“Lillies” by Bev Drew Kindley
Medium: Watercolor on Panel
Size: 48″ x 30″ x .25″
“Among the best of my experiments with watercolor on gesso primed boards, these pale, ethereal lilies called for free flow of color in the spaces between. It had to be painted flat, quickly, with sprinkling of salt and water drops for textures, then left to dry. Later, it was carefully coated with layers of ultraviolet resistant acrylic varnish.” –Bev
“Dune Grass” by Bev Drew Kindley
Medium: Watercolor on Panel
Size: 48″ x 30″ x .25″
“One of my first enthusiastic celebrations of the sand dunes at along the North coast of Oregon. Over the years I have found many cozy nooks to photo, study and paint the graceful, tough dune grass. This one is painted in watercolor on a gesso primed panel with touches of acrylic paint, then coated with layers of ultraviolet resistant acrylic varnish.”— Bev
“Countryside Garden” by Bev Drew Kindley
Medium: Watercolor on Canvas
Size: 18″ x 24″ x .75
“Cyclamen” by Bev Drew Kindley
Medium: Watercolor on Gessoed panel
Size: 10″ x 10″ x .25″
My Journey with Watercolor
Bev Drew Kindley
Recording my impressions through photos and painting was intriguing from an early age. With few resources in my small hometown I drew often, sometimes using colored pencils over watercolor. College teachers encouraged an exciting, free approach with watercolor that led me to lifelong artistic experimentation.
A number of my favorite watercolors on paper were completed in short, focused sessions. However, the paintings that were difficult to finish in the same spirit led to experimenting with watercolor on acrylic primed surfaces. Long before absorbent boards and canvases were available I discovered that adding marble dust to white paint created surfaces that accepted watermedia in interesting ways and could be used like an eraser to let images evolve.
Also, painting large watercolors varnished with clear acrylic avoided the use of heavy reflective glass. (My 48”x 30” watercolor “Lilies” was painted on an acrylic primed board using salt and water drops for special textures. “Dune Grass” was modified with white gesso added to watercolor. “Countryside Garden” was painted with watercolor on an 18”x 24” canvas.)
Later, I began painting smaller when I found that painting outdoors was a richer experience because I could see more colors, feel the environment and be inspired by painting with other artists. Now, while enjoying painting on site, I have once again begun experimenting with watercolor combined with acrylic mediums on gesso primed surfaces especially for unique textures and fresh colors. ( Like “Cyclamen”, 12”x 12”)
Always inspired by outdoor scenes and nature’s growing things, I want to share the sense of life and joy I feel through the spontaneous nature of water and paint. My painting is a celebration of our precious environment, an act of mindfulness and a poem of gratitude. Discovering ways to express this is my journey.
Bev Drew Kindley:
Learning to paint has been an on-going process since I first began drawing, with further education from Portland State University, Portland Community College and individual workshops…I have been always curious and fascinated with the power of the individual to create.
Exhibiting throughout Oregon, as well as, painting the coastal areas, has encouraged my productivity and experimenting with different medias– oil, gouache, watercolor, pastel and others.
I have taught painting classes and worked in the art business for quite some time. At present, my greater enthusiasm is painting “en plein air”, a French term, meaning to paint working outdoors, and capturing the light without a short time frame because of the immediacy of the experience, as well as, the abundance of visual information along with the possibility of sudden breakthroughs in methods due to improvising.
All of my recent work begins with the experience of the real location, later finished in the studio, oftentimes with the aid of sketches and photos of the location.”
Education:
Portland State University, degrees in Art and Philosophy
Portland Community College, degree in Art
Independent studies and workshops, including Al Brouilette
For more about Bev Drew Kindley, please visit http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com/ …artists/ …Bev Drew Kindley
