Our Featured Professional Illustrator: Stevie Decker

Stevie Decker was born in Buffalo, New York. Her early childhood and teenage years were spent in La Jolla, California, and she then lived in Santa Barbara for 25 years before moving to Telluride. Stevie always loved art, but came to understand it would also be her passion when she studied at the Esquela de Bayas Artes in Sevilla, Spain, during her college years. She says, “At first I was petrified! My instructor didn’t speak a word of English, and my Spanish was minimal to say the least. When we started to communicate with art brushes and charcoal, art took on a whole different meaning.” After her studies in Spain, Stevie’s passion for art developed into lifelong devotion to applying her artistic talents within various media.

To further enhance her natural artistic genius, Stevie has accumulated professional experience, certifications and coursework. She has experience with watercolor, illustration, rendering, drafting, color theory and digital design. In addition to twenty-five years of freelance watercolor painting, Stevie also uses other media such as acrylic on canvas, pen and ink illustration and both oil and chalk pastel.
As if her deep knowledge of fine arts wasn't enough, Stevie worked independently as an interior designer.
Employing her expert design sense and practical skills, she regularly collaborates with contractors, builders and architects.

After moving to Telluride—a community she believes was magical—she began exclusively painting and drawing pictures of architecture, lifestyle and landscapes there. Being a dog-lover, she devoted much interest to the dogs around Telluride. One day while she was sitting on a bench in downtown, an elderly woman sat down beside her. As they watched all the dogs go by, the woman exclaimed, “My dear, someone should do a book about the dogs of Telluride!” Stevie says, “Her words became my vision." In 2005, Stevie teamed up with a writer and released her first published work entitled, “Tails of Telluride,” selling out within months, the book was an extraordinary success, and a second edition was printed in 2006.

Stevie continues to develop professional illustrations for clients across the country, while maintaining an active eye watching for her next classic lifestyle or landscape image. After a brief stay in Manitou Springs, happy to be home once again in Telluride, Stevie enjoys spending time outdoors, her artistic pursuits, and raising her new English Springer Spaniel puppy, RubyTuesday.

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