Oftentimes, people can get so caught up in life that they forget the beauty of their every-day surroundings. It becomes easy to forget to appreciate seemingly insignificant moments such as the drive home from work. That is why the first lesson of Greene County artist Artis Corwin is to simply look and fully take in the world.
“If you don’t know how to look, you don’t see how to paint,” Corwin says, whose work ranges from landscapes to doll sculpting. “We have so much beauty here and I wish people could see it. I think that’s what I try to promote when I paint.”
Corwin’s path as an artist began naturally, as she followed in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. She credits her mother for putting crayons and pencils into her hands before she was even able to hold them. Corwin also noted how similar she was to her grandmother in her work as her grandmother’s art extended to creating dolls as well. Corwin’s dolls have even been featured in the 2012 issue of the Huffington Post’s “The Prim’s Dolls” Magazine.
Corwin had excelled in art throughout her life as a few teachers noticed early on. One of her High School teachers had even warned students to not compare their work to hers because it would “scare them to death”. It seems her love for learning has never worn off as she considers herself a constant student to this day.
“It keeps my mind sharp. It keeps my mind happy,” added Corwin passionately. “It’s my happy place. I don’t paint for money; I paint for what I love.”
Although Corwin was born in Fayette County where her mother was from, she has spent most of her life in Greene County. Her grandfather had been a merchant in Waynesburg along with some other of her ancestors, and her father had worked in Beaver County. She eventually moved to Greene County where she raised four children with her husband and has since added ten grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren to her family tree.
After a career hiatus, Corwin dove back into art during the 2020 pandemic, where she estimates creating over a hundred paintings. She enjoys painting now just as much as she ever has. Her husband has even recently bought her a studio off the back of their home and comments how he can never get her out of it.
Corwin’s work primarily consists of landscapes of Greene County and surrounding areas along with occasional portraits and dolls as well. She is extremely passionate about the overlooked beauty of Southwestern Pennsylvania with its old-fashioned barns and bridges and farmlands. She tries to promote the charm of the region with her art, which can be found in private collections in homes across the US from California to Vermont. Corwin’s artwork can also be found in her granddaughter’s shop in Fordyce called “The Dutch House”, where she occasionally teaches classes.
Besides painting, Corwin additionally has driven school buses for forty-three years for Greene County. She has passed on her art knowledge to the youth as well by being a guest artist at Waynesburg’s elementary school. She enjoyed these classes especially because she feels there is much to learn from children when it comes to art as they “don’t go by rules, they go by their heart.” She hopes to continue to spread her love and knowledge of art for many years to come.
I want to thank Morgan Marisa for writing such a nice article about me.