Firth in my Imagination Print

I am a self-taught amateur watercolor painter. I love painting landscapes because I love God's wonderful creation and I want to somehow express that beauty and mystery through my own humble creations. I began painting with watercolor in late 2013. I try to paint fairly regularly, but I do go through periodic dry spells. I did some acrylic painting in high school and college, back in the 1970s and early 1980s, but nothing between then and 2013. My first exposure to watercolors was a book in the public library by Zoltan Szabo. I was awstruck by the way he captured the immediate beauty of nature with what looked like just a few strokes of color. I decided then that I wanted to paint like that, but I've never been able to come close to his greatness. After picking up watercolors in 2013, I began studying the works of other watercolor masters, and I've been greatly influenced by many of them, even if their work is not directly reflected in my own pitiful efforts. Some of the artists I look to and follow are: Sterling Edwards (a disciple of Szabo) Sergey Temerev (Master of Skies and Clouds) Stanislaw Zoladz (Master of Realistic Landscapes) Michal Suffczynski (Master of Snow and Ice) Carl Purcell (Master of color in landscapes) Ernie Verdine (Master of Texture in Landscapes) Joseph Allerman (Master of Barns and Making It Look Easy) Dean Mitchell (Master of All Things Watercolor) Other artists that I love and try to emulate sometimes: John Blockley Anne Blockley John William Tristan David Howell Charles Warren Eaton Percy French Andrew Wyeth JMW Turner Ray Hendershot I am a member of the Northwest Watercolor Society and a former member of the Sangamon Watercolor Society.