Randall Connally Pijoan, 56, went to eternal bliss on Sept. 20, 2025, from Adventist Hospital in Portland, Oregon. A celebration of his life will take place in various locations where he lived and was loved.
Randy was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on December 21, 1968. He grew up in Pine Junction, Colorado, and graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in 1991.
Randy was a professional painter, printmaker and designer, who devoted his life to capturing the beauty of the landscape and modern American life on canvas and paper. Known for his glowing nightscapes, Randy was a master of light and shadow, and a keen observer whose poetic voice manifested in oil and gouache, and etched in copper and zinc. His work has been recognized and sold in many galleries and published in multiple American art magazines.
He also worked as a commercial artist, designing music posters, labels, book illustrations and exhibition spaces. He was awarded the Western Heritage Wrangler Award for his illustrations in “Milagro of the Spanish Bean Pot,” winning the 2011 Outstanding Juvenile Book award, and a commission from the Colorado Historical Society to create a Civil War exhibition at Fort Garland, where he painted two expansive murals and created interactive exhibits. Randy was also a part-time professor of art at Adams State University and completed restoration work in 2015 on historical WPA murals in Richardson Hall.
Randy was a passionate person who gave much of his creative energy to his community in the San Luis Valley. After a near-death experience in 2003, Randy started a non-profit art facility, Ventero Open Press Fine Art, in San Luis, Colorado. He provided a place for youth to gather and make art with two fine art etching presses and free art supplies, calling it an “artistic watering hole.”
The coffee shop and art gallery lured customers and other artists into the vibrant space to connect, commune and collaborate. He was there every Friday and Saturday for 10 years, volunteering his time, energy and talents to enliven the small community and spread his love of people and art. Randy also taught “Art Behind Bars” to local inmates, and hosted a weekly art talk show on the local public radio station. He served on the Economic Development Council of San Luis and encouraged young entrepreneurs and small business owners. He said that he wished to “pay it forward,” as he recognized the contributions of those who invested in his life, and the power of art to heal.
After suffering a massive stroke in 2016, Randy was paralyzed and spent the remaining years of his life in a wheelchair. He continued to paint, and he and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon, where he received excellent medical care. Randy is survived by his wife, Evy McLean; father, Nick Pijoan, and wife, Athena Pijoan. He was preceded in death by his mother, Carol Pijoan, and his sister, Erica Pijoan. Randy will be remembered for his quick wit, playful spirit, love of laughter, indelible kindness and generosity, and brilliant, poetic visual voice. He will live on in the hearts of those he loved and in his beautiful artwork, which can be viewed at randypijoan.com.
To honor Randy, donations can be made to Artists’ Charitable Fund, supporting artists with medical needs, at artistscharitablefund.org, or Unchained Voices at unchainedvoicesartshow.org.
At the end of his essay in The Creative Epiphany, Randy wrote, “Maybe someday I will have these final words chiseled as my epitaph: Passionately Laugh, Cry, Love, Educate and Die. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to clean your brushes.”
This obituary was submitted by the Pijoan family.