Stumbling Into a Career as a Watercolor Artist

11/22/19 • 34 min

Heidi Rosner is an acclaimed fine art watercolor painter who has been a staple of the Celebration of Fine Art for two decades. Her work flips preconceived notions of watercolor art on its head, as she opts for vibrant scenes bursting with color and energy rather than the traditional soupy skies and misty landscapes. Heidi is heavily influenced by her extensive travels and love of plants, flowers and vegetation. More recently she’s begun to incorporate birds into her paintings and has forayed into making living art, which combines paintings with succulents in shadowboxes.

In this episode, Susan welcomes Heidi to the podcast to talk about her unique background as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry and how she eventually pivoted to fine art after stumbling into a watercolor class at the Scottsdale Artists’ School. Heidi breaks down her painting technique, why she recommends people invest in high-quality art supplies and what advice she has for aspiring artists. Finally, Heidi describes how deeply travel has affected her life and her approach to art, why she’s captivated by the culture and landscape in Italy, as well as her love for the south of France.

Previous Episode

Looking Back at How the Celebration of Fine Art Began

Ann Morrow is the co-founder of the Celebration of Fine Art. Her appreciation of art began as a young girl when her family had an art shop. At the time, they featured everything ranging from European antiques to American Indian art, as well as contemporary art made by craftsmen from all over the United States. And while that’s where Ann first discovered her love of art, it turns out the shop was just the beginning of her life as an art collector, art connoisseur and art influencer.

In this episode, Susan and Ann reminisce about the earliest days of the Celebration of Fine Art, how they found an audience and why they were intrigued by the concept of bringing people together over art. They also discuss Ann’s time as the executive director of Scottsdale Artists’ School, including her efforts to help build up Scottsdale’s community of artists. Lastly, Ann shares her favorite museums around the world and how they’ve made her feel and see art in a whole new way.

Next Episode

Creating artistic masterpieces, one generation at a time

Robin Branham has been a part of the Celebration of Fine Art for 25 years and is sought out for her large-scale paintings that range from abstract to figurative to still life, and yet each of them remain quintessentially Robin. Her son, Colin Branham, shares her passion for creating and painting eye-catching abstract works with dramatic colors and shapes. This fall, host Susan Potje traveled to Southern California and joined Robin and Colin at in Malibu to find out more about their visions and techniques, and take a peek at their studio.

During this episode, Susan learns more about how art has impacted the lives of three generations of Branhams, and how each has learned to find their own voice through their unique experiences. Robin and Colin also describe the harrowing days preparing and living through the recent fires in Southern California, and why they decided to stay in their home and do all they could to protect their land from what could have been a devastating loss.