Joan Satow | Watercolor Artist

Artist Statement

      Ever since I was a child, I spent my days and nights drawing and coloring. That passion to create is still a defining characteristic of mine, and it reveals itself in several aspects of my everyday life - with my family, my full-time graphic design job, and my watercolor paintings.

Each piece I create is a part of myself, through all of its stages - from the early planning sketches to the final stopping point. It lives with me through the entire process, and I live with it in return. Early planning, sketching, painting, and discovering that moment of knowing “when to stop” is a tricky process. It is very rewarding when my art makes people feel something, knowing my time and efforts were not wasted.

      The subjects of my paintings cover a diverse range of urban landscapes, architecture, nature, animals/sea life, portraits, and abstracts with a unique painting style that flows from realistic to impressionistic. Keeping the paint fresh, and loose is my favorite technique (inspired by Charles Reid and Bob Moyer). My goal is to capture the beauty, light, mood of each subject while providing a
new personal perspective.

      The unpredictable qualities of watercolor force me to love it even more! Experimenting with the paint as it moves on the paper, determining the right paint-to-water ratio, and changing the angle of the work surface are all factors that keep me constantly guessing and forever engaged.