Wendy Ahlm

Wendy Ahlm grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She began making art as soon as she could pick up a crayon and never wavered from her young declaration of, I’m going to be an artist when I grow up.

Wendy received a BFA in printmaking and painting from Carnegie Mellon University. She moved to New Mexico in 1996 and fell in love with the big sky, never-ending views and spectacular sunsets. 

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Her fascination with the landscape and New Mexico light led her to plein air painting. In 2018, Wendy participated in her first-ever plein air painting event, the Red Rocks Arts Festival in Moab, UT. Later that year, she joined the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. 

Wendy paints with a variety of media including oil, pastel, acrylic, gouache and watercolor. Her work is often infused with bright colors. 

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In addition to painting nature, Wendy’s playful personality and child-like joy resulted in painting still lifes of toys and dinosaurs during cold winter months. These humorous artworks inspired a weekly dinosaur drawing show that Wendy broadcasts on Twitch TV to teach drawing and painting.