“From time to time you notice something unexpectedly beautiful in the most ordinary person; the overlooked corner will tell the story of the people not present; something will tug at you and you take a second look.  I hope to provide the viewer with that sort of connection and maybe prompt them to look closer at the world that they pass through.  I acknowledge the incredible good fortune I have to be an artist and I hope to justify it.”

Lea Colie Wight was born in Philadelphia, Pa in 1951.  She earned a BFA from The Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1974.  In 2003 Lea discovered Studio Incamminati, an intensive Atelier founded in Philadelphia by renowned artist Nelson Shanks and entered as a student.  In 2005 Lea was invited to join the teaching staff rising to become one of the lead teachers at that school.  Lea periodically served as teaching assistant to Nelson Shanks at The Art Students League in New York and has served as lead instructor for various Studio Incamminati workshops as well as her own workshops.  She has been awarded an Honor Award at the Portrait Society of America’s national competition in 2009 and in 2010 as well as a Certificate of Excellence in 2011. Her work has been featured in numerous publications. 

Lea maintains a studio in Manasquan, New Jersey as well as in Philadelphia.

2011 Highlights

Lea is a faculty member at the Portrait Society of America’s 2011 annual conference where she will be teaching a drawing workshop with Nancy Guzik.  Lea is again exhibiting at the Salon International Exhibition hosted by Greenhouse Gallery and at the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils, Devin Galleries, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

She has a feature article in The Artist’s Magazine an interview in International Artist Magazine and a DVD in production through American Artist Magazine.  She will be a faculty member at The Weekend With The Masters in NYC this summer.

2010 Highlights

“Waiting” a portrait has been juried into the prestigious “Inspiring Figures” exhibition at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.  2010 exhibitions and awards include being selected as one of the top 15 artists at the 2010 Portrait Society of America National Competition and Exhibition for the second year in a row and her Self Portrait subsequently received an Honor Award.   Lea is again exhibiting at the Salon International Exhibition hosted by Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas as well as having a painting juried into The Oil Painters of America National Exhibition at the Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. In March Lea is one of seven artists exhibiting paintings in the Interior Show at the Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara, California.  “The Wedding” has been juried into the Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s Biennial Contemporary Realism show.