A reception for 2018 Visual Artist of the Year for Larimer County Natural Resources

Amelia Furman is the 2018 Visual Artist of the Year for Larimer County Natural Resources. A reception is set for 3:00 p.m., February 21, 2019 at Larimer County Courthouse Offices 2nd Floor Lobby 200 W. Oak St., Fort Collins.

At the reception, Furman will discuss her artwork “Wild Bones,” a mixed-media painting created with paper collage, oil paint and resin on cradled panel. The piece features the iconic spine of rock that juts from the prairie at Devil’s Backbone Open Space, along with historical documents and images, icons, maps, and graphics. Furman will donate the piece to Larimer County for public display.

The goals of Larimer County’s Visual Artist Program are to showcase and increase public appreciation of open spaces and parks in Larimer County through artistic expression.

A resident of Loveland, Furman is a professional artist whose paintings contain several layers of paper collage and oil or acrylic paint applied in thin glazes, finished with an epoxy resin or matte varnish. Her artwork captures the diverse elements of a scene, with images from the paper collage showing through the painting.

“My family and I spend a lot of time hiking in parks, so a majority of my work comes from my experiences in them,” Furman said. “We moved to Colorado from a location where public parks were hard to come by, and now that we are in an area that is full of them, we are so appreciative and know what a gift they are. Some of our best family moments have happened at a Larimer County park, and these experiences channel directly into my mixed-media landscapes.”

Furman graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in art, focusing on illustration, painting and printmaking. While she has been an artist “since I could hold a pencil,” she said, Furman has been a professional artist for the past 16 years. She has created commissioned pieces for numerous corporate and personal clients, including the new Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Fort Collins, and has showcased her award-winning artwork in galleries across the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Colorado.

To learn more about Furman and view her artwork, visit www.ameliafurman.com.

To learn more about Larimer County’s Visual Artist Program, visit www.larimer.org/naturalresources and click on “Photography and Art.”