|
Joan McKasson calls art "a form of personal
communication" and it is obvious that her
audience understands and appreciates the
feelings and ideas in her images.
Born in Kearny, Nebraska and raised on the
West Coast since age 12, McKasson credits
music and travel as family activities that
shaped her early years. She received a Bachelor
of Arts in Education degree from San Diego State
University but obtained her art training from
additional courses and watercolor workshops
from artists in the field. She has won the Winsor
Newton Award in the San Diego Watercolor
Society International Exhibition and the David
Gale Memorial Award in the Western Federation
of Watercolor Societies Exhibition. McKasson also
holds a signature membership in Watercolor
West, and was included in both New Spirit
Of Watercolor (North Light Publication) and
Watercolor Highlights - '93 Collectors Edition
(American Artist Publications).
Although she primarily paints in watercolor,
McKasson adds the occasional touch of rice
paper to her work. Frequently, she adds white
gouache to her watercolors as well.
Her favorite subjects are flowers and
landscapes. She also enjoys painting old houses
and marine subjects. She hopes that the viewer
will be "uplifted by seeing nature through my
eyes" but, adds that the interpretation of her
work is open to both the artist and the viewer.
To balance life there is McKassons’ home and
family. She and husband, Dale, have been
married over thirty five years and have four
children, all adults now. Her four- plus
grandchildren round out the family. She still loves
traveling, walking in nature and photography.
And she enjoys teaching watercolor workshops
which provide her with a wonderful
combination of painting and travel.
For Joan McKasson, painting expresses her love
of nature and its patterns and the act of
painting itself. And she more than conveys this
love to the viewer to appreciate as they
choose. Her watercolors celebrate a love of
color, a sense of the abstract and a joyful
expression of the beauty and patterns found
in nature.
|
|
|
