Dorothy Pecina is an artist and teacher.  Born in New Jersey, she and her family moved to Boulder County, Colorado in 1970.  As she was growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, she found her enjoyment in drawing, sketching and painting.  While in high school, she crammed as much art into her electives as she possibly could.  Pecina taught first grade at Louisville Elementary School in Louisville, CO and included arts and crafts to enhance her teaching.

After retiring, she began painting again in earnest, taking lessons from Patty Andre and Jake Gaedtke.  As an artist, painting nature is very exciting to her.  The beauty that surrounds Pecina inspires her paintings and captures the creativity within her.  This in turn helps Pecina create a moment captured in time, which she can share with others.  The smell of paint, the sensitivity of her brush and pallet knives on the canvas brings out the creativity within her.  Not being able to paint depresses Pecina; as soon as the brush or pallet knife is in her hand, her spirits are lifted.  The process of creating a painting is the wonderful journey that ends so that she can begin another journey all over again.  “Life is wonderful when I am able to paint!!!”

Pecina is one of the very few teachers that have a class on painting with palette knives. She has developed her palette knife techniques and is enthuastic about sharing it with others.  Currently, Pecina is teaching weekly oil painting for the City of Longmont, and at her studio.  She is a member and past vice president of the Louisville Art Association, the Longmont Council for the Arts, Muse Gallery and a member of the Longmont Art Guild.

Pecina has participated in many solo and group shows.  In 2002, she was commissioned by the City of Longmont to do the poster for the annual “Rhythm on the River Festival.  In 2007 she was part of a delegation of artists were invited to show their work at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China.

Her work can be viewed at the Muse Gallery, and Magellan Center in Longmont, the Holiday and Spring Boutiques to benefit the Longmont Humane Society, and the Longmont Studio Tour in September.  Carriage House Art Studio welcomes visitors.  Please contact Dot Pecina to set up an appointment at your convenience