Rainy Watercolor Workshop in Zion

Singing in the rain. Karen Bettilyon, Julie Strong, and Sally Valiton duck for cover during the Roland Lee watercolor painting workshop

Abraham and Isaac poke their heads into the clouds as rain begins to fall in Zion National Park.

We had great fun the past two days in my fall plein air watercolor workshop. Awesome painters, and amazing weather kept us on our toes, as we scrambled for umbrellas and cover. We generally don't get too much rain in this part of the desert, but we received a fair amount today and yesterday which will enhance an already healthy wildflower crop.

Connie Madsen at work in Snow Canyon. View through a sandstone keyhole.

Mark Gamett, from Las Vegas Nevada, with his Strada Easel setup purchased at the Monterey Plein Air Convention last month.

Julie Strong from Canada was smart enough to bring an umbrella to protect her wonderful sketchbook studies

Steve Cherry was well equipped for outdoor painting. His sketchbook studies were awesome.

Thursday we got in a sketching stop at the Pioneer Park desert reserve above St. George, then spent the afternoon painting in Snow Canyon, tucked up against the red rocks.  Everyone got right to work as the wind began to howl, and the rain clouds moved in. Most of us made good progress on our paintings in spite of a few rain showers.

Mark Rose, from Idaho works on a value study in his sketchbook prior to starting  a watercolor painting in Snow Canyon State Park. He is using a Sienna pochade paint box.

Sally Valiton from Ridgecrest California pulls a hood over hear head but keeps on working as rain begins. She is using a Sienna Pochade Box and easel.

With dark clouds hovering and a prediction of rain, we drove to Zion National Park hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. We set up our easels near the falls at Court of the Patriarchs. The clouds broke just long enough to whet our appetites as we quickly dove into our paintings. Umbrellas and parkas came out as the rains began, but we scurried for cover under big cotton wood trees when giant hail stones began to pelt us. We hung around like stalwart pioneers as the weather got colder and we got wetter. Finally we gave in to a warm lunch at the Zion lodge, followed by a stopover at the marvelous Lafave Gallery in Springdale. We finished the day painting back in the studio, tired and happy.

Watercolor Painting Demonstration at LaFave Gallery

Kathy LaFave (left) and Roland Lee with a blank sheet before beginning his watercolor painting demonstration at LaFave Gallery in Springdale Utah

The Zion Watchman 10 x 14 watercolor painting completed  during demonstration at Lafave Gallery

Members of the Copper Club, donors to the Natural History Museum of Utah watch as Roland Lee presents a demonstration at the Lafave Gallery in Springdale Utah

Friday night I was invited to do a private watercolor painting demonstration at the LaFave Gallery in Springdale Utah. Attending the presentation were about 50 members of the "Copper Club", who are donors to the Natural History Museum of Utah. They were spending a couple of days in Zion National Park. It was fun to talk to them while I painted and it was clear many of them were either art collectors or had painting experience because they were very interested in my techniques. I was pleased to have a new collector, Mr. Aoki, purchase one of my originals for his collection. Thanks to Kathy LaFave, whose gallery is absolutely first class.

Collectors Purchase Two More Original Roland Lee Paintings

Roland Lee (left) with Linda and Ken Crandall who purchase three of Roland Lee's paintings.

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Soltis Investment Group to do a live outdoor painting demonstration in Zion National Park for a Zion Canyon Field Institute gathering. It was a fun and intimate experience with a lively and interested group of people. Two of the attendees, Ken and Linda Crandall expressed interest in my demonstration painting and after a visit to LaFave Gallery in Springdale purchased two additional paintings. It is fun to get to know my collectors and spend time with them. I was also able to meet and share art ideas with their daughter Kimberly Crandall, who is a high school art teacher. Thank you Linda, Ken, and Kim.

"Ripples along the Virgin River" watercolor by Roland Lee 

"Springtime in Zion" Plein Air watercolor by Roland Lee

Roland Lee Drawing and Sketch Book Journaling Workshop

Roland Lee Drawing Class in St. George Utah

Learning to see edges as value changes

Eight accomplished artists joined together for my April class on Sketchbook drawing and journaling. It was a fun experience with some quality art produced. We started in the studio with a powerpoint demonstration and exercises to hone our ability to see values, edges, and shapes--key elements in drawing. The techniques I taught were designed to give them the tools they need to draw anything in nature. We then went outdoors to sketch on location at Green Gate Village, a delightful place with pioneer homes, buggies, and old cars. Ed and Lindy Sandstrom, the owners, are kind enough to allow our workshop participants to sketch there frequently. Those attending included: Kurtis Larsen, Mark Rose, Peggy Hackney, Elsa Howard, Sharon Bunderson, Shari Cannon, Yvonne Hatton and Carol Lopacinski.

Gathering for a group photo at Green Gate Village during Roland Lee Drawing Workshop

Carol Lopacinski getting ready to sketch at Green Gate Village

Kurtis Larsen working in his sketch book at Green Gate Village

Shari Cannon sketching on the lawn at Green Gate Village in St. George Utah

Artist Mark Gunn Rose drawing on location in his Watson Guptill Sketchbook

Peggy Hackney finds a comfortable place to sketch during Roland Lee Drawing Workshop in St. George

Elsa Howard, Peggy Hackney and Shari Cannon in the studio during a Roland Lee Drawing Workshop at A Passion for Painting

Sharon Bunderson, Yvonne Hatton, and Kurtis Larson in Roland Lee Drawing Workshop

Looking Back 35 Years to Art West Magazine

Irene Emett presents Roland Lee with a 1981 copy of Art West magazine which featured Roland's work as a new artist.

What a fun experience I had yesterday at the St. George Art Festival. A wonderful old friend Irene Emett stopped by my display with her family and presented me with a 1981 copy of "Art West" magazine that had a nice article on my paintings. She had purchased it while living in Montana and first became acquainted with my paintings. Later she moved to Veyo, Utah to live near her family and found out I was living in nearby Dammeron Valley. What was more fun, I was her Bishop in the LDS church. So we became personal friends. Well, I never knew about the magazine until she told me the story yesterday. Back in 1981, after a sell-out show at the Phippen Memorial show in Prescott Arizona, I was "discovered" by Art West magazine and they did a wonderful feature article on my work. It really helped my career as a new western artist. Wow, it's fun looking back, and it's great to have such good friends!

A 1981 issue of Art West Magazine with a feature article on artist Roland Lee

Sold! Painting Sales at St. George Art Festival

Art Collector Rachel Carignan and artist Roland Lee

"Pine Valley Autumn" original watercolor by Roland Lee 

Art Collector Rachel Carignan purchased my new painting "Pine Valley Autumn." Rachel has collected many other Roland Lee original watercolor paintings in the past. She was on hand at the presentation of my "Excellence in Art" award last night and picked up the painting today at the St. George Arts Festival. Thanks to all who stopped by my display today, and those who attended he award presentation last night at the City Council meeting.

Ken Andersen purchased two paintings from Roland Lee at the 2015 St. George Art Festival

New Watercolor Paintings for the St. George Art Festival

I will be exhibiting a number of new original paintings at the St. George outdoor Art Festival this Friday and Saturday in the St. George City Town Square. The show runs from about 10am until 6pm both days with hundreds of booth displays, plus food, music, and activities for the kids. The weather will be fantastic so come on down.

Zion National Park

Jacob Hamblin Home

Pine Valley Autumn, Pine Valley Chapel

Zion National Park, Temple of Sinawava

Zion National Park Painting

Live demonstration in Zion National Park

Yesterday I was invited to present a live painting demonstration in Zion National Park for Soltis Investments. While some of their conference guests were hiking the canyons, and others were horseback riding along the Virgin River, others chose to watch me paint! I'm not sure they made the best choice, but it was fun to be with them in an intimate corner of the park and share my thoughts and feelings about the role of art in our busy world. Those attending were gracious and seemed to enjoy the experience, as I did. Thanks to my good friend Lyman Hafen for helping me, and to Tyler Wilkinson for setting it up. And a special thanks to Ken and Linda Crandall, who purchased one of my originals, "Watchman Glow" at LaFave Gallery afterwards.

Roland Lee painting in Zion National park

The finished painting, "Springtime in Zion"

Painting Water in Watercolor - Workshop Painting Demonstrations

We enjoyed a pleasant painting workshop last week dealing with the nuances of painting water. I presented several of my favorite techniques for handling the tricky subject, including methods for lakes, rivers, and wet surfaces. We worked on several projects including the three subjects shown here. Most of the students are very experienced artists, so it was fun working with them. Thanks to Becky Whitney at A Passion for Painting for organizing the workshop.

Class demo - Duck Creek on Cedar Mountain. A slow-moving stream

Class demo - A winter pond with still water reflections

Class demo - Lone Rock at Lake Powell with smooth water

LaFave Gallery Displays New Roland Lee Paintings of Zion National Park

"Watchman Glow" a watercolor painting of Zion National Park by Roland Lee is on display at LaFave Gallery

Last Saturday we delivered 8 new paintings of Zion National Park to Kathy LaFave at LaFave Gallery in Springdale Utah. All the paintings are new, and have not been exhibited anywhere else. LaFave is readying her gallery for the Spring/Summer season, which begins soon. Located at the mouth of Zion National Park, the gallery gets traffic from the over 3 million visitors to the park each year. Sales were brisk last year and I am happy to present a whole new show this year. Stop by if you get in the area.

LaFave Gallery in Springdale is displaying 8 new Roland Lee paintings of Zion National Park