Michael J. Weber

As a kid I copied cartoons from the Sunday papers and filled notebooks with all sorts of drawing. It was something that came easily to me and that I enjoyed doing. After military service in the U.S. Navy I attended Brevard Community College, but after a year I transferred to the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota for more comprehensive art courses. Upon graduation I was hired by Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and after several years I moved to New York City to work in advertising. It was there, after four years in commercial art, that I decided I wanted to paint full time and started doing the outdoor art shows for a living. It has now been 42 years of doing the art shows full time, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In 1984 I was elected into the American Watercolor Society.

My paintings are done in a traditional style, using paint and brushes on 300lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper. In order to achieve the vibrant colors and a sense of depth in the work, I use a combination of wet into wet, glazes and dry brush. (There is no air brush used). For me, shadows define the shape of an object or the mood in a scene. Light plays an essential part in making this happen by revealing the color, texture and various shades that dance through a painting. Because watercolor is transparent, the whites have to be left as unpainted paper and preplanned from the very beginning. In the final steps, any design that is to be added to the cloth in the painting is completed and the highlights are achieved by removing the paint with a razor blade or an electric eraser.