Colleen Black is an artist truly driven by the emotion of the soul. Her works are intense with realism, and transfer the miraculous power of spiritual enlightenment and inner strength. Colleen spent her younger years in Massillon, Ohio and showed interest in art as early as age 2 when her mother noticed an unusual attentiveness to her imagination. At age 12, her family moved to Washington state where the only other known artist in the family her Aunt Viola Rushforth gave Colleen her first oil painting lesson The passion for art never stopped. She continued her studies with world renowned artist and teacher Jack Richard in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and spent time in Florence, Italy studying the masters techniques with Philip Rubinov Jacobson. The attraction to matters of the imagination did not stop with painting however. Self taught in sculpture, at first simply because she needed a still model for painting… Colleen now enjoys the benefits of both. Much like the artist Degas, she finds the perfect pose in a sculpture which she will sometimes use as a model. Fascinated by the human spirit, Colleen strives to capture the key moments of strength, reflection and insight in her work.

Colleen's work can be found in numerous private collections and selected galleries throughout the World. She has previously traveled to Belgium, Germany and Japan to demonstrate and exhibit her art. One of her many commissions include completing a limited edition sculpture and oil painting for General Colin Powell as well as seven Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

Colleen enjoys every chance she can get to give back. She's worked with the Moving the Lives of Kids community mural project and had the pleasure of working with upcoming generations of artists as well as the inner city kids in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in after school art programs throughout the full 13 years she spent there.

"My goals have always been to touch some deeper side of people's reality… to plant a seed. People can get a sense of helplessness in the face of tragedy. My hope is that this work may just open a door, or even a window, and shed some light on a new direction… a new movement… a new renaissance. There is a deeper side of existence. Something so much more beautiful than surface qualities. Look beyond what you see, and have faith that there is always beauty inside every moment." — C. Black