Colleen Hennessy is a Denver native who kept returning. After living a short time on the west coast, 7 years in New Mexico, and 2.5 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. has spent most of her life in Colorado and New Mexico. Though of Irish ancestry, Colleen claims to have an “alma Latino” (“Latin soul”). Colleen has worked for many years photographing landscapes and architecture, wedding and portrait photography. Colleen is a graduate of New Mexico State University, an avid student of Spanish, potter and collector of folk art. In addition to hand-coloring black and white photographs, Colleen began producing a series of acrylic and watercolor paintings on paper while living in the mountain jungle of Honduras. After many years of working in the darkroom, Colleen discovered clay and it was the perfect balance to photography. Colleen wanted to make clay pieces that she could paint, and was inspired by Picasso’s whimsical work on ceramics. Colleen has participated in numerous solo and group exhibits in the last 30 years, has published 5 books of her paintings, and 6 bilingual children’s books. Recently, Colleen was selected for an artist residency at the Immersive Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo exhibits in Denver. This opportunity proved to be very productive, with daily exposure and interaction while painting, as well as an excellent sales record.