Meet the artist
Deborah J Pearce has been creating unique oil paintings on canvas for over 40 years. She is known for her dramatic, light-filled, landscapes and painting people and animals in natural settings. Currently painting from her studio located in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, she expresses a desire for connection with God, evoking emotions and meaning through art. She has a passion for teaching others and has taught people of all ages and skill levels the joy of drawing, painting, and writing.
Arts for the Heart Workshop
Story and Vision
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I am excited and privileged to bring to you and your family and friends an opportunity to experience some of the joy of creating while having fun and fellowship with each other. I love God with all of my heart, and I express this through my own art. My main focus is traditional fine art oil painting on canvas. At times I paint in watercolor and draw using graphite or pastel. For paint workshops I teach with acrylic paint for fun and instruction. I also express my creativity personally through music, dance, and writing. The arts can be truly beautiful and bring healing to the heart!
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Arts for the Heart Workshops are designed to flow with joyful creativity to give expression for the soul. My purpose is to build you up and to build relationships with others in community as we are together. We can enjoy making art, experiencing its therapeutic healing for our soul through drawing and painting, crafts, and writing in order to express our deepest thoughts, concerns, and feelings.
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I have worked as a registered nurse for thirty four years, caring for those who face many types of illness, especially for those with cancer. I have personally experienced cancer myself and have walked with loved ones who have endured long term illness. I believe that being creative helps us to have overcoming joy and is amazingly therapeutic as we go through stressful times. God enabled me to use the arts as a healing tool while I went through years of family illness, stress, and challenges, and I seek to bring this wholeness to others.
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I have a bachelors degree in Two-Dimensional Studio Art and Art Education, masters degrees in English Education and Library Science, and an associate degree in Nursing. I have taught K-6 grade art, middle and high school art, gifted and talented classes, and was the Fine Arts Director at a private school. Additionally, I taught college level drawing at Salisbury University in Maryland, Art Appreciation (Art History), and freshman writing classes at the community college level in North Carolina. I love teaching and working with all levels of children, teens, and adults. I am blessed to have four very creative adult sons, two beautiful daughter in laws and six grandchildren.
