LUCIJA DRAGOVAN
THE ARTIST - BIOGRAPHY
Lucija Dragovan was a master watercolor artist (MWS, NWS, TWSA) with an extensive and award winning exhibition record. Her work concentrated on her passion for the earth and the friends and family who were the subjects for her figure studies. Her vibrant and bold use of color communicates a deep understanding of nature and the connection we share with all living things. Flowers of every variety are viewed in great detail or seen as a large group with a masterful control of color and design.
She studied at both the Art Institute of Chicago (under famed artist LeRoy Neiman) and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and printmaking. She taught art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, adjunct faculty at Lewis University, Joliet Junior College and the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition, she taught many generations of children their first art lessons at various schools throughout northern Illinois. She tutored them all to know line, shape, value, texture and color.
For the past 40 years Lucija exhibited in national and international watercolor exhibits, and she received numerous awards. She earned 22 signature awards which are presented to those watercolorists accepted into three exhibits of each watercolor society, most notably the National Watercolor Society (NWS) at their 80th Anniversary International Exhibit. One of the most prominent accolades that she received was the Edgar A. Whitney Award at the esteemed American Watercolor Society's 135th Annual International Exhibition in New York City for her painting "A Light Within." Lucija's other honored paintings are prominently featured in three Watercolor books published by Rockport Publishers, Inc. of Massachusetts and her mural work is on display in the book "Murals: the Great Walls of Joliet." She served on the board of the Midwest Watercolor (Transparent) Society for 5 years.
From 1994 to 1998 Lucija was commissioned by the city of Joliet to create 10 murals portraying the Slovenian immigrant experience. The customs, ceremonies, work ethic, love of family, respect for the home and especially the education of their children in the New World are the focal points of the series. The murals (A Journey, Slovenia to America) are located at Scott and Ohio streets in Joliet. IL.
Her other ethnic work is on permanent display at the Slovenian Cultural Center in Lemont, IL, These include the wedding scenes and the harvest scene panels from her 10 panel ethnic Slovenian Murals that were also commissioned. Her paintings are also on display in public and private collections at the University of California-Irvine, California State University-Fullerton, Portland, OR, Denver, CO, Michigan, New York City, Graz, Austria, Most na Soci and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Italy and France.
In 1996, Lucija entered a competition (sponsored by the Slovenija Magazine) asking for slides of her artwork to be judged by a juried panel. She and her sister, Lillian Brulc, were two of five artists of Slovenian descent chosen from the United States for this gathering of international artists. Other artists chosen for this event were from Australia, Venezuela and Sweden. The art colony was held in Most Na Soci, Slovenija for two weeks. They painted the mountains, rivers, bridges, churches, and people of Slovenia. The artists’ paintings were then displayed at the end of the two week period in an exhibit. They received many distinguished visitors for this exhibit, including the President of Slovenija and the Mayor of Ljubljana. The painting, “Church of Sveta Lucija,” is in the permanent collection in Most Na Soci, Slovenija. She adopted the name “Lucija” as her art signature.
Lucija Dragovan was a master watercolor artist (MWS, NWS, TWSA) with an extensive and award winning exhibition record. Her work concentrated on her passion for the earth and the friends and family who were the subjects for her figure studies. Her vibrant and bold use of color communicates a deep understanding of nature and the connection we share with all living things. Flowers of every variety are viewed in great detail or seen as a large group with a masterful control of color and design.
She studied at both the Art Institute of Chicago (under famed artist LeRoy Neiman) and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and printmaking. She taught art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, adjunct faculty at Lewis University, Joliet Junior College and the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition, she taught many generations of children their first art lessons at various schools throughout northern Illinois. She tutored them all to know line, shape, value, texture and color.
For the past 40 years Lucija exhibited in national and international watercolor exhibits, and she received numerous awards. She earned 22 signature awards which are presented to those watercolorists accepted into three exhibits of each watercolor society, most notably the National Watercolor Society (NWS) at their 80th Anniversary International Exhibit. One of the most prominent accolades that she received was the Edgar A. Whitney Award at the esteemed American Watercolor Society's 135th Annual International Exhibition in New York City for her painting "A Light Within." Lucija's other honored paintings are prominently featured in three Watercolor books published by Rockport Publishers, Inc. of Massachusetts and her mural work is on display in the book "Murals: the Great Walls of Joliet." She served on the board of the Midwest Watercolor (Transparent) Society for 5 years.
From 1994 to 1998 Lucija was commissioned by the city of Joliet to create 10 murals portraying the Slovenian immigrant experience. The customs, ceremonies, work ethic, love of family, respect for the home and especially the education of their children in the New World are the focal points of the series. The murals (A Journey, Slovenia to America) are located at Scott and Ohio streets in Joliet. IL.
Her other ethnic work is on permanent display at the Slovenian Cultural Center in Lemont, IL, These include the wedding scenes and the harvest scene panels from her 10 panel ethnic Slovenian Murals that were also commissioned. Her paintings are also on display in public and private collections at the University of California-Irvine, California State University-Fullerton, Portland, OR, Denver, CO, Michigan, New York City, Graz, Austria, Most na Soci and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Italy and France.
In 1996, Lucija entered a competition (sponsored by the Slovenija Magazine) asking for slides of her artwork to be judged by a juried panel. She and her sister, Lillian Brulc, were two of five artists of Slovenian descent chosen from the United States for this gathering of international artists. Other artists chosen for this event were from Australia, Venezuela and Sweden. The art colony was held in Most Na Soci, Slovenija for two weeks. They painted the mountains, rivers, bridges, churches, and people of Slovenia. The artists’ paintings were then displayed at the end of the two week period in an exhibit. They received many distinguished visitors for this exhibit, including the President of Slovenija and the Mayor of Ljubljana. The painting, “Church of Sveta Lucija,” is in the permanent collection in Most Na Soci, Slovenija. She adopted the name “Lucija” as her art signature.
