Chris Wilson, Watercolor Artist
I paint because I am drawn to the beautiful simplicity of light in creating shape, color, and contrast. I picked watercolor because I thought if I could master capturing the light with it, I could keep my paintings simple without getting fussy. Watercolor is anything but simple, but if you do it well, it appears just that. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Indiana University in 1983. I thought I would teach in the public schools, but found a job in Dallas working as a commercial artist for a small corporation. Then there were many years of raising kids and volunteering when I stored the art supplies in the attic, but it was during that period that I became interested in watercolor. Each year our family took a beach vacation in Florida where local artists captured the essence of the sky and ocean and children playing in the sand with watercolor. Later when my kids went off to college, I joined an adult watercolor class. There was so much to learn about interpreting what I saw through this medium, and I am still learning, even though now I am teaching that class. I may paint a variety of subjects, but I am consistently striving to find the simplicity of light in creating its shapes, color and contrast. My goal in painting is to share what I find beautiful in these elements with others.