Ruth Ellen Hoag, WW, SDWS

Having been a musician all my life, I come to painting through a side door, from a world of sound to a visual one. Surely kindred arts! Even the language is the same: tones, harmony, rhythm, color. As in music, there's a physicality associated in creating the art; the feeling of sliding paint to paper and the action of mind and body in the process. I find watercolor is perhaps the most versatile of mediums, and at times, using it as an oil painter would, fresh from the tube with little water. This direct use of paint brings a distinctive dynamic to the medium, from vivid and strong, to soft and contemplative. Drawn to the figurative genre, I find musicians, dancers, cowboys, anyone involved in activity, as engaging subjects. The intention is to have movement and mood resonate throughout the painting plane. More quiet subjects, such as landscapes and nude studies, can be intimate and serene. It's about expression, rather than specific subject matter - a view to an inner reality, of thoughts, of music and poetry. To show what something feels like is what I hope to convey in paint.

In the last few years my paintings have been in numerous national and international exhibits earning Signature status in Watercolor West and San Diego Watercolor Society. Other accomplishments include a major museum exhibit in Florida, and several publications in periodicals including Palette Watermedia Magazine.

My work may be viewed at www.RuthEllenHoag.com, and visitors are always welcome at my studio in downtown Santa Barbara, CA.