Artists Round Table - Online Gallery

Susan J. Berg

An award winning Northern California artist, Susan’s passion for the outdoors and deep respect for nature are the forces that channel her energy, imagination and inspiration to paint. Northern California’s diverse people and surrounding forest, vineyards, coastline and pasturelands offer abundant subject matter. “Nature’s moods are limitless…a constantly changing interplay of light and shadow, atmosphere, color and reflection. By the very nature of watercolor’s vibrant translucent pigments, my artwork is a personal interpretation of sound, smell and feelings. I find myself looking for ‘the painting’ in every watery pond, cloud pattern, shadowy doorway, and colorful season. I strive to draw the viewer in by creating an intriguing ‘story’ with subtle passageways that invite entry and exploration, to experience the freedom of personal joy”.

“I have painted all my life, from tempera as a child, to oil in high school, then acrylics and after my son was born – watercolor! An accomplished swimmer, I found my real challenge was in understanding how to relax into the intensity of watercolor with balance and emotion”.

The Medium

The use of water itself induces feelings of calm and meditation. “The nature of watercolor is to ‘float’ and then settle…the trick is to let the pigment flow from the brush…and let the water do the work.” Rich color allowed to dry between layers creates the much desired jewel-like glazing effect - producing luscious, juicy, translucent depth in glowing colors that seem to vibrate from the surface of the heavy, white rag papers. Years of watercolor instruction and class work have pushed Susan to evolve her own unique and color-intense style. Over “I have painted all my life, from tempera as a child to oil in high school, then acrylics and finally watercolor. As an accomplished swimmer, I found my real challenge in understanding how to relax into the intensity of watercolor in balance with emotion”. Over the last 30 years, she has had the opportunity to study and paint with many premier watercolorists, including Pat Kurtz, Holly Downing, Sylvia Miller, Patrick Fanning, Kathryn Fell, Nancy Collins, Frank Webb, Marsha Connell, and master Chinese Watercolorist Lian Quan Zhen. She is a member of the Watercolor Artists of Sonoma County, Artists Round Table, Oakmont Art Association, and a past Resident Artist at Healdsburg Center for the Arts.

Awards

Marin County Humane Society Award for Outstanding Art Interpretation, all city schools, 1958
Kona Coffee Company logo design winner, Kona, Hawaii 1965
Moon’s Gallery One Woman Watercolor Exhibition (sold out), Plumas County, CA 1988
Best of Medium (watercolor), Sonoma County Harvest Fair 1996
1st Place, Amateur, Watercolor, Sonoma County Fair 1997
1st Place, Watercolor, Sonoma County Harvest Festival 1998
People’s Choice Award, Aqua Areas Annual Watercolor Show 2000
Honorable Mention, Aqua Areas Annual Watercolor Show 2015
First Place – Artists Round Table – February, 2016

Studio, Santa Rosa, CA 707.479.6185

Carol Mills

Watercolor and Pastel Paintings

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CAROL MILLS - Bio

I was born and raised in Southern California. My husband and I moved with our two young daughters to Forestville, Sonoma County in 1976 where we bought a vineyard to farm. I was an elementary school teacher in Huntington Beach, California before that. I spent the next 30 years in local politics, working in our West County Supervisor's office for 27 years.

I started taking art classes and workshops while still working for the county. Once I retired, I focused on my art full time. I have taken lessons from many talented local and international artists. I primarily paint in watercolors, but occasionally do pastels. I very often combine the two.

I don't have a particular style, but tend to be fine focused. I like to find unusual subjects that interest me and that I find challenging. I generally paint from photographs in my studio. My work has been shown and sold in many venues and galleries and have won multiple awards.

I painted a series of cows that have proven to be very popular over the years. I find their vulnerable, curious expressions endearing. They seem to always want to know what's going on.

We are fortunate to live in such a magnificent area that gives us inspiration everywhere we look. Between the hills, rivers, vineyards, orchards and the coast, we have an abundance of beauty to capture in our art. I am a member of Art workshop of Western Sonoma County (AWS) and Artists Roundtable (ART) as well as the Sebastopol Center for the Arts (SCA).

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