14 Dec Watercolorist Carol Lutz featured at the January 9 Soiree
Rossmoor Art Association (RAA) presents the work of watercolorist Carol Lutz at the Soiree on Wednesday January 9th, at 7 p.m. in the Fireside Room at Gateway. RAA Soirees feature music, wine and refreshments, as well as the art of a Rossmoor resident. This event’s musicians will be Rosemarie Krovoza on viola together with Meriel Ennick on flute. Anna George, convener of the soiree, will sit in conversation with the artist. Carol will present her serene watercolor paintings and pen and ink drawings done over many years. She will reveal her techniques and inspiration to the listeners.
Born in Santa Barbara, Carol’s family moved to New York City when she was six months old. Her father was a fashion designer and moved the family back to California when she was five. He came from an artistic family and designed and sewed all of Carol’s clothes while she was growing up. He also bought her a big box of crayons as her first art supplies. She wanted to be an artist from early in her life and took art classes in junior high school. In high school in Los Angeles she took art classes with fellow students who later worked in the Hollywood movie business. She also wanted to go to art school. During her high school years her father died and World War II created a shortage of business workers, so Carol worked half a day for an insurance company and attended school half a day. After graduation she continued to work full time for the same company.
She lived in Los Angeles until she was 21 when she went to a conference in Berkeley. She decided to move there to enjoy the clear blue sky unlike the hazy sky in LA. She met Don on her 22nd birthday, December 5, 1948 and they were swiftly married 20 days later on Christmas day. Living in Berkeley her creative outlet was arts and crafts, sculpture and night classes in composition, drawing, portraiture and botanical drawing.
Leaving the insurance business, Carol worked for almost 30 years in the Graphic Arts Department of the University of California’s Lawrence Laboratory, working first creating forms then working as a photo tech. After moving to Rossmoor in 1971 and retiring she had more time to pursue her art, working in pencil, pen and ink, pastel, oil and acrylic. Taking a class in 1993 she discovered watercolor. She took the class because a friend needed more students in the class. She enrolled as a favor to her. She discovered the challenge and delight of watercolor and it remains a constant joy to this day.
At first, she painted in the traditional way with many colors on her palette but in 1999 she changed her technique. Now she uses only the three primary colors red, yellow and blue. The colors are layered, one at a time, in as many as 50 or more thin tints, allowing each layer to dry before adding a new layer. This method can create almost any color. Using complementary colors, she has created complex, rich grays that range through the spectrum of colors. She also uses pointillism to accomplish paintings; dots of individual color are arranged so that from a distance the colors blend. Carol has traveled extensively to foreign lands taking multiple trips each year. She paints in her studio either from her own photographs or from her still life arrangements.
Carol is an active member of the California Watercolor Association earning a “Master Signature” status in 2010. She has shown her extraordinary work in many East Bay Area galleries including Gallery Crimson, Bedford Gallery, Lynn House Gallery, and Valley Arts Gallery. What sets Lutz apart as an artist is the way she deftly paints her still lifes, portraits, and figures with perfect washes and subtle changes of soft color. Her paintings are a study in patience because each layer must be completely dry before the next can be applied. The results are worth the wait and compelling. See this resoundingly different body of work and hear Carol at the Fireside Room January 9th. It will be a special evening. You will be delighted by her, her life, and a retrospective of her life’s passion—her art.
Born in Santa Barbara, Carol’s family moved to New York City when she was six months old. Her father was a fashion designer and moved the family back to California when she was five. He came from an artistic family and designed and sewed all of Carol’s clothes while she was growing up. He also bought her a big box of crayons as her first art supplies. She wanted to be an artist from early in her life and took art classes in junior high school. In high school in Los Angeles she took art classes with fellow students who later worked in the Hollywood movie business. She also wanted to go to art school. During her high school years her father died and World War II created a shortage of business workers, so Carol worked half a day for an insurance company and attended school half a day. After graduation she continued to work full time for the same company.
She lived in Los Angeles until she was 21 when she went to a conference in Berkeley. She decided to move there to enjoy the clear blue sky unlike the hazy sky in LA. She met Don on her 22nd birthday, December 5, 1948 and they were swiftly married 20 days later on Christmas day. Living in Berkeley her creative outlet was arts and crafts, sculpture and night classes in composition, drawing, portraiture and botanical drawing.
Leaving the insurance business, Carol worked for almost 30 years in the Graphic Arts Department of the University of California’s Lawrence Laboratory, working first creating forms then working as a photo tech. After moving to Rossmoor in 1971 and retiring she had more time to pursue her art, working in pencil, pen and ink, pastel, oil and acrylic. Taking a class in 1993 she discovered watercolor. She took the class because a friend needed more students in the class. She enrolled as a favor to her. She discovered the challenge and delight of watercolor and it remains a constant joy to this day.
At first, she painted in the traditional way with many colors on her palette but in 1999 she changed her technique. Now she uses only the three primary colors red, yellow and blue. The colors are layered, one at a time, in as many as 50 or more thin tints, allowing each layer to dry before adding a new layer. This method can create almost any color. Using complementary colors, she has created complex, rich grays that range through the spectrum of colors. She also uses pointillism to accomplish paintings; dots of individual color are arranged so that from a distance the colors blend. Carol has traveled extensively to foreign lands taking multiple trips each year. She paints in her studio either from her own photographs or from her still life arrangements.
Carol is an active member of the California Watercolor Association earning a “Master Signature” status in 2010. She has shown her extraordinary work in many East Bay Area galleries including Gallery Crimson, Bedford Gallery, Lynn House Gallery, and Valley Arts Gallery. What sets Lutz apart as an artist is the way she deftly paints her still lifes, portraits, and figures with perfect washes and subtle changes of soft color. Her paintings are a study in patience because each layer must be completely dry before the next can be applied. The results are worth the wait and compelling. See this resoundingly different body of work and hear Carol at the Fireside Room January 9th. It will be a special evening. You will be delighted by her, her life, and a retrospective of her life’s passion—her art.
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