Wehrman likes the level of precision that colored pencil allows. It’s also portable, versatile, and clean. Additionally, color pencil can be applied to a variety of surfaces such as wood or porcelain, which she uses in her work. Recently, Wehrman has been experimenting on fabric, where she is learning to incorporate silk ribbon embroidery. “This is really different,” she said about adding a third-dimensional element.

Upon viewing Harry Starr’s landscape photography, one is struck by the captured beauty within his work. “Fall Blanket” depicts a barn isolated within a field of early November snow. The colors are stark – red barn, white snow. And yet, there is a textural softness to the piece that pulls you in, revealing hints of autumn- leaves and sticks momentarily suspended, insulated by the sudden burst of weather.

One of the ways to take one’s art to the next level may be hidden in the shadows. When asked to identify the color of a shadow, it is common to respond that it would be a darker color of whatever is in shadow. A shadow of a tree on green grass would be a darker green. A shadow of the same tree on dirt would be a darker brown.

What do you think about when you hear the word nature? Green, soothing, fresh, natural? I am a botanical artist whose greatest joy is rendering what Mother Nature so artfully created. The color combinations are second to none. The curves and intricacies of flowers intrigue me. Even faded flowers take on a new softer hue. They are so beautiful, even at the end.

Have you noticed how the world looks a little different from season to season?  It isn’t just the presence or absence of leaves and snow. The light itself seems to take on a different look.  Consider the comments we often hear about a winter day being “clear and crisp” or the “light being thin.”

Perfectionism is the counterfeit of excellence. It demands good results now, while pursuing excellence aims for progress, not perfection.

Perfectionism makes it hard to start painting (“What if it doesn’t come out well?”) and hard to finish one (“It’s not good enough, I have to keep painting on it.”).

Ferguson, Mo. native Lisa Perez returned to the St. Louis area in 2020, retiring from a career in marketing on the West Coast. The move turned out to be more than geographical.

“I missed painting,” Perez said.

Shortly after her arrival she rented studio space in Webster Groves and embarked upon a new journey --rediscovering her passion for art instilled in her as a child. “We were always looking at paintings and talking about painting,” Perez said of her family.

Anne Molasky was among the St. Louis-area painters highlighted at the recent national juried RepreSENSATATIONAL show. Her featured work, Goddess in the Making, is part of her evolving Goddess Within series of large-scale portraits that explore feminine strength and empowerment within a natural setting.

The temperature was in the upper 90s when Judy Stroup set out to paint the willow tree and surrounding grasses near the riverbank at Cliff Cave Park. The park’s main shelter provided just enough relief to make painting bearable. Then came the gift of breeze.