2022 Bravo Awards Competition
Artist Bio:
Aurora Harrison Bull's earliest recollection of her interest in Art is sitting on a fence at a motel in Arizona at the age of eight, drawing the Arabian horses corralled there. It was only natural that she would make a career out of her passion for art. "I was always entertained with a pencil and paper," she said. One look at Aurora's paintings and you'll know that she is a lover of nature and wildlife.
Aurora was born in Kalamazoo, MI, but was raised in central Florida. Prior to 1968, she worked primarily in pastels. "I grew up in a race track area," she said. Because of this and her experience of working for a veterinarian for 12 years, she painted many equine portraits early in her career. She holds a certificate with the American Academy of Equine Art. In 1968, she tried her hand at oils and it was love at first sight. Aurora likes the fact that she is able to capture a three-dimensional quality with oils. "It's more like sculpting with paint." She has had no formal training (college) other than periodic workshops, which mostly consisted of other mediums.
Aurora now lives on a 400-acre farm in Maynardville, TN, where she and her husband Earl raise Angus cattle and horses, along with other livestock and a large garden. She teaches art classes at her home studio, and for the last 17 years she has also conducted classes at Fountain City Art Center in North Knoxville. Aurora used to travel from New Mexico to the Carolinas and Florida to Michigan doing as many as 14 juried art festivals a year. Aurora has always believed that her greatest teacher is the Creator Himself, from whom she has received both her ability and her inspiration.
The recipient of many awards and honors from juried exhibitions, Aurora shares her knowledge and experience by conducting workshops and demonstrations. Her paintings hang in numerous corporate and private collections in the United States and abroad. She has works in Japan, Israel, Argentina, Germany, and Pakistan, to name a few.
