I have always been creative and several years ago I decided it was time to take that creativity seriously. I caught the “painting bug” big time. Painting was the last thing I thought about before I went to sleep and my first thought in the morning. I devoured every book, video and class I could find. I knew I had something inside me waiting to come out and I learned the skills necessary to express that. Now art is such a part of my life that it’s integrated into all I do. I paint in other mediums, acrylics and water-soluble oils, but watercolor is my first love. The spontaneity, fluidity and movement of watercolor is unparallelled.
My Online Gallery
You can see my artwork at http://vinitapappas.com
Recent Exhibits and Awards
President of the Watercolor Society of Oregon
Plein Air Painters of Oregon Open Exhibition, “Celebrate Oregon”
Fourth Place Award, Watercolor Society of Oregon 44th Annual Aqueous Media Exhibition
Solo exhibit, Fisher’s Flowers and Fine Art
Grand Prize Winner, Mirror Pond Gallery National Pastel and Watercolor Exhibition
Chosen for 2009 Greatest of the Grape Featured Artist and Poster Art
Best of Show Award, “Hundred Valleys”, Umpqua Valley Art Association
Achievement Award from the Watercolor Society of Oregon 43rd Annual Aqueous Media Exhibition
Solo exhibit, Gallery II, Umpqua Valley Art Association
How I Paint with Watercolor
As far as technique, I set my standards pretty high. That doesn’t mean I am near painting perfection, it means I throw away a lot of paintings! There is a price to pay for a fresh looking painting; a high mortality rate. During a workshop I took from Frank Webb he said, “Watercolors always start out beautiful, but we slowly kill the beauty. Oftentimes painters cease being painters and turn into morticians.”
It is true that the life of a watercolor is a very fragile thing! To maintain the immediacy that I am after, I work in three major steps. The first being a wash that transitions in color, value and temperature with no sign of a brush stroke. The second phase establishes the mid-tones and has to integrate color and subject. This is by far the most difficult step and is often where failure comes. The final stage is my favorite. I use calligraphic brush strokes with dark or bright colors. Using brush strokes is one way to personalize a piece. The more I paint, the more I appreciate seeing the hand of an artist in a painting.
With every painting, I strive for more simplicity and abstraction. I want to portray as much as possible in as few brush strokes as possible; express more with less. The result is a painting that engages the viewer. I have done my job when someone experiences a personal connection with a painting.
Art Instruction
From the very start, painting and teaching have gone hand in hand. Not long into taking my first watercolor class, the instructor asked if I would fill in during her absence. I enjoy teaching as much as I enjoy painting. Before I started painting, I was a preschool teacher. I tease my painting classes that there is not much difference between the preschool and the painting classes; both require an encouraging attitude, organization, clear instruction and positive feedback. Snack time always helps too.
In January 2010, I decided to take my teaching online and that is when I started Create38.com. I teach exactly how I would want to be taught; encouraging and helping people to paint with more freedom, boldness and simplicity.
Art Education
The bulk of my education has been through trial and error combined with careful observation and study. I have studied with the following international and local artists through workshops and classes at the Scottsdale Art School, Art in the Mountains, Watercolor Society of Oregon and UVAA:
Alvaro Castagnet
David Taylor
Frank Webb
Mel Stabin
Val Persoon
Dale Kurtz
My Family
Of course I couldn’t be doing any of this without the incredible support of my family. We live on a beautiful farm in Southern Oregon. My husband Nick is my number one fan and supporter. He has listened to my countless ramblings of my visions for this site and always gives me great advice. Nick, I couldn’t do this without you! I have two of the greatest kids ever. My son is a Combat Engineer with the US Marine Corp. We are very proud of him for serving his country. OORAH! My daughter is a freshman in college and loves all things creative. Then there is our lovable dog Tessie. She is a yellow lab who loves life. If that wasn’t enough, I have a very large extended family that I like to call the Pappi (plural for Pappas). I am fortunate to have married into a big, wonderful family. And then there are my amazing parents who live on a farm just down the road from us. It’s always nice to have Mom & Dad close by.
You’re wonderful, Vinita! So inspiring!
Vinita, I enjoyed reading about you and all aspects of your career as an artist. It was interesting to note that you expressed my feelings also when you said you knew you had something so creative deep inside you and you wanted to learn how to express it as a painter, Sounds so encouraging to me. Looks like you/ve really figured it out and with teachers like you, I know I can, too.
Last year I discovered you and whow! I was bloown away by how much you gave (free) in you video presentantions in you tube. I was amazing at your profesional work on line and I wanted to joing in but, I think you were creating your site or having problems with it. Now is not a good time to take a class but I could not pass the opportunity you presented, I am very glad I took a class with you being that with a class I get even more instructions and tools than with what I saw on your free videos. Thanks again and I hope I can paint more often and freed my style of painting.