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Margaret Dean


Margaret B. Dean has recently been exploring subject matter that is quite different from those that have actual references in the visual world. These abstract pieces have been challenging but also liberating. The process often utilizes not just brushes to make their mark, but also other tools such as palette knives, bits of fabric, plastic wrap or Q-tips. They present color harmonies, textures and movement and invite the viewer to enjoy a journey into the beauty of a different world.

With a formal art education from a small liberal arts college in New Rochelle, NY, Dean was exposed to many facets of the creative process under the tutelage of Earnest Thorne Thompson. She graduated with a certification as an art teacher in her home state of Connecticut. After graduation, she taught for a number of years in the Farmington, CT school system. She received her Master of Art Education at Central Connecticut State University which also resulted in her first one-man show in oil painting.

The following years left her little time to pursue her own personal goals and it was not until she enrolled in several courses at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Lyme, Connecticut that she was able to continue with her love of oil painting.

Dean discovered the plein air genre of art and she has been fortunate enough to continue studying with some of the best nationally known instructors who share this commitment to working on location. She strongly believes that this aspect of painting not only provides her with the greatest of challenges, but also the richest rewards.

Dean serves as president of the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society. She is also an elected member of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club and the Lyme Art Association as well as several Connecticut shoreline art leagues. She is very proud of her national affiliations with the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society. She resides on the beautiful Connecticut shoreline where she enjoys sharing with her students her love for capturing “that moment in time.”