Greg Conley

New Zealand "Ayne-II" © Eduardo Nicolaiwww.eduardonicolai.com Tierra del Fuego "Capt. Hunter" © Luke Buckwww.lukebuckart.com Indiana, USA "Hoofers Gold" © Mary Francis Hill, NWSwww.maryfrancishill.com Wisconsin, USA "Sailing Event, San Diego" © Shuang Liwww.linkstwo.com California, USA "Port-1993" © Vasile Movileanu (1955-2011)www.vasilemovileanu.com Moldova

I remember spending a whole lot of my youth with my nose buried in art and watercolor painting books when I wasn't playing in the woods. I always seemed to learn more from step-by-step pictoral walk-throughs of paintings in progress than from reading descriptions of how to paint a particular subject or technique. Being rather old school, I watched John Gnagy on television, I read American Artist magazine and could not get enough of seeing how other artists were doing what they were doing. I grew up with the haunting dynamic realism of Andrew Wyeth versus the lyrical world-affirming characters,...

American Millard Sheets grew up in California in the Pomona Valley east of Los Angeles and by the age of 19 he was an elected member of the California Watercolor Society. At age 20, he was still a student at the Chouinard Art Institute when the school asked him to teach their watercolor class while he was completing his other studies. By the 1930s Mr. Sheets was exhibiting and selling work at major cities across the US. and Europe. His sales enabled him to travel and paint on location in the US and abroad. When the Great Depression hit he...

American Phil Dike was born in Redlands, California in the year of the great San Francisco earthquake. When he was 17 he attended the Chouinard Art Institute on scholarship and by 1929 after further studies in New York he was back at Chouinard as a teacher. He became one of the first exponents of a new bold approach to painting watercolors that came to be known as the "California Style." In the 1930s he was a popular teacher and exhibited his work in museums across the country, receiving high acclaim and winning awards. By the mid-1930s he was working for...

English "Thomas Girtin together with his friend J. M. W. Turner, revolutionized watercolour painting and introduced the romantic style in English landscape painting. (Like Keats and Shelley, he died young.) Colour in broad transparent washes together with precise, exquisite drawing (one can scarcely tell where drawing in pencil ends and drawing with the brush begins) make Girtin one of the greatest masters of watercolour painting." — from Terry Fenton's bio of Thomas Girtin. — Watercolor Masters: Thomas Girtin © 2010 Greg Conley — Additional Links: thomas girtin at tate museum thomas girton at www.j-m-w-turner.co.uk

Watercolor Ottawa, Canada Since childhood Dhanashri has always had a keen interest in art. Born and raised in India, she completed her Applied Arts degree at Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalay, Pune in 2001 and became a freelance designer. After exploring the beauty of the seasons in England and Scotland, Dhanashri now resides in the beautiful capital city of Canada. Her paintings are exhibited in many art galleries and in private collections. Dhanashri offers watercolour workshops/lessons and works with regional art societies as well. "My paintings are all about nature. As a visual artist, I am constantly inspired by the various forms,...

Watercolor Workshops Salem, IL, USA Chris Roberts lives, works, and plays out of the southern Illinois town of Salem. His journey to watercolor painting was inspired by the popular PBS watercolor shows and workshops of Bob Fagan in the mid-90s. By the year 2000 Chris had his first website up and running, and is now gaining national recognition for his own work. Preferring to work in plein air, Chris completes his field paintings in 2-3 hour sessions. Before beginning a painting he'll take time to explore, look, and document the subject, getting a feel for the place he is about...

American Tom Hill was born in 1925 in Texas. Tom is a noted representational watercolorist of southwest landscapes and Mexican and cowboy figures. "A lot of people feel that watercolor is a 'lightweight' medium," he observes, "one that's okay for sketches and studies, but not for major works and one that is not permanent." Tom is a noted author of technique and watercolor lesson books such as: Painting Watercolors on Location, Color for the Watercolor Painter, The Watercolorist's Complete Guide to Color, and The Watercolor Painter's Problem Book. — Watercolor Masters: Tom Hill © 2010 Greg Conley — Additional Links:...