Category Artist Profiles

How artist Kristy Gordon approaches her studio practice for year-round productivity and enjoymentWith the first days of the new decade already in the rearview mirror, we at Network are making a point of asking ourselves, how do we make the most of this new decade, new year, and every day we pull out our paints ready to create?

The crop of winners from our most recent watercolor art competition, the 7th annual Watermedia Showcase, exemplifies incredible ingenuity, marvelous craftsmanship and masterful watercolor painting. Enjoy a gallery of the top prizewinners below. And be sure to check out the array of art competitions we offer throughout the year.

View a gallery of prizewinning works from the 4th annual Watermedia Showcase watercolor competition, the fine art contest from Watercolor Artist published in the February 2013 issue.1st PlaceDenny BondEast Petersburg, Pennsylvania PlaceMark McDermottAnchorage, Alaskawww.markmcdermottart.

Stan Bloomfield, of Bernalillo, N.M., takes a unique approach to pastel painting, arriving at powerful scenes through experimentation and persistence, which earned him an art prize in Pastel Journal’s 16th Annual Pastel 100 Competition: the Pastel Journal Award of Excellence. For Bloomfield, there’s no sacred pastel process; no art rule exists that shouldn’t be tested, or altogether broken.

Stephen Wiltshire’s drawings of major cities are feats of meticulous draftmenship, remarkable memory and unstoppable drive.A city is more than its buildings. For London artist Stephen Wiltshire, however, the fervent energy of the skyline or the looming peak of a landmark building captures the heart and soul of a metropolis.

By painting in series, Singapore artist Isabelle V. Lim experiments with color and composition to create masterful visual statements.Exploring a theme through a series allows for “unlimited experimentation in perspective, design and color,” according to pastel artist Isabelle V. In this article excerpt from Pastel Journal written by master pastelist, author and exhibitions juror Robert K.

Seeing the natural world through a rainbow of vibrant huesErin Hanson’s highly attuned perception of the world’s colors—and her particular talent for sharing her vision through large-scale oil landscapes executed in a dynamic style she describes as “open impressionism”—has earned her uncommon success since she first started selling her paintings a dozen years ago.

Watercolor Artist magazine chatted recently with English artist Lucy Willis to learn what inspires her love of travel and amazing paintings. Find out the items in her travel toolkit and plein air setup she can’t live without, along with her best advice for creating art far from home.Watercolor Artist: What do you love about travel?

Giving intuition and intention equal rein, Arlene Richman explores the landscapes and passages within.This month we are celebrating the power of color, and what better inspiration to kick us off than this profile by Holly Davis of abstract pastel artist Arlene Richman. Her fearless pursuit of and deep connection with color is motivation for us all!

In a career spanning seven decades, Daniel E. Greene spent his time exactly where he has always wanted to be—at the easel.The Network team was saddened to learn that Daniel E. Greene, a Pastel Society of America Master Pastelist and Hall of Fame Honoree, recently passed away of congestive heart failure.

Lynn Whipple’s mixed-media floral paintings meld line drawing, pastel and acrylic into joyful works of stunning beauty.By Robert K. CarstenWith a mother and grandfather who painted, and a grandmother who played the piano, art and music surrounded and inspired Lynn Whipple throughout her childhood. We always made art, and it was such a joy.

Sharon Pitts paints watercolors in a style that makes the most of the variety of color and shape in the natural world.By Amy LeibrockSharon Pitts paints nature—trees, flowers, nests—in a representational style with abstract qualities. Vivid color draws the viewer into her paintings of nature featuring tangles of branches, petals and leaves that burst of saturated backgrounds.

Glittering bits of reflected light on water elicit a sense of energy and peace in Deborah Quinn-Munson’s depictions of New England landscapes.By Amy LeibrockDon’t be surprised if you reach for your sunglasses when viewing Deborah Quinn-Munson’s luminous pastel paintings of water. “This will sound a little wacky,” says Quinn- Munson, “but I almost hope the viewer can hear and feel the water.

An artist harnesses the power of drawing in large landscapes that are both transcendent and surreal.By John A. ParksApril Gornik’s charcoal landscape drawings render the world as a magical and transcendent realm. These landscape drawings display their subjects in an almost photographic manner, yet everything has been subtly changed, transformed in a way that suggests a kind of spiritual intimation about nature.

The renowned realist continues to express his vision of contemporary life after nine decades.In this personal essay from Artists Magazine in 2016, celebrated New York artist Harvey Dinnerstein discusses his recent works including his favorite recurring themes, his intimate approach to portraiture, and his contemporary take on classical elements of form, structure and realism art.

A person guided by passion is almost always met with incredibly rewarding and impactful results. If that person is an artist, that holds true even more. Passion, for artist Nathaniel Skousen, is a matter of ideas. It is ideas that hold him spellbound. An artist who is drawn to variety, and to so many areas of art, Skousen prefers to say little to the person standing before one of his works and, instead, to intentionally mix metaphors, “let the music play.

Singapore-based artist Erwin Lian journeys the world with his sketchbook. Here’s how he maximizes his time in the studio between travels.By Allison MalafronteWhere is Erwin Lian when he isn’t journeying around the world painting on-site sketches in watercolor and pen-and-ink, or teaching travel-sketch workshops in such destinations as Japan, Indonesia, and Bhutan?