to intricate design, Colleen’s body of work takes its inspiration from observed line, shape and color. She often contrasts recognizable elements, like a spinning Ferris wheel, with shadowed spheres and elongated patterns. Her creativity doesn’t stop there! Colleen also works with chine colle, image transfer and printers inks for a multi-layered print that is steeped in meaning. Some of her more recent works have embedded excerpts of letters written by Colleen’s mother, creating timeless memories.

Tattoo Truck – linocut relief print

Always pushing herself to solve a problem from a different angle, Colleen’s work reinvents the familiar to present it in a new and unusual way. Her recent Tattoo Truck linocut relief print boldly presents the cab of a big rig head on. With careful control, Colleen has carved and outlined tattooed flames licking the outer shell of the cab. Rougher cuts add dimension within the image’s background. Colleen’s inspiration largely is drawn from her attraction to the clean lines and human-like features of cars and trucks. Additionally, the methods and history of Japanese printmaking and artistry (including the culture’s unique take on tattoos) intrigue Colleen. The result is extraordinary!

Ever changing, always experimenting, creating beauty out of the mundane, Colleen surprises us with a greater level of sophistication every time we see her newest works. And, we would love to share them with you!