Joyce Faulknor

Murano in Autumn, 36" x 40"

Although Joyce Faulknor comes from a family of artists who encouraged her to paint, it was only after being asked to teach art by her son's first grade teacher that she realized her true calling as an instructor. She subsequently fell in love with watercolor while studying at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and, a few years later, combined her passions of watercolor and teaching by opening her own art school.

Facets Galore, 24" x 40"

From the beginning, she was fascinated with glass, intrigued by the abstract shapes that appear in reflections and the distortions created by glass objects. When she took a workshop early in her career with noted watercolorist Jan Kunz, Jan recognized Joyce's talent for painting glass and crystal and encouraged her to focus on still lifes featuring both. Joyce gradually developed her own technique for this complex subject and then broke it down into steps so she could teach her students. She has also developed a unique style of painting, stretching her watercolor paper on stretcher bars as an oil painter would stretch canvas. She paints dark to light, also a non-traditional approach to watercolor, and then varnishes her finished work so it can be displayed without glass.

During the years that she ran her school, she continued to paint and set new goals for herself as well, getting published in art magazines and books. She eventually turned her classes over to other instructors in order to write her own book and make an instructional video. For the past year, she and Guy Magallanes have been developing an instructional program for public television.

Stunning Crystal and Glass, 20" x 24"

Joyce founded the Emerald Lake Art Academy in 1991 and taught there for 10 years. During that time, she entered many competitions and expanded her visibility by entering the North Light Splash book competitions. After her painting was published in Splash 8, she landed a feature article in Watercolor magazine (an American Artist publication) and her work was featured on the cover. Following that success, North Light Books asked her to write an instructional book; from October 2004 to January 2006, her concentration was dedicated to writing and painting for the book. Stunning Crystal and Glass was released in October 2006 and was the featured book for the North Light Book Club. She was then invited to shoot a companion DVD in the United Kingdom for Artists Limited, Inc. During the next few years, she gave workshops across the country. She has been working with Guy Magallanes to develop "Art 2 Art" -- a series featuring two artists painting the same subjects, but with different techniques. They are currently finishing up production on 13 episodes to be aired on PBS in the coming months.

Beveled Vase with Red Onions, 18" x 20"

Reflections, 40" x 36"

Please jump to Joyce's website to see more of her work and link to her blog from there.

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Thomas Schaller

Alley - Venice, 12" x 9"

Thomas Schaller's love of watercolor began with an early dedication to the English landscape tradition and the French Beaux-Arts architectural discipline. Following more than 20 years as a very successful architectural designer and illustrator in New York City, he relocated to Venice, California and began to focus on fine art in 2006; his love of landscape, as well as our constructed environment, continue to inform his work in watercolor. He is particularly inspired by the idea of a "sense of place" -- the presence, memory, narrative, and especially the luminosity of the idea of buildings in both the rural and urban landscape, and he believes that the medium of transparent watercolor is unsurpassed in its ability to convey both the real and transient nature of the world around us.

Italian Street Scene, 12" x 9"

Tom has long been considered one of the foremost architectural illustrators in the world. In addition to winning many other awards, he is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize for excellence in the graphic depiction of architecture. He has authored two books: the best-selling -- and AIA Award of Merit winner -- Architecture in Watercolor, and The Art of Architectural Drawing. He has also lectured widely and hosted watercolor workshops. His work has been exhibited around the world, including at The Art Institute of Chicago; The American Society of Illustrators in New York City; the Aedes-East Gallery in Berlin, Germany; and in a mid-career retrospective at The Graham Foundation in Chicago, which hosts exhibits and lectures on architectural subjects.

Japan 2, 12" x 9"

As a fine artist, Tom has been recognized in American Artist and American Art Collector magazines. He is represented in Los Angeles by the Link Gallery, the Universal Art Gallery, and the Carter-Sexton Gallery, which will host his first one-man show in 2011. In addition to his memberships in numerous professional societies related to his architectural work, Tom is a member of AWS, NWS and the California Art Club and has been juried into recent CAC exhibitions, including their 2009 Centennial Exhibition. His work was also juried into the 2010 AWS exhibition and he will be featured in an article in the April issue of American Artist magazine.

London, 16" x 8"

Charles Bridge - Prague, 13" x 18"

Please visit Tom's blog to get the latest news and find links to his website and other venues.

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