Everyone has a story to tell. I use creativity, imagination and technique to tell a story that lifts and encourages others.”
Colleen Miller
My mixed media art represents a visual language that reflects life, nature and movement and seeks to bring joy to the viewer. Like a double-sided coin, I explore realistic painting as well as more loose intuitive painting methods.
There are common threads in my art whether it’s painting, collage or other mediums. My style centers around bold colors, high contrast, free lines, texture and layered images. Creating art feeds my soul by bringing me into a flow state of exploring paint, collage materials and all kinds of things in the physical world rather than the digital one.
My approach could be described as “more” – using more tools, more techniques, and more visual components to bring depth to the pieces. Repetition is used to create pattern and shape and build an image that is pleasing and engaging.
I don’t limit myself to specific tools or mediums. Dipping a twig in ink or using a feather to create texture in a print are equally important as using a brush and canvas. Mixed media equals freedom to decide what goes into a work – perhaps non-traditional items – and what stays out. (For more about mixed media, see Meet the Maker – My Mixed Media Art Journey)
Colleen grew up in New Jersey and currently resides in Lawrence with her husband and two cats. Establishing a studio in Lambertville, NJ in 2021, she exhibits in local shows and sells work in local retail shops. Colleen also volunteers for HomeFront’s Artspace, which brings art to those trying to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.
Colleen graduated from Rutgers in 1984 with a B.A. in communications and also studied media management at the University of Missouri Graduate School of Journalism.
Exhibits
- Solo Exhibit, “Threads of Nature: Mixed Media Works,” Lambertville Free Public Library, Lambertville, NJ – January 4- February 24, 2024
- Featured Artist, Treasure Trove, Hopewell, NJ – November 4 & 5, 2023
- Art All Day, Artworks, Trenton, NJ – September 2023
- Summer Art Exhibit, ‘The Brookwood Cafe, Hamilton, NJ – July – Aug 2023
- Beyond Pink Art Show, YWCA Breast Cancer Resource Center, West Windsor, NJ – Oct 2022-Jan 2023
- ArtJam, Pop-up Gallery, Homefront’s ArtSpace, Princeton, NJ – 2017-2023
- The Holiday House, Market, Metuchen, NJ – December 2022
- HomeFront Holiday Market, Lawrence, NJ – November 2022
- Open Studio, Lambertville, NJ – October 2022
- THAT – The Hunterdon Art Tour – April/May 2022, work in Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
- The Second Half (50 & Older), Laguna Beach, CA (online), May 2021
- HomeFront Holiday Market, Ewing, NJ – November 2019
- Art All Day, Artworks, Trenton, NJ – November 2016-2019
- Artworks 10 X 10 Show, Trenton, NJ- December 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
- Ellarslie Open 35 Juried Exhibit, Trenton, NJ – May – July 2018
- Gratitude Show, Creative Collective/HomeFront’s ArtSpace, Ewing, NJ – November 2016 – January 2017
- Creative Collective, PEAC Fitness, Ewing, NJ– January 2017
- Creative Collective, Mercer County Public Library, Hopewell – March 2016
- Creative Collective, Mercer County Public Library, West Windsor – May 2016
- Botany & Zoology, South Brunswick Municipal Gallery, South Brunswick – April-May 2016
