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- [South Sarpy]
Watercolorist Expands into Teaching
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May 12, 2010, at 07:00 AM
“John” by Kathy Jurek
Kathy Jurek
“I love the look of watercolors, the washiness, the transparent look, the freshness of watercolors."
Kathy Jurek, watercolor artist
Kathy Jurek's first love is watercolor painting. She also loves portraits and, since 1997, she's worked to combine the two and grow these passions into a part-time business.
She started by painting trading cards, a popular collector's market with a following all its own, and posting them on E-bay. Jurek now completes about six portraits a year, either people or pets.
Her ever-expanding arts interests have led to her illustrating two books and she now has her own beginner's watercolor class.
“I love the look of watercolors,” she said. “The washiness, the transparent look, the freshness of watercolors. It's a medium that's elusive to a lot of people because they think you can't control it. You can, but a lot of people don't understand it.”
To help create that desired “freshness” in her paintings, Jurek plans before putting paint on paper, striving to get colors correct the first time rather than building them up in several layers. It takes her several hours to complete a painting and she prefers to stretch the time over more than one day to allow herself the opportunity to approach it with 'fresh' eyes.
Teaching has challenged Jurek, who also works parttime as an administrative assistant, to explore the reasons behind her artist technique. The journey of self-discovery makes her ready when students ask, “Why?”
“I want it to be an enjoyable process for them,” she said. “I think a lot about what I can do that they will feel they accomplished something at the end of the night.” She currently has five students in her open-ended class but welcomes others. Students work on a different project each week.
Jurek, who lives in unincorpoarted Sarpy County, is teaching an open beginning watercolor class at Gibilisco and Kingslan Studios near 107th and Pacific streets Thursday nights from 5:45-8:15 p.m. Cost is $10 per night. For more information and a list of supplies, call the studio at 397-0298 or visit www.kingslan.com.
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Posted by Ryan Horner on 07/01 at 12:54 PM
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