<p>Connie Criess is the NW Artist Guild's featured artist for January.</p>

LONG BEACH, Wash. The Northwest Artist Guild will hold an artist reception from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 at Gallery 504 North in the Peninsula Arts Center, located at 504 N. Pacific Ave. The featured artist for the show is Connie Criess, an artist who has experienced art all over the United States.

Criess was introduced to art at an early age by her aunt, who was an art teacher. She studied art in high school, at the University of Kansas, Northeast Missouri Teachers College, and as a volunteer art instructor to wounded military men in San Diego as part of a rehabilitation program. She continued to paint in Charleston, S.C., while raising her children, but over the following 30 years of her life, art was put on hold.

After moving to the Pacific Northwest, she has reconnected with her passion for painting. Her art has been influenced by Picassos work, but her love of color and the ocean are her current guide. Criess has taken classes with various local artists including Eric Weigardt. As a member of the NW Artist Guild, which gives her the opportunity to interact with and learn from other artists, her art is growing again.