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

Cache Valley Watercolor Workshop this Weekend

We're headed to Logan Utah this weekend to teach a watercolor workshop for the Cache Valley Watercolor Group, a division of the Utah Watercolor Society. I had a chance to make a watercolor presentation to them last Spring, and they invited me back for a workshop. I'm looking forward to getting to know my artist/friends up north a little better. Contact Sherrill Gordon at 435-881-4718 for more information or see the workshop page of my website.

New Lake Powell Painting Ready for Art Show

I'm finishing a couple more Lake Powell paintings for my one-man-show on November 12. This painting carries a lot of the feeling I have for the Lake. I love it when the waters are still in early morning or early evening, and the sun bathes the rocks in intense warm light. It makes the reflections spectacular.

Art Talk in Richfield Utah

I enjoyed traveling to Richfield, UT last Friday night to make a powerpoint presentation about "Art Principals of Painting." My good friend and artist, Lillie Jones made the invitation and the event was sponsored by Artworks of Sevier and the Staples Art Gallery. It was great to meet new artist-friends and get better acquainted with the wonderful artists of the Sevier Valley. I hadn't realized there was such a large group of accomplished artists there.



I was treated royally. President Rachel Olsen, a fine watercolorist, made the introductions and presented me with a decorated box filled with special homemade treats from the area including bread, applesauce, apple butter and salsa, plus beef jerky, farm eggs, and fresh fruit. Now that is a gift I can really get into! Plus Rachel gave me a nice set of her art cards. What a beautiful thoughtful gesture.


On Saturday I visited the Staples Art Gallery in Elsinore, which is run as a cooperative effort by the artists. The gallery is in a former home, and artwork is carefully displayed in every room. Each month a different artist is featured in the largest display room on a rotating basis. Thanks to artist Barth Hansen for opening the gallery and showing me around.

Thanks to everyone who came to the talk, and especially to those who made such a great effort to organize and publicize the event. I look forward to returning to the Richfield area next year for a two-day watercolor painting workshop.

New Paintings Ready for Nov 12 One Man Show

I finally completed the two paintings of Lake Powell I have been working on for several weeks. I will send them off for framing tomorrow. They will be exhibited in my one-man-show "New Views - Canyon Country Paintings by Roland Lee" coming up November 12 through December 31, 2009 at the Mission Gallery in St. George.

I photographed both paintings as I worked on them and posted demonstrations on my web site, if you'd like to check out my painting process.

"Reflections of Solitude"
21 x 29 watercolor

I worked on this painting during the St. George downtown gallery walk last week. It drew lots of attention. So here it is finished. Click to see demo



"Mirrors of Stone"
21 x 29 watercolor
If you check out the watercolor demonstration on my website you will see how I used techniques of negative painting in the foreground as well as wet-into-wet and drybrush techniques. Click to see demo

Art Collectors Share Love of Zion National Park

I always enjoy visiting with kindred spirits. Today a nice couple, Noel and Susan Williams stopped by the Mission Gallery and I could see right away that we shared a common love of Zion National Park. They were in southern Utah for a special reunion of past park employees as part of the Zion Centennial Celebration. We swapped stories about Zion, it's trails, cliffs, peace, and beauty. In the end they left with a couple of my original paintings.


This painting, "Five Minutes of Fame," was selected to tour the nation with the "Paint the Parks Top 100" show. Noel and Susan Williams purchased this painting for their home.



Noel and Susan also purchased this small painting of the Eagle Crags, a prominent peak seen as you approach Zion National Park's West entrance.

Jim Jones Documentary and New Paintings Premiered at SUU

I was fortunate to attend the opening of the new Jim Jones exhibit last weekend at Southern Utah University. The show included a number of new large landscape paintings of Zion National Park and The Grand Canyon. Wow, what a spectacular presentation from a fantastic artist. I loved the quote by a young girl who commented "I like your paintings because I can see so far." That pretty much sums up the vistas that Jimmie Jones portrays in his enourmous oil paintings. Prior to the show we attended the premiere showing of a new documentary film about Jones' life and work. Jones recently donated his estate home on the cliffs above Rockville, along with a suite of 14 new paintings to Southern Utah University. The university also unveiled plans for the new Southern Utah Museum of Art to be built on the campus.

Above: One of Jones' big landscapes of the Grand Canyon