Kate Vikstrom

I choose to work in watercolor because of the element of surprise. The artist must be willing to let go of control, taking a back seat to the movement and caprice of paint in water. The painting reveals itself.

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Occasionally someone asks, "When are you going to paint something real? "Well, at times I do paint something they would call realistic: a bare winter tree, a yellow rose. But rather than show you something, I hope to make you feel that thing. There is one place I always attempt to depict. That is the place where water and sky seem to have no hard edges; where earth, water and air intermingle. The mists that move within that space allow the painting to evoke emotion and touch the mystical. This is a metaphor for all of life, in which there are no clear boundaries between friend and stranger, heaven and earth, love and poetry. 

Watercolor collage

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As do most watercolor artists, I have many unsuccessful or unsold watercolors languishing in a drawer, longing for a second chance at life, saying "choose me!" Within these so-called failures there are often gem-like areas which I find, rescue, and recombine into new work. These collages may become serene land- and seascapes, whimsical house portraits, or playful mosaics.