Show us your artwork! – Local artist’s celebrate World Watercolor Month
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– July is recognized as World Watercolor Month, an international celebration founded a decade ago by Missouri artist Charlie O'Shields. The annual event encourages people around the world to pick up a paintbrush while promoting the importance of art and creativity.
A simple mixture of sugar, honey and pigment creates watercolor paint, but for many artists, the medium offers far more than colorful paintings, it provides a way to express creativity and connect with others.
Sally Ellis is a local watercolor artist, who has been perfecting her craft for over 30 years. She has been painting for more than 30 years and now shares her experience with students at BYU-Idaho. Whether she's teaching in the classroom or painting outdoors, she enjoys helping others discover the beauty of watercolor.
"You've got to have a good plan and you've got to know where you're going in watercolor, because you start with the end in mind," Ellis said.
While demonstrating one of her paintings inspired by the Ricks Gardens in Rexburg, Ellis explained how intentional color choices can transform a scene.
"This is at the Ricks Gardens in Rexburg, Idaho, and we orchestrate it with a warm green, a cool green, a vivid. And then notice that we popped in this red as a compliment. And it creates energy," Ellis said. "You want that in your watercolors. These little accent colors are exactly what that is. It's called accent. These actually did not exist. I put them in there on purpose. This made this pop or gave it more energy."
For those interested in learning the craft, the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho offers beginner watercolor classes each month.
"We have watercolor here. It's Beginning Watercolor. We teach it once a month, and it is on the third Saturday every month," Becca Hayes, Education Curator at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, said. "It is always beginner friendly, and the instructor goes through and teaches you all the different kinds of watercolor paint and brushes."
Ellis encourages aspiring artists to approach watercolor with confidence rather than fear.
"Come with a mindset that you're going to experience it," she said. "Sometimes the mindset is, 'I can't do this. I can't do that.' Your mind can destroy what you're trying to accomplish. So use the goals and the elements and principles of design to take you where you want to go."
She also believes Eastern Idaho's artistic community is one of the region's greatest resources.
"We have a lot of good painters in this area, and you can learn a lot from the painters in this area just by watching them, coming together as a community and painting together," Ellis said.
In addition to classes at the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, watercolor enthusiasts can connect with other artists through local organizations and community painting groups throughout the region.
