Painting of Southern Utah Cliffs

The weather has been so beautiful here the last few days, I have been dying to get out in the desert. So today I did the next best thing. I painted our wonderful southern Utah cliffs. This view is near the mouth of Snow Canyon. I love the way the sun lights up the cliffs and casts long purple shadows across the desert.

Click here for information on purchasing this Roland Lee painting of Southern Utah cliffs

Demonstration Painting of Desert Dance

This is the painting I started on Tuesday as a demonstration for the elementary school kids at the art museum. I really only got the sky and the sand laid in during the time I had with them, and pretty much painted the rest from my imagination. Of course I spend so much time in the red sands around St. George that a painting like this comes naturally to me. I especially like the soft colors in the sky which was created by letting the pigments mingle through a single wet in wet wash. The whole sky took about 5 minutes.

Museum Talk to High School Leadership Students

I was invited to speak to three groups of high school students at the St. George Art Museum today. The students were part of a special Leadership Program sponsored by Pine View High School. Earlier in the day they had participated in a downtown historical tour of St. George to learn about the pioneers who had come before them. They ended the tour at the St. George Art Museum which was built from an old Sugar Beet Warehouse adjacent to the newly restored Pioneer Opera House. I explained to them that we owed a great debt to those who had gone before us, and we can learn from the past as we prepare to be leaders in the future. I showed them a painting of the old St. George Pioneer Opera House that I had done, showing how the scene may have looked in the late 1800's. I also showed my travel sketchbooks, explaining how important it is to record our own thoughts and feelings about our experiences. They were fascinated by the sketchbooks. As they left I gave each student a box of Art Cards featuring my paintings. It was a good group of intelligent and well-behaved students.

Traveling Exhibit of Paint the Parks Top 100

I was fortunate to have a painting selected earlier this year for Paint America's Paint the Parks Top 100 and another selected for the the Mini Top 50. The Show will travel during 2008. Here is the schedule of venues where the paintings can be viewed:

8-1-07 to 9-15-07
Westboro Fine Arts
3125 SW Huntoon
Topeka, KS USA 66604

4-9-08 to 5-15-08
Kolb Studio, Grand Canyon, AZ
Grand Canyon Association
P.O. Box 399
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023
(928) 638-2481
(800) 858-2808 [toll-free in U.S.]

6-6-08 to 8-09-08
St. George Art Museum
47 East 200 North
St. George, UT 84770
Deborah Reeder, Art Museum Manager
Telephone 435-634-5942

Watercolor Painting Demonstration at St. George Art Museum

One of the things I really like about the St. George Art Museum is their willingness to reach out to the community. I often accept the invitation to speak, or present watercolor painting demonstrations to school and community groups there. This morning I made presentations to two fourth grade groups of 10- and 11-year-olds. I'm always amazed at the thinking ability and interest levels of today's kids. This great group was no exception. Even though it took me out of my painting studio for half a day, I feel I'm helping make a little contribution to the future generations of artists.

Painting of Bavarian Street Scene

This is the final painting in the series I've been working on the past month from my European travels in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It's been fun to dip into my sketchbook drawings and photos to renew my memories of that grand trip. This painting features a street scene in Fusson, Germany, the location of King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle.

Painting of Fusson Germany purchase information

Stone Barn Painting of Europe

The inspiration for this painting was a photo I shot while hiking in the European countryside. What caught my attention was the way the light streaked in from the left and warmed up the grassy field and cast a red glow on the shingles of this stone barn. I added the stone wall for interest.

Painting of Stone Barn purchase information

Best of Show Award Visual Arts Association

I was pleased to receive the Best of Show Award at the 2007 Fall exhibit of the Visual Arts Association. My entry, "Thawing Out" is a transparent watercolor painting of a snow scene near Annabella Utah. The same painting also received an award previously this year at the Shenandoah Invitational at Southern Virginia University.

Best of Show Southern Utah Watercolor Society

Last night I was honored to receive the Best of Show award at the annual Fall juried exhibit of the Southern Utah Watercolor Society. The society, which consists of about 80 active members, is one of the more vital watercolor groups I've been involved with, hosting many workshops and exhibits annually. I was surprised and honored when the award was announced by Southern Utah Watercolor Society President Dick Rose for my painting "Stone Buttress", a transparent watercolor painting of Zion National Park, Kolob Fingers section. The watercolor exhibit will continue through December 22, 2007 at the St. George Art Museum 47 East 200 North, St. George, Utah 84770. Telephone 435-627-4525.

Watercolor Painting Workshop

I just finished up teaching a watercolor painting workshop with a great group of fellow artists. I love getting to know artists from many parts of the country and seeing the wide variety of styles they use. this class included: Dan Ludwig from New Mexico; Janice Jones from Heber, Utah; Stanley Cyr from Minnesota; John Iverson from St. George, Utah; Peggy Peterson, Joanne Johansen, Diane Taterka and Barb Worley all from Mesquite, Nevada.



Janice Jones purchased this painting of a Utah snowfall during the watercolor painting workshop. I used the painting as an example while demonstrating how to paint snow in watercolor as part of the watercolor workshop.

Green Shutters - Watercolor Painting of Switzerland

I zoomed in on a set of green shutters framing the windows of this large Swiss home. It seemed right to add the flowers since they are everywhere in Europe. I used the technique of softening the distance mountains and trees by creating hazy edges and less detail. This effect, called aerial perspective, enhances the sense of depth in a painting.

Click for information on purchasing this painting of Switzerland

Watercolor Painting of Swiss Chalet

On this little painting I just loosened up quite a bit on the sky and the hillside field, letting the brushstrokes tell the story. Examining the field you can see evidence of the backpainting or negative painting technique I use frequently in my landscapes.

Looking closely you can see the rough pencil sketch on Arches watercolor paper. I use very loose washes for the sky.

Now I begin tightening up the edges by using darker glazes over the light passages. Since the chalet is darker than the sky I can paint right over it. click to see painting of Swiss Chalet on my website

New Painting of a European Country Garden

I'm still working on a series of small painting of the European countryside from sketchbook drawings I did on previous visits. I came upon this scene while taking a walk in the countryside in Switzerland. The vegetable garden was lush and rich, while the flowers added just the touch of color and vibrancy the scene needed. Although the inspiration came from a trip to Switzerland, the scene could really be almost anywhere in the European countryside.

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The painting begins with a small thumbnail sketch to help me determine the overall composition and value relationships.

I am painting on Arches 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper which is stapled to a board and trimmed with tape. After lightly sketching in the outlines with a 4H pencil, I begin by laying in loose washes of color wet in wet.

While preserving the whites in key areas I continue to layer on glazes to identify edges. As I use more drybrush techniques, the objects begin to come into focus.

Painting of an Autumn Farm in Vermont

I love painting the pastoral New England countryside, especially in the fall. We have visited Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire many times to paint the fall colors. This painting is based on a farm I found in upstate Vermont, although I have changed many elements of the scene to capture the warm glow and peaceful feeling I was looking for.

Click here for Purchase information for my painting of Autumn Farm in Vermont