About the Artist
Born in Victorville, CA, Briesacher grew up in St. Louis, MO. Her greatest joys as a child were the animals. “My mother loved animals and we had a lot of them -- dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, fish, and of course, the horses. I started riding when I was 7 and it was on the back of a horse that I found freedom, strength, and joy. We did a lot of trail riding as I grew up, so my love of horses became entwined with my love of nature and the outdoors. This has never changed and is the primary inspiration for my paintings.”
Her first career was in educational technology focused on the introduction and implementation of online learning at colleges and universities. It did not include painting, but did include a lot of travel. Briesacher has been to all fifty states, most of the Canadian provinces, and several European countries. She also enjoys traveling for leisure with her family and friends. “Gallery hopping” became a highlight of many of those trips, and through the years, she and her husband have built an extensive art collection. She didn’t know that art collecting would become the forerunner of art creation.
Briesacher embarked on her “second career” in 2014 at the age of sixty. She sometimes muses about what her life might have been had she started painting at an earlier age, but believes things happen when they are supposed to. “Retirement gave me the time to do the things I wanted to do, and it was important to me to stay engaged and active. I’ve always had a creative side, though my prior creative outlets tended more to home interior and landscape design. I wasn’t sure if I would do well at painting, but when I laid down that first brush stroke, I actually got tears in my eyes, it just felt so right.” Painting became her new full-time job, her passion, her obsession.
Exhibitions
2024 American Academy of Equine Art Fall Exhibition, Aiken, SC
2024 Southwest Artists Small Works, 3 pieces, Mena, AR
2023 Award of Excellence - Southwest Artists, Inc. - Mena Art Gallery
2023 American Academy of Equine Art Juried Exhibition - Fine Art Editions, Georgetown, KY
2023 Art of the Heartland, 2 pieces - Southwest Artists, Inc. - Mena Art Gallery, Mena, AR
2023 National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society Online Exhibition
2023 Cheyenne Frontier Days - Old West Museum - New Frontiers Art Show, Cheyenne, WY
2023 Heartland Art Club Group of Eight Exhibition, Kirkwood, MO
2023 Heartland Art Club Member's Showcase, Kirkwood, MO
2023 Southwest Artists Small Works National Exhibition, 3 pieces, Mena, AR
2022 61st Mid-States Juried Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
2022 Heartland Art Club Member's Exhibition, St. Louis, MO
2022 Southwest Artists / Mena Art Gallery Art of the Heartland Show
2022 American Academy of Equine Art Fall Juried Show, Aiken, SC
2022 Bosque Art Classic, Clifton, TX
2022 Missouri Valley Impressionist Society Membership Show, Online
2021 Heartland Art Club Member's Exhibit, St. Louis, MO
2021 American Academy of Equine Art April Fools Show, Online
2020 American Academy of Equine Art Juried Exhibition, Aiken, SC
2020 The Art of the Horse Exhibition, Winter Equestrian Festival, Wellington, FL
2019 Heartland Art Club Member's Exhibit, St. Louis, MO
2018 National Oil and Acrylics Painters Society Fall Online International Exhibition
2018 American Academy of Equine Art Spring Showcase, Online
2016 Green Door Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2016 Randy Higbee Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA
2015 AKC Museum of the Dog, St. Louis, MO
2015 Green Door Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
