Born in Illinois, Deborah showed artistic promise at a very young age winning numerous national awards and a full scholarship to Parsons School of Design, from which she graduated with honors in 1980. She received post graduate training at The Art Institute of Chicago, The School of Visual Arts and in the New York studio of the renowned painter Burton Silverman. For 22 years, Chabrian pursued a commercial career in Illustration while also painting for Gallery Shows and National exhibitions. She was elected an artist member to the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society and Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. Her paintings were included and won many awards in the Annual Exhibitions of the American Watercolor Society ( New York), the National Watercolor Society ( Fullerton, CA.), the National Academy of Design ( New York), the National Portrait Institute (New York), the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club (New York) and the Society of Illustrators( New York). She is the recipient of the National Galleries Endowment Award, one of the highest honors given by the National Watercolor Society. Deborah was also a finalist (one of ten out of 3500 entries ) in the National Portrait Institute Competition (New York).
Deborah is a master in her chosen medium of Watercolor Her work has been featured in leading fine art magazines including American Artist, Watercolor, Victoria magazine and books on watercolor painting. American Artist Editor in Chief , Steven Doherty, says “Deborah Chabrian is one of the most gifted artists working with the watercolor medium today. Her warm, engaging, and sensitive paintings demonstrate both her well developed skills and her understanding of great art.” She is a master of the changing emotions of light, illuminating her subjects to invoke a warm, unforgettable mood.
Commercially her paintings have appeared on more than 400 book covers, for publishers such as Random House, Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin, Harlequin and St Martin’s Press, Labels for Children’s Nyquil, Beechnut Baby food, and Greeting card for the National Humane Society, Gibson Greetings and posters for Image Source International.
Most recently, she is concentrating on personal work painting primarily Still Life and Figurative work from her everyday life.
Biography courtesy Susan Powell Fine Art