Awareness Pos - Poppy Balser,

Adjusting the Lines, 12x16" oil

The artists I explored is Poppy Balser, a Canadian painter best known for her expressive watercolors and oils that capture coastal landscapes, seascapes, and scenes of the natural environment. This natural scenes are often of the area along the Bay of Fundy where she lives and works. She was born in 1971 and has spent most of her life within walking distance of the ocean, a setting that deeply inspires her art. She understands that the wild portions of Nova Scotia's environment are a precious resource and seeks to highlight their beauty in her paintings. Balser holds membership in the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC), the Oil Painters of America and the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA). Recently she has exhibited her work at Teichert Gallery, Amicus Gallery, Toronto Watercolour Society, The Flight of Fancy, The Harvest Gallery, Toronto Watercolour Society, and Camden Falls Gallery. Some significant awards she has won include Outstanding Watercolor Award in the BoldBrush Art Contest & Exhibit, Best Watercolour Award at the Inaugural Bermuda Plein Air Festival, along with numerous awards including Best in Show, First and Second Place, Grand Prize, and Finalist Awards in various national juried shows, and finally multiple awards in the PleinAir Salon and other competitive exhibitions.

Spring Sunshine on Fresh Snow, 11x14", plein air watercolour

I enjoyed exploring this artist's work because she paints watercolors of nature, which is similar to my work. Some things I would like to incorporate from her work is the expressive way she paints nature. It has enough detail to understand what each painting looks like while still having the flowy feel of watercolors. I also would like to incorporate her deep colors. This is something that brings out the lights in her paintings and makes each element stand out.