Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Cleo Sterling and I am an oil painter located in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.

 

With the exception of a few beginning classes in pastels and watercolors, I am self-taught finding most enjoyment in experimenting and exploring the medium of oil. My painting technique and style developed over the years by trial and error with many interesting discoveries occurring simply by accident. Much of the time there is no forethought or intention to the process before starting, letting the images present themselves intuitively. Other times I work from a doodle in my sketchbook until the paintings take on a life of their own. The only exception is my figurative renderings which are painted from a live model. Each piece is unique and conveys a particular mood.

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I enjoy working from my imagination and creating images that are simple and spontaneous while facing the challenge of breaking up the space in the most interesting manner to engage the viewer.