Mike Bailey

MOMA's Vertigo, 22" x 30"

Watercolor began as a kitchen table hobby for Mike Bailey in 1988, but soon consumed his every thought. Although he had been attracted to art all his life, his college degree was in engineering and he spent many years in the high-tech world before starting to paint at age 46. Primarily self-taught, he is driven and deeply passionate about painting. As he puts it, "I paint because I have to. I teach because I want to spread the joy I have derived from being a painter."

Always reaching to attain new levels of growth, he is continually experimenting and testing his limits and his visions. In Mike's words, "I think desire is ninety percent of talent. You are only as good as the amount of painting experience you accumulate. A lot of experience in anything leads to wisdom about that thing." Accordingly, he paints almost daily. Whether it is abstract studio work or casual plein air outings, he finds it difficult to point to a favorite subject or style, but his goal is to make "not seen before" work.

Blowhard II, 22" x 30"

Considered a very gifted teacher in the field of art, he teaches workshops -- intense, hilarious, and full of motivation and support -- throughout the U.S. and Europe. His course "Watercolor Beyond the Obvious" is a rigorous exploration of design and a discovery of personal artistic breakthroughs. Altogether, he spends about 15-20 weeks a year teaching groups ranging from beginners to advanced painters.

Slip Strip Abstract, 15" x 22"

A Cheap Trick, 22" x 30"

Mike has won awards in exhibits around the country and has been featured in Watercolor, The Palette, and Watercolor Artist magazines as well as several books on watercolor. His work is in both corporate and private collections throughout the U.S., Europe, and Australia. He is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and is just beginning a two-year term as President of that organization (2010 and 2011).

White Blankets, 22" x 30"

Please visit Mike's blog and then hop over to his website for a look at his extensive body of work.

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Guy Magallanes

Two Bees in a Rose, 21" x 14"

Influenced by his Grandmother, Guy Magallanes paints images of landscapes and flowers -- subjects that we all pass daily -- but with heightened exaggeration for drama's sake as a result of his Grandfather's influence. He expresses how he sees each one -- full of life with a unique story to be shared -- as "images I get lost in and that take my breath away."

Guy counts the support and influence of his extended family as a catalyst in his development as an artist. He explains, "I grew up in the best creative environment a child could have. One of the best gifts I ever received was an entire roll of butcher paper at the age of five from my Aunt Celita. I made tons of drawings and some huge drawings, and the supply of paper seemed endless. She always had a painting she was working on in her kitchen, and to me that place was magical. And my grandparents had a huge influence on my character and how I see the world. My Grandmother showed me the gift of consistency -- to look for the surprises and regularity of each season -- and my Grandfather gave me the gift of innovation and wonderment. An avid storyteller, he made his adventures even more colorful each time they were retold."

Echeveria, 12" x 8"

Painting had always been a part of Guy's life as a hobby -- something to fill a creative need or a way to give a special gift to someone -- but after September 11, 2001, he realized that he wanted to change how he lived his life. Being laid off from a job he loved in 2002 gave him the opportunity to explore his passion for watercolor. He began taking classes, joined art groups and watercolor societies, and entered competitions. Elizabeth Kincaid became a mentor and friend after Guy took a workshop with her, and when he juried into the Redwood City Art Center, he met Joyce Faulknor and began a collaboration that has expanded into an exciting new venture -- Art2Art.

Alba Rosa, 8" x 12"

Building on the experience he gained giving painting demos for art societies, Guy moved into teaching when Joyce began working on her book for North Light Books and asked him to take over her classes. He now has a full teaching schedule of both weekly classes and regional and national workshops. His work was featured in both Splash 9 and Splash 10 (North Light Books), and he is one of 15 contributors to the book Watercolor Secrets (North Light Books, 2009). In 2007, Guy and Joyce won the West Coast Regional WAVE (Western Access Video Excellence) award for the first episode of their instructional watercolor show Art2Art. They have since taped 14 episodes which will premiere on May 8, 2010 on the PBS station KCSM-TV, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Koi Study, 12" x 15"

Passage, 18" x 37"

Please jump over to Guy's blog to find out more about his work and link from there to his website.

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Kaaren Oreck

Arigato Makoto, 21" x 28"

When she discovered watercolor in 1989, Kaaren Oreck finally felt she had found the perfect medium for her work. In her words, "Watercolor is a medium that is just as beautiful three inches away as it is across the room." Travels and exhibitions in Japan have provided much of her current inspiration -- many wonderful complex patterns seem to combine with beautiful simplicity in Japanese life. And flowers, always an inspiration, seem more highly treasured in Wisconsin because of the long winters. Whether her subject matter comes from just around the corner or from halfway around the world, she feels that watercolor can portray the color of the world in its brightest light and darkest shadow with equal excitement.

Geisha #3, 28" x 16"

After she has taken photo images that are interesting and exciting to her, Kaaren manipulates them to eliminate the extraneous details and develop those that will convey what she has envisioned. She uses a very limited palette to create unity in her paintings, working in many transparent layers on both wet and dry paper.

Still-life Impressions of Japan, 18" x 27"

Kaaren lived in many parts of the country before moving to Madison, Wisconsin, where she currently resides. After getting a BS in nursing from Boston University, she began taking every available art class, whether college courses or private. A friend jokingly called Kaaren "the queen of workshops," but she feels very fortunate to have studied with so many wonderful teachers. Her paintings have been juried into numerous exhibitions in Wisconsin and across the country and have won many awards. She is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society, the Louisiana Watercolor Society, and the Wisconsin Watercolor Society, as well as a member of several other art societies, with professional status in Wisconsin Visual Artists. She also has served as a board member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA). In 2005, Kaaren was selected as the featured artist for WHA -- Wisconsin Public Television -- and her paintings are included in Pouring Transparent Watercolors by Jean Grastorf and The Artistic Touch 4 by Chris Unwin.

Colors of Nature, 18" x 29"

Serendipity, 20" x 27"

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

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Verena Heroux

Midsummer's Morning, 21" x 29"

Growing up in the English countryside inspired in Verena Heroux a love of nature's beauty and the desire to portray it in watercolor. Surrounded by her father's beautiful gardens, she began painting flowers at a very early age. Although she painted all through her childhood, she set her interests aside to raise her family and only began to paint seriously in 1998, after her husband retired. She has taken no formal classes in either painting or composition, being primarily self-taught through books and self-directed study.

Flirtation, 17" x 27"

Verena prefers to work from photos so she can capture the play of sun and shadow which is critical in the design of her paintings, so she always takes her camera on her morning walks and frequently stops to photograph the flowers in her neighbors' gardens. Working on Arches 300 lb. cold-pressed paper, she uses an assortment of kolinsky brushes -- rounds from size 2 to 10 -- and a Richeson 2-inch flat sable for background washes. She uses Daniel Smith and Maimeri Blu watercolors and also Incredible White Mask liquid frisket.

Sunday Afternoon, 17" x 27"

Fairy Tales, 16" x 22"

Verena has held several solo shows and has been juried into numerous local and regional shows, winning many awards along the way. She became a Signature Member of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina in 2005 and is active in the Southern Watercolor Society. As a finalist in International Artist magazine's "Still-life and Florals Challenge #47," her work was published in the October/November 2008 issue of that magazine. She is currently working on an article demonstrating her painting techniques for International Artist. Verena is represented by the Mattie King Davis Gallery and Handscapes Gallery, both in Beaufort, NC.

Shadow Boxing, 16" x 22"

Please jump over to Verena's website to see more of her work.

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Paul Jackson

Neon Rain

Paul Jackson's passion for dramatic light and shadow is the inspiration that drives him to paint. Although he choses subjects for their aesthetic beauty, it is the quality of light and the way a subject reacts to it that makes that subject exciting for him. He works in transparent watercolor because he finds it ideally suited to capturing the veils of light and luminous atmosphere for which his paintings are known. Each painting is a carefully orchestrated symphony intended to awaken the eye and offer a warmth to ignite the soul.

Because there is little margin for mistakes in watercolor, his paintings are rigorously planned through a series of sketches and drawings before he puts any paint to paper. Using thin washes, he optically mixes the paint on the paper, generally progressing in a light-to-dark approach but often reversing that process for muted patterns and details. On occasion, he enhances the painting with colored pencil or other mediums to achieve special effects, but for the most part, he enjoys challenging the limitations of watercolor and takes great delight in achieving the impossible with only basic materials.

Detour

Crosstown Traffic

Paul began painting in college at Mississippi State University. He received an MFA from the University of Missouri in 1992 and since then, his artwork has received top honors in national and international competitions and has graced the covers of dozens of magazines and books. His work has been featured on the cover of The Artist's Magazine four times in recent years, and in American Artist, Watercolor Magic, Watercolor Artist, and Watercolor, as well as in numerous well-known newpapers and in the broadcast media. Paul is also the author of Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor (North Light Books) and a well-known instructor, giving workshops around the world.

Hide and Seek

Paul was honored with signature membership in the American Watercolor Society at the age of 30 and is also a signature member of the National Watercolor Society. He won the Grand Prize in the “Paint Your Way to Paris ” competition and has been featured as one of the Master Painters of the World in International Artist magazine. In 2008, he was the featured speaker at the International Watercolor Masters Invitational in Lushan, China during the Olympic Games and in 2009, he served as an invited juror for the AWS annual international exhibition.

Enchanted Forest

Please go to Paul's blog to get the latest news and link from there to his website to see more of his paintings.

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Sarah Bent

Gerbera Glory, 17" x 23"

Fortunate to live in sunny Hong Kong, Sarah Bent uses that light as her inspiration -- photographing her subjects as the sunlight plays across them. She begins each of her paintings by taking a series of photographs intended to capture the abstract images that underpin all of her watercolors. At the same time, she is looking forward to the creative process that will turn these photos into paintings. To achieve the depth of color that she wants, she applies multiple layers of transparent paint to her paper, allowing the colors to flow and mix on the paper. By juxtaposing intense darks against bright, light areas, she produces dramatic, vibrant paintings of tropical flowers and flower-filled crystal vases, as well as more humble fruits and vegetables.

Lilybud II, 17" x 23"

Ornamental Cabbages, 17" x 23"

Originally from England, Sarah has been living in Hong Kong for over 30 years. Although she always wanted to paint, she put her dreams on hold while working and raising three children. When they were grown, her thoughts turned to painting again and she set about teaching herself and experimenting with different media. After initially working in acrylic and pastel, she discovered watercolor and has never looked back. She began painting portraits of pets and people and continues to paint portraits by commission. In 2007, she joined the Hong Kong group, Artists Abroad, and began focussing on still-lifes -- featuring flowers or fruit with crystal, china and glass -- and botanical-themed paintings inspired by the wonderful tropical flora of Asia.

Agave, 17" x 23"

Sarah exhibits annually in Hong Kong with Artists Abroad and is a Full Member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. She became a juried member of the International Guild of Realism in 2009 and her work was shown in their annual juried exhibition in Palm Desert, CA in February, 2010. She has also been honored as a finalist in the Society for All Artists (UK) 2008 "Artist of the Year" competition and with an Honorable Mention in Watercolor Artist magazine's 2009 Watermedia Showcase (appearing in the February 2010 issue of the magazine).

Please Don't Make Me Cry II, 17" x 23"

Please pop over to Sarah's website to see more of her work.

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