Best of Show Award at Southern Utah Watercolor Society Fall Exhibit

We attended the opening of the Fall Watercolor Competition of the Southern Utah Watercolor Society tonight in Mesquite Nevada. A large group of artists from southern Utah traveled down to the opening which was held at the Mesquite Art Center, and hosted by some wonderful volunteers. I was fortunate to win Best of Show for my painting "Scotney Castle" which came with a nice cash prize. I was impressed by the body of work that was there and was proud of our artists for the quality of the presentation. Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck and several members of the City Council were in attendance and their support of the arts is evident in the nice arts facilities there.

Artist Jeff Ham Discusses His Colorful Paintings

Artist Jeff Ham spoke about his work tonight at the St. George Art Museum to a group of eager listeners. Jeffs acrylic on canvas paintings feature large-scale compositions characterized by strong shapes and powerful design. His unique style provides a great avenue for his thoughtful ideas about man and nature. He is in many southwest galleries and his work was featured recently in Western Art Collector magazine.

A Visit with Watercolorist Tony Couch

Tony Couch and I had a chance to visit for a few minutes after his watercolor demonstration in Hurricane Utah

The Hurricane Valley Art Alliance scheduled a week-long workshop with well-known watercolorist Tony Couch this week, and the Southern Utah Watercolor Society co-sponsored a demonstration last night. Tony is a prolific painter and completed a wonderful demonstration painting in a couple of hours. He has influenced literally thousands of aspiring artists over the years through his books and workshops. Congratulations to Warren and Carol Larson for their hard work in organizing the event.

Thanks to everyone who came to my art show tonight

Standing by my new painting "Stillness on the Water" a watercolor painting of Lake Powell.

We had a great time tonight at the opening reception for my art show "Roland Lee's Canyon country - New Views." Jane Juber had the gallery festooned in Holiday lights and decorated with beautiful fall leaves. We had a wonderful turnout of well-wishers and buyers, and as always, it was fun to just chat about the thing I love most -- art!


The Mission Gallery all decked out in Christmas decorations


Paula Bell purchased my painting, "Snow Canyon Vista."

Ready for my Art Show Thursday Night at Mission Gallery

All my paintings are now framed and delivered to the Mission Gallery for one-man show Thursday evening November 12. Those who attend will see a number of new paintings including some very large landscapes of Lake Powell, Zion National Park, and Cedar Mountain. Stop by and say hello if you get a chance. I'll be there from 6pm until 9pm to answer questions. Refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome.

Workshop Demo with Ian Ramsay

Noted watercolorist Ian Ramsay gave a watercolor workshop for the Utah Watercolor Society last week in Salt Lake City. He did two watercolor painting demonstrations -- one of a rustic harbor scene, and the other of an Oregon town view. About 14 artists were present at the workshop and enjoyed his presentation.

"How to Paint Autumn Foliage" Topic of November Watercolor Workshop

"Painting the Fall Foliage in Watercolor" was the general theme of my two-day watercolor workshop that concluded today in St. George. Sponsored by Becky Whitney at A passion for Painting Studio, the workshop combined both drawing and painting indoors and out as we studied negative painting and learning to see the light in nature. This was an exceptional group of painters with a lot of combined experience, so we accomplished a lot in two days.
See more photos from the November 2009 watercolor workshop

Becky Whitney, an accomplished oil painter and teacher caught by the camera actually painting in watercolor. Glory be!

Watch for This Postcard in the Mail - Roland Lee's Canyon Country Art Show Nov. 12

Keep an eye out for this postcard which will be coming in the mail soon to many of my Utah art collectors. My new art show opens at the Mission Gallery in St. George, Utah on Thursday November 12, 2009. The reception begins at 6pm. I am pretty excited about my new Lake Powell paintings and new paintings of Zion National Park. If you are in town, please stop by. We'd love to see you. Also if you'd like to sign up for future mailings please shoot me an email with your contact information.

More information about the Roland Lee Art Show "Canyon Country - New Views."

Great Autumn Workshop for Cache Valley Watercolor Group

What a glorious time to be in Cache Valley Utah. We traveled to Logan for a workshop last Friday and Saturday sponsored by the Cache Valley chapter of the Utah Watercolor Society. Sherrill Gordon organized the event and let us stay in their lovely home Friday night, and her husband Jim fixed a wonderful French Toast breakfast to get us started right.


Our theme was painting the Autumn landscape an emphasis on learning to see light and shadow in nature. This was a particularly proficient group of experienced artists and we covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. We were able to complete several paintings and get a number of others started. I'm looking forward to returning next year for a longer workshop.



See more photos at Cache Valley WC blog