Dar's Bio

Color Pencils may seem to be a low-tech method for capturing something as personal as a portait, but Darlene always loved pencils. As a small child, she would ask for pencil and paper whenever she was bored. Soon after she would hand out the typical child’s drawing, but there was never any doubt of who the subject was.

Born in 1964, Darlene was raised in Wisconsin on her father’s dairy farm. Being the youngest of five children Darlene was free to roam the fields and countryside exploring nature and trying to satisfy her growing curiosity. Riding horses with her sister and sharing adventures with her friend, David, are among her most fond memories of childhood. In grade-school, Darlene developed a love for Math and the Sciences. Once again her artistic abilites presented themselves as she spent most of her time drawing cartoons and diagrams for other children's projects.

In 1980 the Egli family moved to Florida. Although she had to adapt to a new environment, Darlene was able to learn more about art in the more advanced high school classes. After High School, Darlene found a job as an artist in a print shop. She developed a knack for computers in the 90's, and eventually moved into typesetting.

Eighteen years in the printing business gave Darlene the chance to develop her artistic abilities and learn new skills, but it had become more of a chore than she liked. So Darlene looked for new adventures.

The new millennium has brought new opportunities. Darlene worked for an electronics company soldering circuit boards and assembling photoelectric devices. She enjoyed the new challenges. The new position allowed her to focus on her artwork away from the job, plus learn some new skills in a completely different work environment.

In Fall, 2005, Darlene signed up for College. Another of her lifelong goals is now being realized. While nervous about starting a new phase of life, Darlene blew away all doubts when she ended her first semester with the highest score in College Algebra.

In the Summer of 2007, Darlene fell in love is American History. It was an open field and no limit is placed on how far a person can learn. Unlike math, where problems are either right or wrong, the study of history is endlessly broad. In the fall, Anthropology, went one step deeper into the endlessly broad study, leaving Darlene with a rich depth of curiosity.

While still doing terrific in college and juggling two jobs, Darlene enjoys writing fiction stories. With her art background Darlene has the unique opportunity to illustrate her own work.

Since fall of 2008, Darlene is once again enjoying the position of fulltime artist. The Electronic company has rehired her as Graphic Artist where she is allowed to explore and create all day.

Although she creates terrific work using computers, portraits in color pencil will always be her passion.