On Sunday, February 10, from 2 to 4 pm, the Loma Linda Cultural Arts Association* welcomes Tess Lee Miller, an artist whose stunning portraits are created using colored pencil and pastels. The viewer is drawn into this depiction of a crusty Marine veteran sporting his dress blues. His satisfied smile speaks of a life of service and comradeship. We applaud his gallantry; we’d like to shake his hand.
Now a “local girl” from Highland, California, Lee-Miller seems to embody the “born artist”: her website bio quotes her mother as remembering a girl “always having a pencil in her hand”. In junior high school, while her classmates were secretly caricaturing their teachers, Tess was already producing portraits. Tess grew up as pastor’s daughter, the impetus and foundation she thanks for her God-centered world view.
A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Mississippi University for Women completed Lee-Miller’s formal art training. After moving to California, she volunteered in various parochial schools as an art teacher; later becoming a professional Human Resources director. Portraiture was her creative outlet. A discovery of the compatibility of pastel in combination with colored pencil led to branching out into larger works such as landscapes.
Tess Lee is a member of the Portrait Society of America and a past president of the Artist Association of the Inland Empire. Juried competitions have frequently recognized her work with awards. Her portraits hang in many collections throughout the US. Currently, she limits herself to commissioned work.
LLCAA* meetings take place in the Loma Linda Senior Center, located at the southeastern corner of the Loma Linda Civic Center complex, at 25541 Barton Road, in Loma Linda. The public is welcome; a $5.00 donation is asked of non-LLCAA members. There is never any cost for LLU students.