DON SAHLI

Don’s journey to becoming a professional artist was prodigious. Doing professional quality work at 10 and began to sell to friends and family. By 15 was represented in galleries in Taos, New Mexico and in Texas. During high school, he was honored as a gold key finalist at the National Scholastic Art Competition for an unprecedented four consecutive years.

In 1982 Don met Sergei Bongart, the famous Russian colorist. “I attended a painting demonstration by Sergei Bongart at his summer workshop in Rexburg, Idaho. There I saw Bongart use color, paint and confident brush strokes as I had never seen before. At that moment I knew I wanted to be a painter. “My life was changed forever in an instant.”

In 1995 Don Sahli opened the Sahli School of Art in Evergreen, Colorado where he continues the tradition of color and temperature in the lineage of the Russian masters. Sahli keeps this tradition alive in giving back to the student as this is a critical aspect of the artistic learning processes.”I am a better painter because I teach and I learn from my students. The Russian tradition of painting continues. Bongart’s heavy steps are still heard in my classes and studios”.