Jane agee, Art in Public Places

Saratoga Springs Public Library

49 Henry St, Saratoga Springs, NY

May 31st - June 28th, 2022

Artist Statement:

I have always had a strong interest in the natural world, and most of my watercolor paintings are of scenes in Upstate New York area and in Maine. The paintings in this show are primarily of local scenes.

I am a member of the American Watercolor Society, the American Society of Marine Artists, and the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. I’ve studied with Karen Blackwood, a well-known seascape artist in Newburyport, MA. I also studied with Wes Sherman, a contemporary artist at the Great Camp Sagamore. Other instructors/workshops include Carol Douglas at the Schoodic Institute, Colley Whisson, an Australian artist, in Rockland, Maine, and Aline Ordman in Belfast, Maine. I’ve also traveled to Downeast Maine to create paintings of the more remote coastal areas. I’ve studied virtually with Kathleen Dunphy and Joseph McGurl during Covid. I have also studied with Robert O’Brien and Takeyce Walter in Saratoga Springs.

With watercolors, I use a process that involves both photographs and en plein air drawings or paintings. In some cases, I use my plein air watercolors as studies for larger paintings. My goal with watercolor painting is to create an experience for the viewer with color and light that invites them into a scene and perhaps helps them focus on the natural beauty in their local area.

The watercolors in this show attempt capture the transparency, light, and mutability of the natural world. With so many threats to our natural world from climate change to development, I hope viewers see and value familiar places in a new way.