Meet Wendi Lee Richardson | Visual Artist and Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendi Lee Richardson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendi Lee, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have always been drawn to art and music. I started drawing pictures (of horses) from the time I was a young girl. I started playing instruments at the age of 9.

After pursuing a degree in fine art, I sadly discovered that it is a difficult field to make a living at so I moved on to a business career. My saving grace was that I always had great bosses that knew of my background and put my creative side to work. I also played music on the side as an outlet.

Because I was successful in my business career, I was able to retire early and pick back up with with my artistic endeavors. I’ve haven’t stopped painting and creating since!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Because I had taken years off from painting, it has really been a process trying to find my niche. The pieces that I paint on the tin ceiling tiles really seem to resonate with people and I am really successful selling them. That being said, tin is not the easiest surface with work on, so to keep myself amused, I go back to canvas and other mediums. I like to experiment along with creating the tin pieces. It seems to be a good balance.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Colorado is a fantastic place to visit, so I always have great places to bring my friends. Red Rocks is a must if they haven’t already been. Being a musician as well as an artist, I like to introduce my friends to our musician friends so we usually end up at an open mic night here in Evergreen. Those are held at Cactus Jack’s and Woodcellar. El Rancho has a great atmosphere and has been having really great musicians as well.

If my vistors are hikers, we usually head up Route 103 Squaw Pass and do some hiking around Mount Evans. There are so many fantastic parks depending on people’s level of fitness. We do some city walking around Denver. Denver has so many great art installations and museums. I also love all the second hand shops on Broadway.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve had so many people in my life that have contributed to my success. First and foremost, my parents. Even though they realized that it is very difficult to make it in the art world, they still encouraged me to follow that path. They let me come to my own conclusions about how to make my way through life and have a creative outlet while managing to pay my bills.

More recently, there are several people in the artist community here in Colorado that have been instrumental in getting my new venture off the ground.
Bill Varner (Evergreen), helped me find a unique direction for my work. Kaylie Hall (Golden) and I restarted our fine art journeys together and challenge and encourage each other. She’s also a fantastic graphic designer!
Other area artists, Jon Koenigsberg, Tatiana Lee and Pixie Nudell have also been great at pushing me out of my comfort zone and challenging me to be even more creative.

But mostly, my husband James is my biggest fan and shoulder to cry on when things don’t go as planned. He’s also been part of my musicial life for more than 25 years. We met in a band and continue to play together to this day.

Website: tinweedsart.com

Facebook: Tin Weeds Wendi Richardson Art