This is the third feature in a short series highlighting artists living at Sopris Lodge Carbondale Senior Living.
It’s certainly no secret by now: The Sopris Lodge senior living facility in Carbondale is a mecca for artists where residents continue to create and share with their neighbors and visitors. One of these talented artists is 93-year-old JoAnn Coffman — a former home economics teacher and the former matriarch of the Coffman Ranch, now owned by Aspen Valley Land Trust.
She is a lifelong artist who, today, enjoys the additional time she has to paint.
Coffman spoke of her old studio at the ranch and shared that she hopes to have a similar set up at Sopris Lodge, eventually. She and Rex, her husband, moved into Sopris Lodge in October 2023 and remained there together until his passing in June. She has remained at the Lodge and continues creating art by way of her favorite medium: watercolor.
She spoke about creating watercolor leaves that are attached to her front door and which she switches out with new ones each month. Coffman loves all of the ways one can experiment with watercolors.
“There’s more to it than just putting the paintbrush on the paper,” she stated, and explained how the background of a certain piece was uniquely designed. “I wet the back of the paper, then I took coffee and went over it and then I put sprinkled salt on it. So there are all kinds of little tricks you can do.”
Born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska, she draws inspiration from the animals and nature she grew up with, specifically horses and sunflowers.
“I think it’s being raised in a rural area. I just loved my horses and always saw sunflowers growing along the road in Nebraska and in Colorado. I was driving up through El Jebel the other day, and there were so many sunflowers on the road. They’re just a pretty flower,” she said gleefully.
Coffman shared that, when growing up, her family would spend time together doing art rather than playing games or engaging in other “typical” family activities.
“My mother was an artist and we never did play games at home. We were always seated around the table doing some kind of art project together,” she shared. “My main art when I was young was designing clothes for my paper dolls, and I drew a lot of horses. I love to draw horses.”
When Coffman entered high school, she couldn’t do art as much as she would have liked. But that changed when she went to college. It was during this experience that she discovered her love for watercolors.
“I had a teacher who gave you the choice of 15 assignments, and you could do them any time and in any order you wanted to … I did watercolor [and] decided I liked that,” she reminisced.
Her pieces at Sopris Lodge range from one of her late husband’s favorite cow (#46) and her calf to Coffman’s childhood home as well as many seasonal pieces. When discussing her work, she is proud to say she has never sold a single piece.
“I have never sold any of my art. I always give it away,” she shared. “Most of them are relatives and friends and they have all said to me, ‘Oh, I have never had a picture by a real artist.’”
Coffman said it is wonderful to be surrounded by people her age who share similar interests and talents. Beyond that she said art has been a common connection for many of her friendships throughout her life, specifically citing those made in Sun City West, Arizona where she and Rex spent much of their downtime.
“It keeps you in the picture,” she said, pun intended. “It’s just like having friends [who] like the same things you like. And I think, you know, it’s not only in art but in other things too.”