Artwork by VICTORIA SCHULTZ

Victoria was born to an artistic family in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Her love of the outdoors started at a very early age and naturally progressed to painting the wildlife she saw. In 1984, she moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, receiving a BA in Theater and Film Production. After graduation, she worked extensively in the film and television industry. She worked on the television shows Cheers, Wings, Arsenio Hall, and films including Pretty Woman and The Bodyguard. It did not take long until she felt pulled back to wildlife painting and now pursues her art full-time. She travels extensively to gather reference photos for her paintings. Her favorite reference trips include Yellowstone, Alaska and Africa. Victoria recognizes the importance of observing her subjects in their natural surroundings. “The key to knowing your subject comes from intensive research of anatomy, behavior, and habitat. The actual painting time of a piece is only a fraction of the work; the rest is research.” Victoria’s work is primarily in pastels, dry sticks of color that are made from pure, powdered pigment and mixed with a small amount of gum binder. A variety of surfaces are used to achieve a wide range of moods in her paintings. Each piece is composed of layer after layer of blended pastel strokes, sharpening the sticks to fine points to achieve a level of detail rarely seen in this medium. “Detail is what I love and I most enjoy it when people look at my work and can’t believe that it is pastel.” She also does work in oils and graphite. Victoria has been featured artist at numerous art shows and had solo shows at galleries all over the country. Her work has been featured in magazines and books, including most recently the cover of The Paint Horse Journal. Her painting, Princes of the Serengeti, is included in The Best of Wildlife Art 2. Victoria is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, Worldwide Nature Artist Group and the Society of Animal Artists. She currently lives in Elk River, Minnesota with her husband John, three dogs, a chinchilla, seven birds and their three horses.

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