Chances are if you’re within the mailing area of this newspaper, you have a small piece of Loni Conder’s artwork in your home. Conder’s oil painting is on the cover of the Falcon/Peyton Phone Directory in 2002 and 2003. Another painting of hers will be on the cover of the directory, published by Ron Waller, which is coming out in December.From the dirt road where Conder lives in Meadowlake, her home looks much like anyone else’s. Tall trees she planted when she first moved here in 1973 shade the driveway and prairie-grass yard. A corral fence keeps in her two large dogs, Sage and Ebony. However, there is no mistaking from the interior of Conder’s home that an artist lives there.A large room that was once a garage is now a bright, open studio, filled with oil paintings. Conder paints landscapes of Indian homes and southwestern scenery with the warm, earthy colors of the dessert. Her oil paintings are realistic, created with the true colors of nature. Often including old adobe homes or fences, the paintings emanate peace, contentment and simplicity.Conder is much like her art. Warm, natural and earthy, she is unhurried, soft-spoken and at ease with herself and her surroundings, harboring a deep love of nature, animals and all things beautiful.Conder was born in 1937, and spent part of her childhood in the La Junta area. She said that from the time she was a small child she wanted to be an artist.In 1943, the family moved to Colorado Springs where her father owned and operated a neon sign business. Conder said the signs were more than business names – they were pieces of art. One of his legendary signs that remain today is the Indian on the Navajo Hogan restaurant on North Nevada.When Conder was about ten years old, she said her family moved back to La Junta where she attended school until the eighth grade. She dropped out and started working at Bob’s Potato Chips, a factory in La Junta, until she was 19 years old. She then married and later on gave birth to a son, Rick.When Conder’s marriage ended, she raised Rick by herself, working at TRW in the Springs for 20 years. During that time, she said her painting was strictly a hobby. She made birthday cards and oil paintings of photographs for co-workers.For the most part, Conder is self-taught, but she had some training at the Bemis School of Art in Colorado Springs along with private lessons from Coleen Bobinac in Penrose.Conder has been painting professionally for 12 years. Her work has been shown in several group exhibitions in Colorado and New Mexico. She’s also shown her wares in Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver. Some of her pieces are on display in Farmers State Bank in Falcon and the KTSC-TV studios in Pueblo. Art enthusiasts can purchase Conder’s paintings year-round at the flea market arts and crafts pavilion on Saturdays and Sundays. Call Loni Conder for more information about her art wares at 719-683-3814.More on Loni ConderOn favorite childhood memories: We were surrounded by farms. We used to swim in the irrigation ditch, then climb out onto the side and pick and eat whatever it was that was growing. I carried a saltshaker around in my pocket just for that.On other artists in her family: My mother was a housewife who had a real eye for decorating. She loved reds and oriental things and our house was always beautiful.My son Rick had a master’s in arts and theater and worked in the arts in New York City. (Rick passed away in 1992.)On a favorite artist who inspired her: I’ve been heavily influenced by Georgia O’Keefe. What she did with her work and her art during a time when women were put down for it is inspiring. Her work is very sensual. She was truly a pioneer of women artists.On her favorite place in Falcon: Frankie’s Too. I go over there and have a hamburger and a beer. I love it.On memories of Falcon: In 1973 when I first moved here, it cost too much to put in a phone. There was a phone booth where the Diamond Shamrock is now, and I’d have to drive over there to call in sick.I miss the openness, the wildlife. You could walk through the prairie and really see the stars at night. It was so quiet.On her plans for the future: I’d love to sell this place and travel in my motor home. I like to travel with friends or just my dogs to any place south, especially the southwest. I love Taos.On favorite hobbies: I love camping, fishing, traveling in my motor home with friends.On the growth of Falcon: I went to vote on Election Day at the church, and I didn’t see anybody I knew. That was scary.
