Susan Abbott

Fleet Summer, 40" x 60"

In Susan Abbott's view, one thing all artists have in common is a love of "just making things." She grew up in a family that encouraged her early interest in both art and crafts and she dropped out of high school in her hurry to get to art school. Although she never took watercolor classes, she began concentrating on transparent watercolor early in her career, attracted to its vibrant color and spontaneity. During the 1980s and 90s, she focused on large-scale, complex works combining still life, landscape, decorative patterns, and graphic elements into unique compositions that joined intense realism with abstract design.

Fruits and Fields, Provence, 15" x 22" (diptych)

Piero and Pitchers, 22" x 30"

Susan also uses watercolor in plein air landscape painting. In her words, "Rather than constructing a still life over a span of weeks, a plein air landscape requires immediate decisions, emotion, gesture, and being 'in the moment' with a medium. I love this. In many ways, I find working quickly outdoors more challenging than building a painting slowly in the studio." Although she paints watercolor landscapes on her frequent travels to teach workshops, she is currently doing studio work in oils on a series of multi-panel still lifes and landscapes and finds that her long use of transparent watercolor has changed her approach to oils.

Clouds Over Lavender, 14" x 14"

Susan graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA and MFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and has worked as a professional artist since then -- exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country. She has taught watercolor classes at MICA as well as teaching workshops in Europe, India, and the U.S. Her work has been featured in Watercolor Artist (cover story, October 2009) and The Artist's Magazine (January 2010) in addition to many other publications including The Washington Post, American Artist, International Artist, and Watercolor Magazine; she has also been featured on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She has been the recipient of grants from the Vermont and Maryland Arts Councils and of numerous private and public painting commissions, and her work is represented in numerous corporate and individual collections.

Vista, Joucas, Provence, 14" x 20"

Please go to Susan's website for more information on her paintings, workshops, and two popular blogs.

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Iain Stewart

Early Evening, Opelika, Alabama, 9" x 13"

"The act of painting, for me, is chicken soup on a cold day. It's my comfort food and my peace. When I am relaxed and the washes are flowing, ideas are clicking, I forget the clock and I am me."

Growing up the son of a watercolorist formed the way Iain Stewart sees the world by breaking it down into washes, values, shapes, contrasts, lines and brushstrokes, and his father has had a great influence on his growth as an artist -- perhaps more by example than direct instruction. Iain's background in architecture added a love of built forms and his education at the Rural Studio under the late Samuel Mockbee helped him understand the simple beauty of the rural south. Living in Opelika, Alabama, a railroad town where the remnants of the past are easily visible, he seeks out the places in his daily life that have not completely lost their history, exploring the beauty in the mundane. He is intrigued by the play between rigid and loose and strives to find a balance between the two in his painting -- anchoring his landscapes with something solid or man-made, or varying his brushstrokes to break up the rigidity of architectural forms.

Coaling Tower, Opelika, Alabama, 13" x 9"

South Railroad Ave. in Snow, Opelika, Alabama
13" x 9"

Iain is a native of Scotland who received his degree in Architecture from Auburn University and did thesis work at the Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama. He's been painting in watercolor for over 20 years and, after working as a residential architect, established his architectural illustration business in 1996 as a way to combine his love of watercolor and design. His architectural illustrations have been reproduced in many publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, The Robb Report, Coastal Living, Inspired House, and Southern Living.

Frustrated with the constraints of commercial work, Iain renewed his interest in fine art in recent years and has started showing his work in national shows. He won the the Southern Watercolor Society Award at the Watercolor Society of Alabama's 69th National Exhibition this year and was recently named one of Watercolor Artist magazine's "Ones to Watch" for 2010, to be published in the December issue of the magazine (available in October).

Miss Voncille, Coden, Alabama, 13" x 9"

Heading Out, Resurrection Bay, Alaska, 13" x 9"

Please jump to Iain's blog for more news about his work and a link to his website.

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Tom Francesconi

Stage Performer, 20" x 13"

Tom Francesconi's paintings are a visual statement of his love for life. In his words, "As an artist, I have chosen to express myself through the language of paint, and stirred emotions are the essential beginnings of that language. Painting puts me in touch not only with the world around me, but also with the world inside of me. It is my hope that my paintings will echo that emotional response and the viewer will share in my spirited statements."

Longing, 21" x 14"

Pearl Necklace, 11" x 15"

Tom studied art at Eastern Illinois University and later focused on watercolor, studying with Irving Shapiro at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. After working more than 12 years as a commercial artist, he returned to fine art and devoted himself to his painting. His work has been published in eight books, including the just-released Splash 11. He has written articles for the magazines Watercolor and Watercolor Magic (now Watercolor Artist); an earlier article for Watercolor -- "Lively Painting, Purposeful Color" -- was reprinted in a special edition of Watercolor Highlights in the spring of 2008.

Tom's work has been exhibited in many national exhibitions -- the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and Watercolor West, as well as other prestigious shows. He has signature status in five watercolor societies, including the National Watercolor Society, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (Master Status), and the Northwest Watercolor Society. His work has garnered numerous awards, most recently the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild Award at the 2010 TWSA Exhibition and the Henry Fukuhara Award at the 2009 Watercolor West Exhibition.

The Tryst, 11" x 15"

Tom teaches weekly classes in Chicago and conducts workshops throughout the country. He has juried both regional and national exhibitions and lectured at museum and college venues, and he served as president of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America from 2001-2003, initiating its transformation from Midwest Watercolor Society to TWSA. He is represented by the White Street Gallery in Frankfort, IL, and his work is included in many private and corporate collections.

Aged, Yet Adorned, 13" x 20"

Please jump over to Tom's website to see more of his work.

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Cindy Agan

Sisters, 15" x 24"

"My art career started with a box of crayons and a coloring book at the age of three and I have been honing my skills ever since!"

With the exception of a beginner's course, Cindy Agan is self-taught in watercolor, and being detail-oriented, she prefers a realistic approach to her subjects. Her work is influenced by interests that bring her joy -- people, animals, flower gardening, antiques, wine tastings, and architectural details -- and her paintings depicting children have been described as "evocative of Norman Rockwell." She favors a predominantly warm palette, applying numerous glazes of highly concentrated paint to achieve the intense and vibrant color characteristic of her work.

When I Grow Up, 15" x 24"

Cindy is the author of Painting Watercolors That Sparkle with Life (North Light Books) and a companion DVD, an excerpt of which has been included in 10 Top Painting Tips -- a DVD featuring artists from around the world. Her work has appeared in Splash: The Best of Watercolor -- books 6, 7, 9, and 10 -- and will be included in Splash 12 (release date, 2011). Her paintings have also been featured in A Celebration of Light: Painting the Textures of Light in Watercolor, Drawing and Painting People: The Essential Guide, and in two books in the Painters Quick Reference Series -- Birds & Butterflies, and Cats & Dogs.

A Moment in Time, 20" x 16"

Garden Angel, 23" x 15"

Her work hangs in numerous private and corporate collections in the U.S. and U.K. In addition, she has been juried into national and international shows and has won many awards. She is a signature member of the Louisiana Watercolor Society and recently won the President's Award at their 2010 Exhibition. Cindy is also a popular workshop instructor who teaches throughout the U.S. and Canada. She will be teaching at Art in the Mountains in Bend, Oregon this July.

Napa Merlot, 26" x 18"

Please go to Cindy's website to see more of her work and get more information about her art activities.

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Paula Fiebich

Venetian Gold, 23" x 30"

"I am visually creating in my head all the time. My art, my creativity has been with me since I arrived on the planet. It has taken many different forms along the way to evolve to its present day expressions."

Paula Fiebich has been making art for many years, but within the last five years, it has evolved to a greater level of awareness. She finds inspiration for her paintings in many different areas -- from a simple swirl of pattern in hand-blown glass to a classic masterpiece in a museum, from a bike ride on a local path to a stroll through the streets of Venice. She is particularly fond of the art and design of France and Italy and much of her work reflects things that have inspired her during travel in those two countries. Her eye observes the patterns in fabric, papers, and the abstract qualities in objects, and her love of color and detail shows prominently in her work.

Pierrot, 24" x 18"

Afterglow, 23" x 30"

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Paula has become a nationally and internationally recognized watercolor artist since winning the Gold Medal at the American Watercolor Society show in 2007. Although watercolor has always been her medium of choice in the fine arts, she has also worked in the commercial art world as a staff artist in the toy and craft industry and in the automotive industry, working in the design studios for General Motors. She recently returned to school to specialize in digital media and communication arts.

Hotel de Paris, 30" x 23"

In addition to her success in the American Watercolor Society exhibit, Paula's work has been accepted into National Watercolor Society and Transparent Watercolor Society of America exhibits. She has been published in Watercolor Artist magazine, and will be featured this year in Splash 11 (North Light Books) and in International Artist magazine.

Sentinels, 40" x 26"

Please visit Paula's blog to learn more about her work.

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David Poxon

Heavy Metal, 12" x 17"

David Poxon explains a recurring theme in his work in these words, "I find inspiration in quiet corners of our world, which for a few brief moments have taken on a deeper significance to me. The commonplace or the overlooked become my subject materials as nature slowly reclaims that which man has abandoned or cast aside, creating a fragile beauty which is ever changing." Drawing inspiration from light, atmosphere, and subtle ambient effects, he finds a renewed connection between object and environment. He paints in pure watercolor, using a painstaking multi-glaze technique with up to 17 layers of transparent paint, each delicately modulating the colors beneath, and he preserves the natural paper for the whites in his paintings.

Bolts, 12" x 17"

Pots, 12" x 12"

David originally trained in Brighton, England but then followed a successful music industry career before returning to his first love -- art -- some years ago. He has won numerous awards and has a growing international reputation for his mastery of pure watercolor. His work has been exhibited at the Mall Galleries, Bankside Gallery - London, the Royal Birmingham Society, The Royal Cambrian Academy, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and many regional public and private galleries in the UK and USA. In 2008, he won the Still Life prize at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, and he was elected a member of the Royal Institute in 2010. He is one of 20 international watercolor artists invited to exhibit at the Shanghai Biennial in 2010 and will have a solo exhibition in the same venue following the biennial. He has contributed many articles to the art magazine press and is the author of two best-selling books on drawing techniques which were released worldwide in 2008. His work is increasingly collected both at home and overseas.

Shed, 12" x 17"

Big Barn Door, 12" x 17"

Please visit David's website to learn more about him and to see more of his work.

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