Laurie Klein
Peyton, CO - United States
Laurie Klein - Fine Artist
Member Since: 01/08/2013
Some people are born creative. In nursery school the teachers were amazed that Laurie was finger painting recognizable animals, large scale, and told her parents that she was already a standout among the children artistically. She began oil painting at the age of 8. She was painting landscapes in adult classes that were far beyond her years. The airbrush came into Laurie’s hands during high school and the two became a symbiotic creative team. The world is made up of graduated tones and Laurie has mastered the depth that is achieved with working with the airbrush.
Laurie was a fine art major in college with a minor in art history. There the airbrush was frowned upon so she approached it as a hobby. She never told the instructors that she airbrushed. She started to sell airbrushed art on canvas, sometimes for thousands of dollars, and then started to approach the airbrush much more seriously.
She never completed her degree because she was in a near fatal car accident in her second year of college. Eventually she did go back to college as a graphic art major. While in college for the second time she worked a large art supply store. She was put in charge of the Airbrush Department selling and repairing airbrushes, and compressors. At the same time she also worked as a freelance illustrator. She has several album covers under her belt and has one for Musicians Institute of Los Angeles. She has worked with some large names in the music industry such as Deep Purple and Jon Anderson of Yes.
In January 1998 she was hired as the artist for a company that manufactured flight helmets used in jet aircraft and helicopters. There she did the artwork on helmets for the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds, NASA, the Italian Air Force Freece Tricolori, and the movie industry to just name a few. She felt that having some really cool pictures hanging on the wall was great, but she wasn't going to retire on the money she was making. She left the aviation industry in August of 2007 and founded Front Range Studio.
