Point Loma resident Michelle Abrams placed first for her watercolor “Field Flowers” in the San Diego Watercolor Society’s August experimental show, “Horse Around.”
“I’m honored,” Abrams said regarding her placement.
Abrams is an experienced artist and has been painting for 10 years.
“My mother and grandmother are painters. We have had it in our family for generations,” she said.
Abrams’ painting aesthetic has transformed over the years, evolving from painting flowers and still lifes to abstracts.
“Even though the painting that placed first in the art show is of flowers, I prefer to paint abstract right now as my evolution as an artist,” Abrams said. “The creative process inspires me. I enjoy letting the painting find me, which is what abstracts does for me.”
“Field Flowers,” Abrams’ award-winning watercolor, developed from over painting. Abrams said the flowers were shaped on the canvas through negative painting, a process in which the artist paints the background to form the foreground.
“The inspiration came from just trying to make something beautiful,” Abrams said. “The colors are sort of like my driving force “” the juxtaposition of complementary colors create a unique dynamic.”
Abrams paints primarily with watercolors, though she used canvas for “Field Flowers,” an atypical material for the genre.
“It’s not on the standard watercolor paper- it’s actually on prepared canvas,” Abrams said.
Robert Burridge, a well-known California artist who supports this endeavor through monetary donations given to the first place winner, inspired the technique.
The San Diego Watercolor Society hosts an experimental exhibit once a year in an effort to expand the boundaries of water media. The exhibit allows artists to step outside the box to create exciting two- and three-dimensional works using surfaces other than paper. To keep with the society’s mission, artists were required to use water-based media for the majority of the pieces.
The event attracts some of Southern California’s most talented, award-winning painters working in water media, as well as mixed media.
The society’s Showcase Gallery, 2400 Kettner Blvd., is free and open to the public Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The San Diego Watercolor Society is a volunteer driven non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.sdws.org.