Premiere Watercolor Painter George Zien will be featured on Studio Tour

A realist, George Zien is one of the Peninsula's most accomplished watercolor artists. A Phoenix resident for many years, George moved to Sequim, WA in 2001. 

His work has been displayed in galleries in Arizona, Washington and Colorado as well as in private shows in Arizona and California.  George's originals are included in private and public collections throughout the country.  Commissioned portraits of people and animals have occupied a great deal of his time but he also enjoys painting structures as well as landscapes.  

George's attendance at Scottsdale Artists’ School and participating in workshops has provided him with fuel to fire his imagination.  He has traveled in Italy and Canada seeking new and unusual subjects for his art.   George invites you to visit his website and to share it with friends.  He is a member of Sequim Arts & Northwest Watercolor Society and facilitates a life drawing group every Tuesday in his studio.  Each summer for the past four years he has taught a four day watercolor workshop with a fellow artist. 

George describes his work and art as a "form of communication". He says, "Although I tend to be a realist, I like a bit of mystery in paintings.  Most everything we see is art, and I find satisfaction using watercolors and paper to record images that are appealing.  Lights, and especially shadows, are intriguing and add dimension to my efforts.  Changes in my style are welcome as I evolve as an artist." 

George's work and studio can be visited on this year's tour. His work can also be viewed on his website at www.zienstudio.com. He may be reached at studiozien@aol.com and (360)5829622 or (360)461-2724. 

"Bison" by George Zien

"Herding" by George Zien

Janine Hegy - Stone Mason

Janine Hegy is a Stone Mason and Jeweler. Janine's unique work takes the form of garden benches, stone sculpture and jewelery. Her unique style would add a splash of energy to any landscape or garden. Janine describes herself and her work in a few sentences:

Sand Blasted Rose

"Vim & Vigor. I looked up these words and think they apply to me. Lively or energetic spirit, enthusiasm, vitality. physical or mental strength and energy or force. Combine vim and vigor and one has a great deal of momentum. When I look over my body of work in the last year it is astounding. It's such a fantastic feeling to work my crafts in this community - I hope that my work reflects those feelings.

"Three of the most splendid projects I have ever worked on,  patios, fire pits and waterfalls are all built by my hand in real stone. I love creating jewelry that is lovely to wear and then it's fun to see people in town with it on. 'Hey I recognize that pair of earrings!' So, put all this together and then add dabbling in some old projects such as an oil painting (that has taken many years to complete), and wallah! Quite the creative concoction and you can come and see it all at my studio and garden during the Studio Tour."

Catherine Mix, Pastelist Extraordinaire!

Catherine Mix

Catherine is our most recent addition to the Sequim Arts Studio Tour and is also this year's Tour Director. 

As a pastelist, I can truly appreciate Catherine's fine pastels. This artist brings a strong color sense as well as a love of the beautiful Olympic Peninsula which has been a source of inspiration for her lovely landscapes. Caherine paints a wide variety of subjects from landscapes to figures and still life and also works in watercolor. She has an incredible studio located on her property surrounded by beautiful flowers and gardens. Catherine would love to have your visit her in her studio this summer during the tour.

I'll be posting more about Catherine and the other tour artists as we draw closer to the tour dates. Here's a note from the artist.

"Blue Pumpkin"

"This 5" x 7" painting took about 6 hours start to finish and I created it especially for our upcoming Sequim Arts Small Works Show which opens at the Museum and Art Center beginning on December 5th. I hope you get a chance to come to the show!!"

"From 1968-1972 I pursued a degree in fine metals at the University of Washington. For several years I continued forging and forming silver, gold and copper and making fine jewelry with cloisonné enameling on sterling silver.

"In 1995 I began studying watercolor in workshops with Cathe Gill and Judith McNea who also introduced me to pastel painting.

"These days, I paint in both watercolor and pastel. It is my goal to capture a singularly beautiful moment in time, such as dramatic sunlight illuminating the vast vistas of North Olympic Peninsula.  I paint to revel in color and texture,  for the satisfaction of solving a complex problem, for joy of creating an original work of art.

"I hope you enjoy my work; you can read my complete biography and see more of my work at www.catherinemix.com"

Tour Artist Susan Martin Spar

As the blog master, it is my privilege to be the first artist to publish on our Studio Tour blog. My name is Susan Spar and this will be my fourth year on the tour. Locals know me as the "classical" artist who paints "those Dutch type" paintings. While this is partly true, I also love painting landscapes and working in pastels.

I've been working on allegorical pieces of late featuring such figures as "Red Riding Hood" and "Sleeping Beauty". I see this figures as allegories for bigger issues that we confront in our lives. In Red Riding Hood, the question arises, "just where or who is the wolf" and in "Sleeping Beauty", the issue is about the ambivalence surrounding adulthood for adolescents.  

"Red Riding Hood"

For those of you who are interested in the beautiful landscape of the Olympic Peninsula, I have some plein aire paintings to offer. Take a gander. Come and visit me this summer and look for more posts about me on this blog.

"A Sultry Afternoon"