Zion National Park Show opens today

"Beneath the Watchman" by Roland Lee
Today was the opening of the first event in the 2011 "In the Footsteps of thomas Moran" plein air competition and exhibit. Each participating artist submitted studio paintings which will be on display now through the end of the show. If you are in Zion National Park between now and then be sure to stop by the Human History Museum to view the exhibit. And plan to be there the first week of November for the plein air competition and sale.

Following in the Footsteps of Thomas Moran

Just in time! I finished this new painting today just in time to get it up to Zion National Park for the kick-off of the art event of the year. Now in it's third year the "In the Footsteps of Thomas Moran" plein air art event draws hundreds of collectors who enjoy watching 24 artists work on location in the park. A special pre-show begins on September 20, 2011 featuring studio pieces by the artists on display in the Zion National Park Human History Museum. The Thomas Moran event also includes a "wet-paint sale", a Quick draw and auction, along with special workshops and demos by the participating artists. For a complete schedule click the link below:
Thomas Moran Plein Air Invitational

Salt Lake City Workshop

It's always great to meet new artists at my workshops. And it's nice to see my old artist friends as well. That was the case at my latest workshop in Salt Lake City where 14 artists from several states enjoyed a couple of days together studying the wily ways of watercolor. The first day of the workshop we concentrated on the techniques of wet-into-wet, allowing pigments to mingle on the paper instead of the palette. The paintings were magnificent as each artist adapted the approach to their unique vision. The second day we wrestled with the technique of negative painting and preserving the whites. This workshop group was certainly up to the task and the work they produced was amazing.

Class participants include: Mark Rose, Marjorie Anderson, Chris Cameron, Joanne Hamm, Tammy Northrup, Sue Ross, Bill Porter, Heidi Vriens, Sharon Cannon, Margaret Pugsley, Dixie Stoddard, Bessan Swanson, Tina Howard.

Watercolor Workshop at Tuacahn

I enjoyed three days with a lovely group of artists this past week at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Southern Utah. It was a diverse group of people ranging from experienced art teachers to a talented 12-year old from Maine. But we had fun as I tried to impress upon them the importance of learning to paint with the artist's brain. The facilities at Tuacahn were wonderful and organizer Penny Beckstrand was a great help to us. Students included: Jill Fugal, Pleasant Grove; Pamela Jones, Big Pine CA; Mark Rose, American Falls, Idaho; Abby Windover, Maine; Linda Huntzinger, Provo, UT; LuAnne Williams, Colorado City, AZ; Emily Thomas, Lehi, UT; Amber Cosby, St. George UT; Paul Lillywhite, St. George, UT; Karen Pool, UT.


Demonstrating a small desert watercolor scene for the students, using a three-minute sky.


The Tuacahn classroom worked out very well.


Artists hard at work. Their teacher really cracked the whip on them!



Mark Rose and I went up to Snow Canyon to do a little sketching. I did this small painting of the scene behind Mark.

Good Friends from England

My good friends Derrick and Barbara Hartley stopped in for a delightful visit at the Mission Gallery. From Sedburgh England, they have hosted us at their lovely country home in the Yorkshire Dales area on several occasions. This time we hosted them at our cabin at Zion National Park. They were joined by their son and daughter in law Ruskin and Ashley Hartley, and Barbara and Jim Aikens. While in the gallery they chose a small landscape painting to take home with them to England.

(Back row) Trisha Eves, Barbara Aikens, Roland Lee, Nellie Lee. (Front row) Barbara Hartley, Derrick Hartley, Ashley Hartley and Emerson Hartley on her lap.

Collectors Purchase Award-winning Painting

Former collectors Jim and Linda Szalay have been stewing over one of my paintings for some time. Finally, they decided they just had to have "Reflections of Solitude" for their collection after viewing it over and over on my website. One of my personal favorite paintings, "Reflections of Solitude" was selected for several national competitions including the National Watercolor Society, The Springville Art Museum Spring Salon, The Utah Watercolor Society and others. It received awards from two of those competitions.

San Jose Watercolor Workshop

We just concluded a great workshop in San Jose. I was joined by 20 really good artists this past week for a watercolor workshop sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society. I met lots of new friends as we worked on the finer techniques of watercolor. Thanks to Jeanne Rousseau and Jane Kwant for organizing the event and making sure things went smoothly. Also congratulations to Doug Yirka, Jeanne, and Keiko O'Leary on their purchases of new original Roland Lee paintings. We look forward to our next workshop in 2014.

New Paintings of Snow Canyon and Sand Hollow Reservoir

Here are a couple of new paintings I completed recently. I thought I'd post them before heading off to California to teach a five-day watercolor workshop for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society in San Jose.


Nellie and I took our tent to Snow Canyon recently and camped overnight. The stars were great, but the sunrise was even better. This painting is a result of that campout.


Sand Hollow Reservoir in southern Utah is one of my favorite bass fishing lakes (as you might have read in my last post.) But it also has spectacular scenery as well. This painting features the big skies that always present a perfect backdrop to the scene. Both these paintings are on display at the Mission Gallery in St. George.

Aquatic Research

Okay, every artist needs a break from the easel. I tell my students you've got to fill the bucket before you can empty it back in the studio. last night my brother in law Robert invited me and my son Jon to participate in a little "aquatic research" at Sand Hollow Reservoir. As you can see by the photo our efforts were effective. Of course we practice "Catch and release" so in order to show two fish at once, we had to catch two at the same time which we did. We call it "Doubles" and it only happens when all the stars are lined up correctly, the moon is right, and you are very good fishermen. Tah dah!

Santa Clara Invitational Art Show

The Santa Clara Art Invitational last weekend drew a nice crowd of art collectors for the fourth annual show. About 24 artists were present to display their art and join together for a Saturday paint-out and auction. My auction piece was purchased by collector Chuck Norton.



Inside the Town Hall art collectors could stroll through displays from the participating artists including both studio and plein air paintings. Also on display were a number of fine sculpture pieces.Participating artists included Julie Rogers, David Koch, Steve McGinty, Fred Howard, Robert Call, Roland Lee, Darwin Dower, L'Deane Trueblood, Annette Everett, Kaziah Hancock(The goat Lady), Elva Malin, Marty Ricks. Rett Ashby, Kelly Donovan, Charles Dayton, Kieth Bond, J. Kirk Richards, Simon Winegar, Jeffery Pugh, Steven Lee Adams, Ken Harris, Joni Flint, Paul Graf, Matt Rogers, Robert McFarland, Richard Horrocks, and McGarren Flack.

I got a kick out of this "ladder-easel" setup that Marty Ricks was using. He said it worked better than his $500 easel which kept breaking. He also thought the step shelves were a nice feature, allowing plenty of room for storing equipment and drinks.


During the day collectors could bid on their favorite artworks in a silent auction. At the end of the day there was a scramble to get the last bid down.