Meet Our Members
Mary Lemma interviews a PAG member each month for a Meet a Member profile that is then featured in our newsletter. Here's your chance to catch up on past member profiles!
Charlie Milliser
Why did you choose the medium you work in, and what’s gratifying or challenging about it?
Pen and ink felt like a natural progression from my pencil drawings. As someone who is color-blind, working in pen and ink gave me another way to create depth, contrast, and dimension without relying on color. For fun, I also hide “critters” in most of my pen-and-ink drawings, giving viewers something extra to discover as they look more closely.
Wood, too, has become an important part of my artistic journey. It’s such a beautiful creation of nature, and carving requires me to work with the wood rather than simply impose my ideas upon it.
My goal is to create sculptures that are interwoven with Mother Nature. I find great joy in taking an old tree stump or a block of wood and transforming it into something meaningful, almost as though I am releasing the spirit of the once-living tree.
Were you interested in creating art early in life, or is it a second career?
I’ve always loved to draw. When I got into college, I began selling my art to friends and clubs, but it wasn’t until I retired from my teaching career, some 35 years later, that I began in earnest to create pen and inks and wood sculptures. Beyond creating art, I teach Bas Relief and 3-D wood carving classes at Heather Gardens and the Woodcraft store of Denver on Arapahoe and Peoria.
Who or what have been significant influences in your creative journey?
My inspiration comes from many places—growing up on an apple orchard in Indiana, hiking through the Colorado mountains, and simply noticing an image of beauty or a moment that seems to tell a story. Nature has always been an important part of how I see the world, and I enjoy capturing those moments and sharing them through my art.
Whenever I visit or participate in an art show, I am amazed by the incredible talent of the artists around me. Each experience gives me a deeper appreciation for the creativity and beauty that art brings into our lives. It reminds me how fortunate I am to be part of a community where people can share their unique perspectives and inspire one another.
How has PAG helped or influenced you?
I was unaware of the Parker Art Guild until 2025, when I entered Art in the Park. I had previously met Stacy Goss at an art show in Keystone, and she spoke highly of PAG and shared information about the many events and opportunities the guild offers. I have been very impressed by both the quality and variety of opportunities PAG provides for artists. Joining the guild seemed like a natural way to support its efforts while becoming more involved in the local arts community.
Bob Barr
Why did you choose the medium you work in, and what’s gratifying or challenging about it?
I chose watercolors some years ago for a fresh change from oil and acrylics. Being very transportable in plein air situations was useful on trips.
Were you interested in creating art early in life, or is it a second career?
Always interested in drawing, I started art classes in my fifties, more than 25 years ago--quite a change from my engineering career.
Who or what have been significant influences in your creative journey?
Classes at Arapahoe Community College: drawing, painting, and sculpture got me hooked on art. Then later my classes with Pam Hostetler were very helpful. And art clubs such as Castle Rock Art Guild got me involved with other artists.
How has PAG helped or influenced you?
I am quite new to Parker Artists Guild. At the March meeting at the schoolhouse I was very impressed with the people in the Guild. I had a painting in the Healing Arts Gallery at Castle Rock Hospital, and I hope to be much involved in PAG and upcoming shows.
Jeanne Trueax | Schoolhouse Gallery Curator, National Arts Program Coordinator, and former President
Why did you choose the medium you work in, and what’s gratifying or challenging about it?
I prefer painting with acrylics. I don't have the patience to wait for oil paint to dry, so I can move on to the next color (I wind up covered in paint). I like my colors to be bold and bright, so I don't do a lot of blending. Acrylics lend themselves nicely to this. They dry fast and don't smear.
Color wakes me up and scares me a bit, but black and white drawing, on the other hand, relaxes me. I sketch out my "road map" and fill in the textures. So, depending on my mood, I will work on a meditative graphite or pen & ink drawing, or freak myself out with a painting.
Were you interested in creating art early in life, or is it a second career?
I have always loved to draw. My favorite thing has always been a blank piece of paper and something to draw with. I got in trouble in first grade because I would make decorative borders around all of my math problems. My teacher wrote on several math tests that I should spend more time on the math problems and less on the decorations, but come on! Math is sooo boring! One must fix it up.
I received a BA in Studio Art and Art History from Colorado Women's College, and went on to work as a graphic artist for various printing companies and advertising agencies in the eighties. I was forced to retire when I had children, because the cost of daycare was more than my paycheck. As the kids grew up and moved out, I was able to start drawing and painting again...with a vengeance! (Please don't ask my husband about what I have done to the basement.)
Who or what have been significant influences in your creative journey?
I have always been excited by the Art Nouveau painters in the early 1900's, particularly Klimt and Mucha. I travelled to Vienna a few years back and had the pleasure of seeing several original paintings by these artists in person. V-Cool!
How has PAG helped or influenced you?
We moved to Castle Rock from Littleton in 1999, and I joined the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild. I was very involved with their effort to open and run a gallery on Wilcox Street. When that folded, I joined the Parker Artists Guild.
After GCRAG dissolved, I sort of inherited the National Arts Program show that was held at the Castle Rock Library. It didn't take place that year because no one stepped up to run it, so I (foolishly?) volunteered to keep it going. I convinced a couple of artist friends to help out, and with the help of PAG's non-profit designation, we were able to keep it going. The Castle Rock Library was torn down in 2020, so PAG and Parker Arts helped me move the NAP to the Schoolhouse.
I also found myself helping more and more with the PAG art shows at the Schoolhouse, and volunteered to take them over when Mark Hollenbeck wanted to retire from doing them. Then, when there was talk of shutting down the Parker Artists Guild, I found myself volunteering again to step up as PAG President. These things keep falling into my lap! I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut!
I am so grateful for the current board of directors. They are as dedicated as I am to keeping this little art guild going! It is a fantastic organization filled with talented, committed artists, and I am so honored to be a part of it!
Leslie Scott | PAG Co-Secretary and former President
Why did you choose the medium you work in, and what’s gratifying or challenging about it?
My chosen medium is oil paint. It is classic, has a smooth, buttery texture, blends very well and stays open for a longer period of time. I also like the translucence of oil paint. For me, the challenge is painting expressively in oil. Maintaining the same style of brushwork for a second layer after the first has dried is very difficult for me.
Were you interested in creating art early in life, or is it a second career?
After I left the Army, I was offered the opportunity to go back to school. I chose the Corcoran School of Art and Design for my BFA. That school has since become part of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Who or what have been significant influences in your creative journey?
Over the years, I have admired a great many artists, from Vermeer to Basquiat; a wide range for sure. What appeals to me the most currently are works in a very plain, primitive style as they seem timeless and sincere. My problem is that I appreciate so many different artists and types of art that I often wonder whether I am more of an art lover than I am an artist.
How has PAG helped or influenced you?
PAG has been a wonderful organization for me. There are many very talented artists in PAG, some of whom I'm proud to call my friends. PAG members are supportive and dedicated to their art while also remembering to reach out to the local community to share their work and encourage novice artists down the path toward whatever their goals may be.
Lauren Busch | Vice President
Why did you choose the medium you work in, and what’s gratifying or challenging about it?
When I got back into art as an adult, I started with unforgiving mediums like pen and ink and watercolor, so getting into oils and realizing that mistakes can be reworked was an attractive aspect of the medium. My perfectionist side enjoys the ability to recreate the same image wherever I want it, whether it’s printmaking, on paper, fabric, or something else that can be printed on. I really admire imaginative color, and for the last year or so I’ve been learning to use color more in that way. For any medium, I find it easy to get over-invested in details, and loose, free styles tend to appeal to me. So I’m always caught in a battle between my perfectionist tendencies and my free-spirited aesthetic taste.
Were you interested in creating art early in life, or is it a second career?
My dad tells a story about showing me how a pen worked when I was 18 months old, and legend has it that all I ever needed from then on to keep myself entertained was paper and a mark-making implement. I’ve always loved creative and artistic hobbies, and I’m building up my art practice so I can eventually call that my day job—what my husband and I affectionately refer to as “soft retirement,” when we’ll be able to travel around the country doing art fairs to make ends meet. But I worked in tech for about 15 years, but now my day job is being a realtor.
Who or what have been significant influences in your creative journey?
Some of my local favorites are Paul Heaston, Clyde Steadman, and Mitch Caster. Alai Ganuza is not local, but she's my color idol and her teaching has made a huge difference in my advances in color application.
How has PAG helped or influenced you?
I hesitated to join because I worried I wasn't "real" enough as an artist, and that was a huge mistake! This group is the most friendly, generous, encouraging, and surprisingly outgoing group of artists I've ever encountered. I have gained so much experience in applying to shows and being able to test-drive Art in the Park by sharing a tent before committing to buying my own. It was an incredible opportunity, and I absolutely adore being able to have art friends.
What made you want to serve on the PAG Board?
I wanted to be part of the PAG board because it has added a ton of joy to my life and has helped me pursue my artistic dreams and I would never want that to go away. I'm glad I can contribute to keeping it going so we can continue to do all these excellent and supportive things for our art community. Organizations like this take a lot of work to run, so I wanted to make sure I’m giving back so we can continue to be the best group of artists I've ever encountered.
"Luna Is The Star" won NAP Best of Show in 2026