Oil painter returns to the Red Cliff Studio Tour

RED CLIFF, Colorado — When Nathalie Roy received her first set of oil paints on her 10th birthday, she was hooked.

“I always liked arts and crafts,” the Canada native said. “As a kid, I was really into it, and I was kind of good at it.”

Now that she’s an adult, Roy’s passion for art remains intact.

Roy, 37, returns to the Red Cliff Studio Tour this year after a three-year hiatus from participating. Her work will be for sale at the Red Cliff Community Center on Saturday and Sunday.

Roy has a fresh batch of oil paintings, including renderings of roosters inspired by her mother’s rooster collection back home in Canada. Roy also captures her love of the outdoors in a series of landscapes. For instance, she painted Mount of the Holy Cross, a 14,000-foot mountain in the Sawatch Range, and Piney Lake in Vail.

“I love being outdoors, and you know I miss that because when I first moved here, I was a ski instructor, so I was outdoors all day,” she said.

Along with creating about 15 new paintings for the show, Roy has experienced plenty of new developments in her personal life. She transformed her art studio into a nursery for her 20-month-old son.

Although life has been a bit chaotic with a baby to care for, Roy still paints once or twice a week in her backyard.

Art was once her job. Roy managed Cogswell Gallery in Vail for 10 years, and art has remained a passionate hobby for the mother now that she has taken a job as an insurance agent in Avon.

In fact, the thriving artist community in Red Cliff is a big part of why Roy chose to settle down there five years go.

“I have been in the Vail Valley for a while and always love Red Cliff, especially the fact that it’s a little artist community,” she said.

High Life Writer Sarah Mausolf can be reached at 970-748-2938 or smausolf@vaildaily.com.