It took some convincing for Hollis Levine of St. Charles to accompany a friend to an art workshop in Door County, WI five years ago. Levine eventually opted in and came away with the foundation of a burgeoning career in painting with oil pastels.

"When my friend asked, I said 'No,' I didn't want to go," she said. "I really feared starting up and then stopping, but she talked me into it and I had such a good time."
 
Levine produced a rudimentary acrylic painting of her dog Joe during that trip. Now she specializes in large, vibrantly colored abstract artwork, with a few non-abstract pieces featuring insects, architecture and landscapes.

Her home serves as a gallery of sorts, with many of her paintings framed and hanging on walls in several rooms. One such piece is her most recent creation, an oil pastel painting titled "Metamorphosis" that features a fiery red background and wispy flowers in the foreground. Levine dribbled droplets of alcohol onto the canvas for "Metamorphosis," which created subtle circles in the background upon mixing with the oil pastels.

"I consider myself a pretty creative person, and color, that's the thing that turns me on the most," Levine said. 

Her artwork is bursting with bold oranges, greens and yellows. One of her oil pastel paintings, titled "The Eyes Have It," is a close-up portrait of a curious praying mantis in greens and reds.

She said her artistic philosophy of "When in doubt, use orange," came directly from George Shipperley, her instructor and mentor from the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles. Levine has participated in several oil pastels classes taught by Shipperley, who said he noticed Levine's ability "right away."

"But I also saw the dedication she would have," Shipperley said. "I saw that in her work, not only did she have the talent, but had the dedication to develop it. Early on, she showed the ability and the talent, of course. You don't need to motivate her, she's motivated to begin with."

Levine was an original member of the Yellow House Artists, which is a group of about 50 oil pastel artists who take classes at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center and display their artwork as a group. She also has participated in other art shows and hopes to eventually display her work in a Chicago gallery.

Shipperley said Levine's artwork has improved quickly during the past few years.

"She has excelled in a number of things," he said. "She's good with bugs, but it's not the bug that's so interesting, but how she composes them."
 
Levine has flourished despite the innate challenges of learning to work with oil pastels, which tend to be waxy and thick, and adhere to painting surfaces more thoroughly than soft, chalky pastels.
 
"Key is the adventuresome attitude she has," Shipperley said. "She's not afraid to make mistakes, and that's my philosophy because that's how you learn."

Experimentation is part of the fun for Levine, who generally uses her fingers to apply the pastels, but sometimes uses paper towel or other means.

"With oil pastels, once you know how to use it, you can get all kinds of effects with it," she said. "They allow me to paint big."

Painting big is a goal for Levine, whose in-home art studio currently houses a 36-by-60 inch canvas, awaiting her creativity.

"I would like to paint even bigger than that," Levine said.

For more information or to view Levine's artwork, visit www.hollisart.net.