Discover Art By Col-e

COL-e | Artist Biography

COL-e is an internationally exhibited contemporary artist known for her bold use of color,

high-relief surfaces, and a distinctive luminous, enamel-like finish. Though largely self-taught

as a painter, she possesses formal fine art training, having attended the University of

Michigan’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program (1991) and the California State University

Master of Fine Arts program (1995).

Notably, COL-e never enrolled in a traditional painting course. Instead, she pursued

independent studies alongside studio electives in photography, ceramics, printmaking, and

digital music—an unconventional path that allowed her painting practice to develop outside

academic constraints.

While working independently during her college years, COL-e accidentally discovered the

technique that would come to define her work. During an experiment with color and texture, a

bottle of paint tipped onto a finished canvas resting on the studio floor. The canvas contained

a raised circular form sculpted from thick, textured paint, and the spilled pigment pooled within

it, settling like liquid glass. When the paint dried, it retained a shimmering, lustrous surface

unlike traditional acrylic or oil finishes.

Intrigued by the result, COL-e began a deliberate process of experimentation, refining and

formalizing the method over time. Through extensive testing, she developed an

archival-quality, non-toxic painting process that preserves depth, gloss, and dimensionality

long after drying. This luminous surface has since become a hallmark of her work.

Each original artwork is marked with COL-e’s distinctive insignia, derived from the final letter

of her childhood nickname, “Colie.” As a child, she wrote phonetically, replacing “y” or “ie”

endings with a single e marked by a long vowel line above it. The symbol remains a personal

signature, representing the innocence, playfulness, and intuitive spirit present throughout her

work.

COL-e’s palette is bold, eccentric, and unapologetically primary. Her paintings merge

expressive abstraction with symbolic resonance, offering a visual language that is both playful

and emotionally charged.

Her work has received international exposure, with exhibitions in Washington, DC; Miami;

Palm Beach; Los Angeles; Austin; Detroit; New York; Chicago; Atlanta, and

internationally in Paris, London, Tahiti, and Canada.