Larry McMurtry's ground breaking novel The Last Picture Show accurately represents the cultural background of Teresa Elliott's birthplace in Weatherford, Texas. Her deepest connections start there and always seem to end in the same place. Whatever she is painting, the roots of it connect to the same tree.

Teresa received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Design from the University of Kansas. In 1976 she was recommended by the Dean of Fine Arts to help the local police department locate a serial rapist in Lawrence, Kansas. There, she worked as a forensic sketch artist listening to verbal descriptions to help apprehend the suspect in Nebraska. Working from life right out of high school prepared her for the assignment. Before entering college she sketched pastel portraits from life everyday in front of an outdoor audience for several months 6 days a week in St. Louis, Missouri. Working alongside other more seasoned artists was an invaluable experience and during that intense period her draftsmanship rapidly improved. During college her fine art photography and design courses contributed to her skill set.

After college, the road to becoming an oil painter was a circuitous one beginning at several significant advertising agencies in Dallas. Shortly thereafter she entered into a successful freelance career as an illustrator and graphic designer producing work for major national retailers. The majority of her work was rendered in black and white and all the values in between, but, it wasn't until much later that color was incorporated into her images. During this period she honed her design and illustrative skills, meeting hundreds of print deadlines and supporting herself for 26 years.

Primarily self taught, Elliott is perhaps best known for her extensive group of Texas longhorn oil paintings which are included in corporate and private collections across the United States, Canada and Australia. She has been selected to exhibit in many invitational museums shows nationwide winning awards in Colorado, Texas and Arizona. Her work is represented in galleries in Fredericksburg, TX, Santa Fe, NM and Jackson Hole, WY where she has had several individual and group shows.

Teresa lives and paints in Alpine,Texas, north of the Big Bend National Park.

PRESS

ARTIST A DAY
POETS AND ARTISTS Fall 2011 click here
AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR June 2010
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR - "The Real West" April 2010
COWBOYS & INDIANS - "Gallery Tour" April 2010
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR - "Core Of The West" January 2010
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR - "Colorado Gold" March 2010
COUNTRY LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE - "Go Longhorns" January 2010
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR - "Core Of The West" January 2010
SOUTHWEST ART - "A Breed Apart" Feature article: June 2009 Article.
SOUTHWEST ART - "Way Out West" March 2008
DALLAS ARTS REVUE - "The Strange Familiar" by James Dolan; Feb. 2008
SOUTHWEST ART - "Artist to Watch" April 2007
COWBOYS & INDIANS - "Gallery Tour" April 2007

Her honors include:

CHAIRMAN'S CHOICE - 2012 Awarded by the Art Renewal Center's International Salon.

ACOPAL GRAND PRIZE - 2012 One of three awards given by the America China Oil Painter Artist League.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE - 2012, 2010 and 2009 Coors Western Art Exhibit in Denver, Colorado.

BEST OF SHOW - 2009 Night Of Artists, Briscoe Western Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

ARTIST'S CHOICE - 2008 Cowgirl Up! at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, Arizona.

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

EOG Resources Inc. Ft. Worth, Texas
JW San Antonio Hill Country Marriott - San Antonio, Texas

MEMBERSHIPS
ACOPAL; America China Oil Painting Artists League
PORTRAIT SOCIETY OF AMERCIA
OIL PAINTERS OF AMERICA