Square One Student Art Exhibit at SUMA

Roland Lee at Square One student exhibit SUMA art museum

I was one of the jurors for the new southern Utah High School art exhibit called "Square One." The brainchild of Jessica Farling, director of the Southern Utah Museum of Art, Square One represents all high schools in the souther part of Utah. Congratulations to all the young artists who made it. Their art is exciting and innovative.

2018-19 Utah Museums Traveling Exhibit

Roland Lee watercolor "Coal Creek" will be part of the 2019 Utah travellng exhibit

I am grateful to Fletcher Booth of the Utah Division of Arts and Museums for selecting my watercolor painting "Coal Creek," a painting of Cedar Mountain, to be part of the 2018-2019 traveling exhibit which will display first at the Utah State Capitol and at then at schools throughout Utah during the coming year.

Favorite Oil Painting

Janae chooses her favorite Roland Lee oil painting

A talented art student named Janae stopped by my art gallery for a visit and I asked her to choose a favorite painting. She chose "Virgin River Glow." I'm sure she will be a successful artist in the future.

High School Artists Shine with Watercolor

Roland Lee with art students at Valley High School. My demo painting is in the foreground

It was a pretty ambitious effort, but they all did pretty good. It was the first experience with watercolor painting for the art students at Valley High School. I was invited by Connie Goulding to spend a few hours working with her art classes. With assistance from my artist son Jon Lee, we worked through a little painting of pine trees and water. They were pretty pumped with their finished pieces and I think we are off to a good start.

2016 Zion National Park Plein Air Art Invitational Better Than Ever

A group watches as I paint at the Zion Lodge on Saturday

Wow. What a great week painting in Zion! Wonderful weather, awesome fall colors, and a great group of art lovers to appreciate it all. This was the eighth year of the Zion National Park Plein Air Art Invitational. I have been fortunate to participate in all eight events and this was the best year yet. I enjoyed the many people who watched my demonstration painting and live painting at the Saturday quick draw. I hope it was fun for everyone. I met lots of wonderful artists as well as some great collectors who purchased five of my paintings. Thanks to the Park Service people as well as the staff of the Zion National Park Foundation who organized the event. Proceeds will benefit the "Youth Initiative" in bringing disadvantaged youth into the park, and taking rangers out to the schools.

Lots of photos of the finished demo painting

The lucky auction winners of my Wednesday demo "Towers at One O'clock". Mr. and Mrs. David Baldridge.

Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Child purchased my plein air painting "Angel in the Morning."

Guest Artist at Valley High School

Art students at Valley High School in Orderville, working in their new sketchbooks

Last week I was invited to be a guest instructor at my grandson, Travis Lee's Valley High School in Orderville Utah. Art teacher Connie Goulding asked me to visit two of her art classes and teach them how to use their new sketchbooks. I had a great time and found out this is a very good group of artists. Their projects were outstanding, and they all willingly participated in the exercises I gave them to help them learn to see with their artists brain. I have no doubt we will see some great sketchbook drawings in the coming weeks.

Roland Lee teaching art class at Valley High School

Art students working on drawing exercise learning to see values

Drawing is serious business!

Some of Valley High's best art students at work

A group of serious art students

Roland Lee teaching drawing skills at Valley High School

Guest artists Roland Lee demonstrating drawing techniques in Connie Goulding's art class at Valley High School.

Budding Artists Visit My Studio

My daughter's friend Kirstin Anderson teaches weekly art classes to children in Cedar City, Utah. She brought some of the students to St. George today for a visit to my studio and gallery, as well as make some pottery, and visit the St. George Art Museum. The young people were interested in my watercolor paintings, but especially liked the travel sketch books. They had lots of good questions and it was fun talking to them.

Kirstin Anderson's art students visit the Roland Lee Studio and Gallery

Kids Get to Paint at Discovery Day in Zion National Park

Artist Roland Lee let Dallin Taylor add a few brushstrokes to his plein air painting during Discovery Day. Plenty of paints and palettes were on hand for families to try out and Dallin was all grins when he got to paint on Roland's painting.

Dallin Taylor poses with Roland Lee in front of the painting he helped paint at Discovery Day in Zion National Park

Three of my favorite National Park Superintendents. Left to right: Paul Roelandt from Cedar Breaks; John Hiscock from Pipe Spring; and Jock Whitworth from Zion National Park.

Barb Graves, the education coordinator for Zion National Park with Roland Lee. Barb is responsible for implementing the Youth Education Initiative, sponsored by the Zion National Park Foundation. Funds raised by the foundation help bring youth into the national parks. 

This past week was National Park Week and visitors received free entrance to Zion National park. To celebrate, Zion Park had a wonderful "Discovery Day" with free activities aimed at kids and families. There were lots of displays and demonstrations from Zion, Cedar Breaks, and Pipe Spring National Monuments with interpretive rangers on hand to answer questions. The old time fiddlers pitched in to provide music, and the weather cooperated with plenty of sunshine. Several of the artists who will participate in the "Footsteps of Thomas Moran" plein air competition in November were on hand to demonstrate their skills. Visitors were excited to watch the painters work on location, and some of the artists even let the kids try their hand with a brush. All in all it was a fun day and great experience.

Art for Kids at Panorama Elementary School

Oh, the energy of 60 second-graders!

How do you choose from so many hands raised? Do I look a little dazed?

Listening to the children read during recess

Do these kids look happy? Miss Ridd's class with their own boxes of art cards.

I was invited to talk to the young children at Panorama Elementary School in Washington recently. Alice Blair, an arts advocate who helps the second grade students with reading skills, invited me to share some thoughts with these "budding" artists. Lacey Ridd was the host teacher and her class was joined by two others to fill the room with over 60 eager and enthusiastic kids! I am always amazed at the depth of understanding that the kids have. They asked thoughtful and well-worded questions about my career and what they could do to become artists. I encouraged them to draw what they see and to get out and enjoy our beautiful world. After presenting a powerpoint demonstration I gave each of them a box of my art cards and encouraged them to write and draw in them. I was pretty tired afterward, and once again amazed at their energy and the ability of their teachers to keep up with them day after day.

Art Visit for Miss Bowler's Third Grade Class

An excited third grade class busily works on their art

My niece Lizzy Bowler invited me to visit her third grade class at Valley Charter School this morning and share a little about being an artist. Afterwards I was totally exhausted and very appreciative of all the wonderful teachers who have the energy to teach our children. The kids were all enthusiastic, interested, and asked tons of great questions -- even though we had to resort to occasional rounds of "One, two three...look at me" to quiet their excited chatter. But like most young people, they were eager to get their hands on pencils and crayons and show me their creations. After telling them about my trip to the town of Giethoorn Holland (where there are no cars or roads, only canals and boats) I asked them to draw what they thought it would be like to live there. Their imaginations ran wild as they concocted paintings of canal boats with them and their friends at the helm. Each wanted to show me what they had made, get my autograph, and give me a hug before reluctantly heading out to recess. It just reminded me that all children love to draw. They don't need instruction, just tools and paper to keep them happily busy for hours. Hmmm, sounds just like me! Maybe I never did grow up after all.