You will find artist, Paula Wallace, most days in her studio at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Wallace, a graduate of the University of Iowa, recalls a professor once saying, “The artist’s job is to pay attention.” "Paying attention," this artist says, "lets you really see - people, the contradictions of the world, its amazing beauty, its humor, its complex emotions." 

“Art in service” is an important part of Wallace’s work with organizations who focus on unique populations, especially those with disabilities. The artist celebrates art in service by matching projects and organizations whose missions converge, such as Opera Omaha, the Girl Scouts, the Intercultural Senior Center, QLI, the Munroe Meyer Institute, WhyArts, and others who use creativity, find beauty, and tell stories.

This artist loves picturebooks, not just for children, but for grownups, as well. She has illustrated for other authors, including her most recent collaboration with author, Carla Ketner, on a picturebook boyhood biography of national Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser from the University of Nebraska Press. Hear an interview on All About Books: https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/series-media/all-about-books-audio/standalone-audio-15890/ted-kooser-more-than-a-local-wonder-by-c-ketner-p-wallace-50022776/

Wallace has written and illustrated her own books, including Choose Your Days (Cinco Puntos Press/Lee&Low)) and Mr. Reginald and the Bunnies (Pomegranate). Choose Your Days won the Nebraska Children’s Picture Book Award and represented Nebraska at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. in 2018. Her book, Mr. Reginald and the Bunnies, was a finalist for the 2019 Children’s Picture Book Illustration Award from Foreword Reviews.

Wallace’s work as a fine artist includes many exhibits in the United States and Italy. Her work is held in private and public collections internationally. In Omaha, you will find her paintings at Anderson O'Brien Fine Art and in her studio at the Hot Shops Art Center.

New work is always "under construction" and you are invited to see the most current projects on Facebook (Paula Wallace Fine Art) or Instagram (#paulawallaceart). Please send a message or give a call if you want to visit, have questions, need a painting or illustrations, or want to commission a piece. She would be honored to help you tell your story.