Romona Youngquist

Painter (oils)

Romona Youngquist was born in 1960 in Yuba City, California, but grew up in Eastern Oklahoma. Romona essentially started out in life as a child of nature, spending her time exploring the woods with her dog and collecting critters. While exploring, she also studied the design and color of nature. Romona recalls many times standing in a field just staring in fascination at the values of the deciduous trees against a dark Oklahoma sky before a storm, and then rushing home to draw what she had seen. Technically self-taught, Romona thinks of nature as her real teacher. In 1994 she was awarded a grant from the Alaska State Council for the Arts to study with Oregon landscape painter Michael Gibbons and in the late 1990’s she studied with Michael Workman, a leading landscape painter from Utah. Romona has taken their valuable lessons and strengthened her own individual style. She also admires the work of Russell Chatham, Emil Carlson, and Wolfe Kahn, especially for their commitment to the beauty of simplicity and atmosphere. Her admiration of these painters has translated to numerous exhibitions and honors, awards and merits throughout the United States. 

My lifestyle hasn’t changed much since early childhood. I live on a little farm with my family in the middle of Oregon wine country; I still hang out in the woods with the dogs and my own kids; and I still collect a wide range of critters. When I’m not painting outside, I paint in my studio in order to keep an eye on my kids and pets, while listening to my favorite Bach, Handel, and Mozart.