Studio Stories from our WAOW Artists
Betty ~ Elizabeth J Billups • Idaho • Studio Stories
Betty -Elizabeth Billups
Odd subject to write about, for me! First, the majority of my art is captured “en plein air”, which means, ON LOCATION, no studio. These creations can range from 8”x10” up to 6 x12 foot murals> obviously these were captured on my hands and knees, and ALWAYS on location!
And usually painting “solo” there are no photos of me painting!
When I purchased my first home, back in 1991, the only space on a hardwood floor was about a 4x4 foot area, and this became my “studio”...tho I never thought of it that way, until WAOW created this "idea".
Marie Kash Weltzheimer • Oklahoma • Studio Stories
TWO WOMEN OF WAOW AND A CHILDHOOD FRIENDSHIP
In my last studio story I talked about having burnout. May 28, I had just delivered 25 paintings for a 2-person show “Abundance”. One painting remained on my easel with only the imprimatura underpainting which I had planned to finish and submit to a show. I had heard all about the Bosque Art Classic from artist friends and I was eager to enter due to its reputation and drivable distance, but I was exhausted and this was a pretty large painting. I’m proud and honored to report that this piece was accepted to the 41st Annual Bosque Art Classic, but if it were not for the encouragement of one special friend, Kathy, I would have scrapped the whole thing.
Judy Thompson • Iowa • Studio Stories
When Alix, Gallery Director at Rehfelds Modern, called to tell me that my painting Full Bloom had been acquired for the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, I was both surprised and deeply honored.
Marie Kash Weltzheimer • Oklahoma • Studio Stories
FROM BURNOUT TO REJUVINATION – A PASTEL STORY
Sometimes artists suffer burnout. I told myself that after the opening reception for our 2-person show in June, "Abundance!", I was going to take a break, a real summer vacation ALL summer. I needed it badly. But much has happened in a positive way and I can’t complain about that.
I work in both, pastel and oil, but my pastels sadly have been used only occasionally these past years. The pastel trays in the photo are from my very first professional set I ever owned. It was a Christmas gift, a set of Rembrandt pastels from my husband in 1986. Pure pigment rolled into a stick, they were magical to me! I created a lot of pastel art the following 30+ years, becoming a signature member with Pastel Society of America and Master Circle artist with the International Association of Pastel Societies.
Mary Arnold • Idaho• Studio Stories
Mary Arnold
I was so surprised and honored a few months ago to open up my email one day to find an invitation to participate in the Coeur d'Alene Galleries Miniatures by the Lake exhibition. What an honor!! I actually sat with it for a long time absorbing in the news. This is my target gallery who I would love to eventually represent me.
Bets Cole • Oregon • Studio Stories
Bets Cole
I think we are forever seeking ways to get back to what made us happy as a child. I found that I enjoyed being in the outdoors, tracking and observing nature. As I matured and became a painter, I found that the motifs and narratives of nature’s landscape offered me never ending painting ideas. The outdoors has become my workplace, my main studio.
I love to travel, or rather, to travel and paint. Artmaking is my way of exploring landscapes and places intimately, of studying the specific complexities of rock formations, landforms, vegetation-their structure, colors, and how the quality of the air and light them moment by moment. I like the feeling of a blank canvas and a new location. I no longer worry about making a finished painting. The time I spend behind my easel is about observation and the gathering of information.
Stephanie Burk • The House of Nevill Show, Ft Worth, Texas
Stephanie Burk The House of Neville “Oh the Places You Can Go!”
“I am extremely honored two of my paintings, “To Everything There is a Season” and “The Best Views Come from The Hardest Climbs” were juried into the Ft Worth Texas Art Show, “Oh the Place You Can Go” at the House of Neville Gallery.”
The Exhibition is June 10, 2026 through August 29, 2026.
Debbie Hughbanks Art
I am extremely honored that my painting, “Garden Delight”, was one of 107 artworks selected from over 550 submitted to be part of the upcoming 20th Annual International IGOR Juried Exhibition at Principle Gallery Charleston in Charleston, SC. “Rendezvous in Charleston” focuses on and celebrates realism in art with accepted pieces from around the world.
Watercolor with Judy Thompson
One of the most meaningful projects to emerge from this studio is a collaboration with my daughter, Kristin Gifford, a published poet. Together, we’ve merged our two art forms into Becoming Midwest, Life Between, an exhibition at the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls featuring 27 artworks and 12 poems.
Painter Destiny Bowman
My studio is my favorite place to be. It’s where ideas flourish, problems get worked out, colors move on the canvas, and my many objects that I’ve collected gets put into my paintings. I have collected skulls, bugs, vases, books, bowls, flowers and contraptions to use in my still life work.
Painter Nori Thorne
I love to paint in the American Southwest where time and erosion reveal the bones of the earth and ancient artists left their marks in the remotest canyons. In my canyonscapes I try to capture the strong sense of place, of secrets suddenly revealed—a vista glimpsed through a redrock window, a water pocket shining on slickrock, the cold walls of a slot canyon reflected in a black pool.
Rotating Canvas . Painter Sara Bloodwolf
I work on several paintings at once using one large palette.I rotate the canvases on the easel as they dry and as my inspiration and patience changes on each day.Even though i paint every single day I take a long time on each, my average painting is 3x3 feet and takes a month of daily painting and i mean every day.
Ever Changing Studio . Painter Amy Evans
“My studio has changed according to where I live. One constant is that I have a portable one for occasions when I am in the outdoors. My outdoor studio is the one I frequent the most since I love painting the landscape. I use my indoor studio for large paintings as well as studio paintings derived from my references.” Amy Evans
“Before it Hits” by Amy Evans 20 × 16
From an Exta Bedroom to a Studio . Painter Mary Russell
“My first studio space was in an extra bedroom when my daughter was eleven. I would get her off to school, walk over piles of laundry, and get right to my easel. I loved it!
In time, I had an opportunity to have a studio away from the house which I shared with another artist. It was a huge space in an old shopping center. ” Mary