“Colleen Dougherty was born and raised in Portland, OR and has lived in Bend since 2003. She uses a wheelchair due to a T9/10 spinal cord injury due to a car accident in 1989. She is a self-taught artist who opened an art gallery in 2005 with her husband at the time, Andy Wachs. Colleen specializes in large abstracts using acrylic paint with a unique layering technique to create a 3-dimensionalized effect. Her style evolved from being in a wheelchair and sitting while painting, resulting in painting flat, layer by layer to create beautiful texture. Colleen has been doing numerous commissions since 2005, sold several pieces through her gallery, and has done large group commissions for hotels, for example, a 35 piece commission for Tetherow Resort. Her primary career is building accessible homes in the Bend community, but she will be focusing more on her art this upcoming year as she takes a pause from building.

Colleen co-founded Oregon Adaptive Sports, a non-profit in Bend, OR, and has held a seat on the Board of Directors since 2003. She is also a proud aunt to four nieces and nephews and values time with family and friends. In her spare time, Colleen can be found downhill skiing, bicycling, traveling or wine tasting.

Has your disability influenced your art, or vice versa?

Yes, because I use a wheelchair and am sitting, it influenced me to start painting canvases flat on a table with a unique outlook or view to the work.