More About Me:
Here is a longer version of my Back Story and How I got to Art.
(where I think I was supposed to be all along.)
I am a Professional Artist in San Angelo, TX these days. I thoroughly enjoy creating artwork and jewelry with my hands. The themes around my art are Adventures and are all based in Realism - things you know and see. I create "en Plein Air" and love it; but the brunt of my painting and creating are done in my Studio in my home.
We only see "God Winks" of destiny when we look over our shoulders, back in time. You see, I grew up in Strongsville, OH in a home with a mother who always had crayons and paint and goodies in our hands. As for my dad, he needed a pair of hands restoring his 1928 Dodge - I was the best son my father ever had. We watched all the western tv shows you can name. I wanted art and they wanted their child to earn a living; so, I was steered into my career of 32 years as a Dental Hygienist.
I was hearing too often what I “can or can’t do, not smart enough,” not this or that from too many people. When my employer broke our agreement for a percentage of income I brought into his dental practice, and further told me I was "just" a dental hygienist.
Something broke deep inside. I knew better than to believe “I wasn’t enough” of anything. The music I was listening too “Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie Chicks and Emmy Lou Harris “I was born to run, keep ahead of the storm.” I made the decision to pack up and move WEST! I moved 1360 miles from everything I knew. I arrived in Denver CO. I didn’t know a soul. Thank God I had “A Mustard Seed of Faith” back then. It has grown steadily through my whole life.
Now, I am not crazy. I took my dental board exams before I left Ohio; and while in Denver—grabbed the For Rent Magazine, Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post and a Westwards Magazine. Once I passed my boards, I gave 2 weeks notice, studied and rented an apartment, get this—Faxed (new technology in 1986) my resume to several employers and had a job when I arrived. I worked the brunt of my Dental Hygiene career in Colorado.
When I arrived I had brought the horse I bought “as soon as I could pay for it my self”—(as my parents put it.) Now, I had a horse in the West—like all the western movies! I road with others, learned trails and met a few more folks. Life got sideways after a car accident and I lost the horse to financial issues and back board payments.
The wheels on the bus keep turning…… life went on. Healing was a mental challenge - the doctors told you how “sick you were,” the insurance company doctors would tell you that you were fine and the bills piling up said get back to work. Moving back to Ohio was never even considered. Eventually I got through it. Enough said. More “Mustard Seeds Needed.”
I joined the Jaycees Organization—at that time they were a Young Person’s Leadership Training Organization that taught project management and organizational skills for business. This was all accomplished through community service. This is where I met my husband of 31.5 years; the Arvada Jaycees. I was organizing a Co-Ed Rec. softball team; I needed a coach, got a husband—looking back - got both!
We were young enough to want some land. Started small, raised homegrown beef and a big vegetable garden. This is also when I got my second horse. I commenced riding all over the front range foothills with a neighbor. We spent 4 years in that house and moved to the farm / ranch that we purchased as an investment to fund our retirement. We ran Registered Galloway Cattle for last 20 years in Denver. We had horses and our labs. We sold our 1st bull using something brand new called - Paypal.
This is when all the Jaycees training came back in. Marketing our cattle. We were also using something else that was new. We had a website and we were on Fb as “DD Ranch Galloway Cattle.” Our cattle and ranch was DDRanch.com (long gone - but you might find some scraps of info in a google search.) It wasn’t long and I began to market the whole American Galloway Breeders Association. Put them of Fb too.
We published their Newsletter for awhile as well. For the price of color printing at Kinkos (remember Kinkos?) for 3 issues of the newsletter, we purchased a used commercial type copier and did the printing ourselves. We fronted the cost of the printer and the perk - I got to use it for my own stuff.
Don’t think outside the box, THROW THE BOX AWAY! My mantra! Still is today.
We showed our cattle at the N.I.L.E show in Billings, MT and I brought the Galloway breed back to the NWSS in Denver in 2005 (I think.) The very 1st National Western Stock Show had 4 breeds: Hereford, Angus, Shorthorn and Galloway. They were there for many years. The Continental Breeds came in from Europe and elsewhere. Galloway had their herd book records destroyed in not just one fire but two at their headquarters. They fell out of favor, and were in and out of the NWSS until roughly 1980. Then I got the show reestablished. What a run.
When the ranch sold, we moved to Mesilla, NM and this is where my art adventures began. After the Remodel, about 6 months I think—I started seeking art instruction. First in Drawing, then I wanted Watercolor. 20 year on the ranch would deepen my faith, but I knew I needed more education or clarity.
Take all that Marketing stuff, Fb stuff, website stuff and Paypal stuff and turn it into Debra Vance’s Art. I just needed to figure out how and where to market art. Thank God I met Penny Duncklee. She drug me to my first NM Watercolor Society Meeting and all the other art organizations, and introduced me to two of my favorite things. Plein Air Painting and Studio Tours! It was then I joined the Red Dot Blog and did my first online study with Jason Horejs. A Business course for Artists. She taught me so very much and I give her credit in both of my books.
We were in Mesilla, NM for 6 years. This is where I first discovered Matt Tommy Mentoring and his faith based marketing approaches. The Chosen tv series came out during this time. We’ve seen virtually everything they released to date. That show is where I discovered Rabbi Jason Sobel and I have been through the Torah (Old Testament) with his study 4 times now. He is a Messianic Jew - the information I have learned is amazing and my faith deepens by the day. We to moved to San Angelo, TX and have been here 3 years now.
You can read my Story and see my paintings in my Books. “Meander Mesilla” and “Meander the Desert Southwest.” Both available on Amazon. They contain my paintings, adventures and more. Each edition expands and continues the story. Grab a copy of an e-book or paperback as they are published both ways. These books are published as “segments of my Artistic Adventures.” A trip to France and the recent trip to Italy are going to be done as travel guides…..eventually.
Books
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