Laurie Runnoe
Brookfield, WI

Sheltering is transparent watercolor on canvas. I prepare the canvas with a homemade primer. The paint is very mobile on the slick surface of the canvas and I must balance the unpredictability of the flowing paint and water with some control as I do not use any kind of resist to protect the white areas in the painting. The joy of painting watercolors on canvas for me is the ability to lift the paint and how it inspires me in the details of the feathers. I wanted to create a cool, deconstructed background to contrast with the warm details of the birds. I love the intimate pose of these egrets as they are in mating plumage and are constructing their nest. I often use nests in my art as symbols of comfort and home and stability. Birds are my favorite subjects to paint because I love the freedom from limitations that they inspire. I feel a connection to that freedom as I create.

As a Wisconsin native my art is inspired by the changing seasons and the abundant beauty of the forests,lakes,gardens and wildlife that surround me. I enjoy painting the nature scenes that I see from my window and on my walks. It seems fitting to portray these natural beauties with the natural flow of watercolor. As a self taught artist I think of my paintings as “expressive realism”. My interest is in painting watercolors on alternative surfaces such as canvas, mirrors, and clay panels in order to display my art without using traditional framing methods. Painting watercolors on canvas inspires me to capture the warmth and light that we crave in the changing Wisconsin seasons. I like to incorporate symbolism into my art and I often use images of birds (especially owls), nests, butterflies and the full moon. Each time I use one of these images in a painting I feel a personal connection that inspires feelings of freedom, transition, and home.