Fábio Cembranelli

River, 15" x 22"

Although he usually works from either his photos or field sketches, Fábio Cembranelli uses those only as a starting point. He composes his paintings in the studio, adding new shapes, colors, and meanings in a free and intuitive process. Explaining why he has chosen transparent watercolor as his favorite medium, he says, "What compels me to paint with this approach is the possibility of painting quickly. It suits my personality best -- the fluidity of the medium provides a unique sensation of unexpected color mixing, particularly when I define only the main masses and allow the unpredictable to happen on the rest of the paper. Timing is quite important in my method. I lean intuitively toward realism, but the right speed forces me to create diffused effects and shapes. I love painting flowers in watercolor and I'm always enchanted by the attempt to capture the contrast between loose and definitive edges, as well as light and shadow effects."

Gladiolos, 9" x 15"

Sunflowers, watercolor over gesso texture, 25" x 18"

Fábio graduated from the School of Architecture at São Paulo State University, but after working as an architect for two years, he decided to pursue a career as an artist. He had started painting while at the university, and he continued his studies during the late 1980s and early '90s with drawing and photography courses in Brazil and painting instruction with teachers in Europe and the U.S. He has participated in many national and international art competitions in Brazil and abroad -- winning various awards -- and his work has been featured in many art magazines and on television. His paintings are in private collections all over the world. Fábio now spends time each year teaching workshops and classes in his studio in São Paulo, as well as in local art galleries and other venues throughout Brazil and abroad, and he also serves as a judge in art competitions.

Campos, 12" x 17"

Dom Bosco, 12" x 17"

Please visit Fábio's blog to see more of his work and link from there to his website for additional information.

Andy Smith

Reflections in Red, 18" x 15"

Andy Smith's goal is to create paintings that capture subjects that other people overlook. Using transparent watercolors, he builds his realistic paintings with a series of washes, working with strong light and shadow to develop images that convey the mood and character of his subjects. In Andy's words, "I feel truly blessed with a gift, a talent to interpret what I see through watercolor paintings. My artistic journey has already surpassed my wildest dreams, and my journey continues as I paint daily. The creation of my daily blog has provided me with an opportunity to experiment with new subjects and to grow creatively. The added bonus has been a huge boost to my skill level above my expectations. I am not ready to call myself a master of watercolor because I realize the constant potential of growth. I believe it is all in the journey."

Chiaroscuro, 17" x 23"

Old Remedies, 13" x 16"

Andy is a self-taught artist. In lieu of formal training, he has developed his skills by studying the works of the masters, reading voraciously, and staying current in the world of art. He fine-tunes his talent with daily practice, discipline and dedication. As a professional painter since 1980, he has received many awards over the years, but he places more emphasis on his personal connection with clients. He enjoys sharing his love of watercolor and regularly gives presentations at local schools as well as demonstrating during the weekend art festivals he participates in throughout the year.

Waiting Room, 18" x 15"

Autumn View, 19" x 13"

Please visit Andy's blog to see his daily paintings and find out more about him and his work.

Amy Arntson

Under Tom's Pier, 46" x 66"

"A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” — Henry David Thoreau

Growing up in the Great Lakes region, Amy Arntson has always found water to be a powerful symbol, and her paintings are about spirit as much as they are about water. In her words, "Water is intimately connected with the passage of time, with stability and change: both fragile and seemingly eternal. Most of my current paintings do not reference the surrounding land; instead they focus on light, texture, shape and movement of water. There is no place to stand; only a place to be. Without a horizon line, viewers are encouraged to meditate on the water, projecting themselves into the painting. While the artist begins the painting, each viewer completes it with memories and personal associations."

Clouds Reflected, 27" x 27"

As an artist, author, and art professor, her commitment to painting is enriched by a respect for art and design history, and for the region where she lives. Influences on her work range from wash drawings of the 17th century illuminists -- who addressed the relationship between landscape and the expression of feeling -- to an array of 20th century abstract artworks. Visual design elements of color, shape, and texture are an underpinning to all of her realistic paintings, as are a sense of place and time. The paintings are created from sketches and photographs of locations in the Great Lakes and many other areas; she works in watercolor because, having examined a wide variety of media and concepts, she finds line and wash and watercolor to be consistently the most beautiful and appealing to her eye.

Mystic Gemstone, 23" x 28"

Amy Arntson grew up in the lakeshore town of Frankfort, Michigan. After earning a BFA from Michigan State University, she went on to get her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she taught art and design for 22 years. Her many lectures and presentations have spanned the globe, and she has also authored college art and design textbooks. A full-time artist, she has exhibited paintings in the Florence Bienniale, as well as in China and England, along with presentations in Central and South America and the United Arab Emirates.

Fall Wind, 35" x 30"

Gulf Storm, 30" x 23"

Please visit Amy's website to see more of her work.

Sue Johnston

Rocks Rock!, 30" x 22"

From cats facing off through a shop window to punks in Trafalgar Square to a basket of rocks, Sue Johnston's work conveys a delight in her subject and a fascination with light and color. Each painting grows out of her involvement with a subject -- often encountered during her travels -- cats in San Miguel, train trips through the West, travels to London. She loves to portray the humor of the human condition and the sense of self that people convey. Although she does produce paintings in bright primary colors, she frequently works with a palette ranging from deep oranges and blues to rich browns, softening them as the mood of the painting dictates. Her use of deep darks adds an air of mystery to her scenes.

Nelson's View, 26" x 22"

San Miguel Gatos, 30" x 22"

Sue began her career as a watercolorist after 25 years as an elementary teacher in the Oakland public schools. Following a lifelong dream to become proficient in the medium, she began by taking classes at Merritt College and has continued her development with workshops and classes from renowned artists in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the country. She joined the California Watercolor Association in 1998 and served on various committees; she was vice president in charge of the annual national exhibition in 2003 and then led the group as president from 2004-2008. Her work has been included in two shows at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, California -- winning second place in the exhibition in 2007 -- and in national exhibits presented by the San Diego Watercolor Society, Arizona Aqueous, Watercolor West, the Northwest Watercolor Society, and the California Watercolor Association. Sue is a signature member of CWA. She is represented by Gallery Concord in Concord, California.

Railroad Crossing, 30" x 22"

Reno Rails, 30" x 22"

Please go to Sue's website to see more of her work.

Tracy Hall

Red Squirrel, 1.75" x 2.25" (4.45cm x 5.72cm)

Living in the remote Orkney Islands of Scotland for the past 20 years, Tracy Hall was very busy with commissioned art projects until 2007, when she had a revelation regarding her own art. As she puts it, "I saw potential paintings everywhere I went but always seemed to be filing them away to paint 'some day.' It was frustrating, until I realized that the only person who could make 'some day' arrive was me. So I made time." She gradually found a balance between her commission assignments and her personal work and feels both have benefited as a result.

Young Otters, 2" x 3" (5.08cm x 7.62cm)

Starting out with ACEOs because of limited time, she soon discovered the world of miniature painting -- where painstaking detail is not only embraced but encouraged -- and found it very liberating. Because of the incredibly small size (Tracy's miniature paintings are often 1.75" x 2.25" -- smaller than a standard business card in the U.S.) she works on smooth-surfaced Crescent rag board using a magnifying glass and fine-point brushes that range from size 3 down to 10/0. Although many people assume miniatures will be quick to paint because of their small size, Tracy has found that "if anything, the reverse is true -- I find the more I do the longer they are taking!" With her deep love of nature, birds and animals predominate in her work which is painted exclusively in watercolor using both transparent and opaque paints.

Red Admiral & Rook, 2.25" x 1.75"
(5.72cm x 4.45cm)

Within a year of starting to work in miniature, Tracy had won awards in all the miniature shows she entered in the UK and US, culminating with the prestigious once-in-a-lifetime Gold Memorial Bowl from the Royal Miniature Society in 2008, and she was awarded signature status in the Hilliard Society of Miniaturists (UK) in June 2009. Tracy recently completed a four-year collaboration on The Orkney Book of Birds, painting 50 full-color illustrations for the volume. She is a contributing artist to The Watercolor Flower Artist's Bible and The Watercolor Artist's Flower Handbook and was featured artist in Animal World magazine (US) in both 2005 and 2006. Tracy is included in a special feature on botanical artists in the June 2009 issue of Artists & Illustrators magazine (UK), which is also running a special feature on her miniature paintings in the forthcoming September issue, and she is currently writing an article on miniature art commissioned by Leisure Painter Magazine (UK) to appear in their October issue.

Inca Tern, 1.75" x 2.25" (4.45cm x 5.72cm)

Superb Starling, 2.25" x 3.25" (5.72cm x 8.26cm)

Please visit Tracy's blog to see more of her work. It's well worth your time to go from there to her website to see even more of her excellent work.

Michael Reardon

Piemonte, 21" x 10"

An avid traveler, Michael Reardon uses watercolor to record his observations, convey a sense of place, and communicate his impressions of natural, constructed, and imagined worlds. He has been painting in watercolor for over twenty years, inspired to learn the medium after viewing a show of John Singer Sargent's watercolors at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and Sargent's work continues to inspire his work, particularly his plein air paintings. With his extensive background in architectural illustration, he composes evocative watercolors using a limited color palette and subtle washes. His most recent work is a series of imagined landscapes. Beginning with a small thumbnail study of shape and value, he enlarges the image, adding architectural detail to create convincing landscapes. His intent is to let the watercolor paint express itself in each piece -- working wet-into-wet -- and he enjoys watching the pigments mingle and granulate as he paints.

California Squall, 22" x 11"

California Pond, 22" x 11"

In 2005, Michael was the recipient of the prestigious Gabriel Prize from the Western European Architecture Foundation, which enabled him to spend three months painting in Paris. His watercolors have been exhibited both nationally and internationally; recent exhibits include the annual shows of the California Watercolor Association, the American Watercolor Society, and Watercolor West. He is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society and the California Watercolor Association, and his work was featured in the Fall 2007 issue of Watercolor magazine and in Splash 10 -- Passionate Brushstrokes from North Light Books (2008). This May he was a juried participant in Sonoma Plein Air 2009.

Pont-au-Change, 21" x 11"

Champs-Elysees Bassin, 14" x 9"

Please visit Michael's website to see more of his work.