Does inspiration have to come from an imagined reality? Can't the existing world, the one we live in daily, provide the perfect inspiration?

For me it does.

Likewise, I want my work to inspire people to take a second look at the world around them, to spark a sense of adventure, awe, and wonderment, and to bring the outdoors in. My biggest hope is to reignite an appreciation of the land that we have lost in today’s technology-based society. Because after all, this land is our home, it is finite, it contains the resources that sustain life, and we depend on it more than we realize.

So, every time I get the opportunity, I escape the city for fresh air and open spaces to explore. I am fortunate that in Wisconsin we have a little bit of everything. From rolling hills to towering bluffs, rivers to lakes, beaches to farmland, acres of woods to miles of marshland, there is no shortage of inspiration. I photograph what I see, I make notes and sketches, and I bring them back to my studio to create my paintings and share those adventures with you.

About Emily.

Emily Barth Colchado was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the middle of 3 children. Her passion for art began at a young age. From the drawing of her first “potato person” to her favorite color-with-water coloring book, her parents spent a lot of the family budget on materials for her creativity. As a middle and high school student, her work competed on multiple occasions in the Gwen Moore Congressional Art Competition and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, winning several prizes, including 2 Gold and 1 Silver Keys. Her paintings hung in Milwaukee City Hall, Chase Bank, Wisconsin State Fair, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The support she received during these formative years fueled her desire to pursue art at the professional level.

She left home to study Art at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a focus in Painting and a minor in History. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 2010.

Her work attempts to depict the endless beauty that lives all around us. She strives to utilize color and light to enhance the drama of seemingly ordinary landscapes or the creatures inhabiting them.

She resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she spends her days playing with her sons and dog, and her evenings working in the basement studio she built with her husband, emersed in her art.