7: 00 pm to 8:00 pm
www.minnesotawatercolors.com
Pam Luer's Nature sketchbooks are things of beauty. Her finely drawn nature themes nestle within loose backgrounds amid washes of textured color. These sketchbooks are jewel-like works of art.
But that’s not how she thinks of them.
Pam likes to treat her sketchbook as a workbook, instead of a polished piece of art. She feels practice is the way to use art tools to create something beautiful. Her work combines a nature-inspired focal point, on a background of colorful patterns or grids. She likes working within a hierarchy of highly detailed areas, to loose areas of pattern, repetition, and color. Pam has a respect for botanical art, and it’s highly detailed images; for her, it is important to have some areas tightly rendered, and others loose, so the viewer gets to fill in the blanks.
While the pages of her finished sketchbooks read together as a cohesive whole, it comes about by a process. If a page isn’t working, she may push it back under a layer of gouache, and let it rest before working on it again. She says the most important part of her sketchbook practice is to be still, observe, look for shapes, and let go of any preconceived images. Being present to what is in front of you, results in becoming better at seeing.
Pam often works in mixed media. She works outdoors and has developed solutions for keeping the supplies she needs within reach. She enjoys creating in ink, graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache. Whichever media she uses, Pam finds that her work has to include a lot of water, and chooses her notebooks accordingly.
Pam grew up in Waukesha, WI. She was inspired by the strong arts program and guidance of her teachers there. She holds a BFA from the University of Minnesota, specializing in painting. Pam has worked as a Graphic Designer, Instructor, and as a Visual Artist in the Twin Cities. She teaches sketchbook workshops both nationally and in the Twin Cities at the MN Landscape Arboretum. For the past eight years, she has led a book club in Hopkins, MN discussing books about art. (Artful Book Club at www.artfulbookclub.com). For more information about Pam, or her upcoming workshops at the Arboretum (July 28th,2021), Dillmans Resort (Aug.30-Sept.2, 2021), and Mendocino California Botanical Gardens (Date TBA), please visit www.pamluer.com
