Lois Cohen

Paradise, California

Lois Cohen, Waiting for the Train, 12 x 16 " watercolor

"I first experienced the joy of  plein air  painting at a summer art colony in Sumerset, Pennsylvania, in 1936," Lois Cohen writes. "I have never gotten over the sensation of absorbing the sights and sounds, and the smells of nature; becoming a vessel for interpreting that in a painting. It is the process itself that has become a part of my life, like eating, sleeping, or breathing."

Lois Cohen first started drawing animals when she was working in the movie studios in Hollywood as an illustrator. They were making "Dr. Doolittle" and she went on the set at lunchtime where they had the mothers and babies of many animals. Later, she gravitated to the L.A. Zoo where she painted the animals during her lunch breaks from her work as an illustrator at the Planetarium. After she retired, she began to go once a week to the Sacramento Zoo to renew her love affair with painting animals--and she still does! 

The octogenarian thrives on making art. She continues to take life-drawing classes as she has done since she was 14.  "This is to an artist what practicing scales are to a musician," she recently explained.  Lois is represented by James Snidle Fine Arts (Chico and San Francisco); and she frequently joins Avenue 9 Gallery's plein air painting events where some of her work is also featured.

Her webpage is http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/l/lcohen/