Marcia Beckett : Watercolor Delight

I was drawn to Marcia Beckett's beautiful works of watercolor art. I remember trying watercolors when I was a child and ending up with a kaleidoscope of wet color on my wrinkled paper. Ms. Beckett's beautiful interpretations and expressions, with this medium, portray such a flowing feel, that she makes it look almost easy. Being a huge fan of color, I am definitely a fan of her artistic creations. I had the privilege of interviewing Ms. Beckett for today's column. Please read with me and learn about the woman behind the art.

I have always loved art as a child. In high school I enjoyed it as well, but I didn't have any self-confidence in my abilities. I never considered it as a career option until I took a general studies course in art during college. At the end of the course, the teacher wrote me a note encouraging me to pursue art as a major. I owe it to her as the reason I chose the field. I decided to become an elementary art teacher to combine my desire to work with kids and to make art.

As a child, my first art creations were collages and drawings in books. I remember a small book with flowers in it that my grandma gave me. I drew all over the pages, added stickers and other cutouts.

My first memorable piece of art was in college where I was making a realistic painting of the hallway. I took a break from painting, and walked into the bathroom. While I was in the bathroom, I overheard some older art students mocking the painting I was making. It made me so angry and hurt, that I walked out of the bathroom and completely changed the painting. I turned the hallway into an ominous and expressive picture. Instead of painting in realistic colors, I used red paint for marks on the wall, which kind of resembled blood. After it was finished, I was very pleased with the result and entered it into a local juried art show. It won 2nd place for the painting category. I know some of those girls who mocked it were at the show, so it gave me a nice sense of satisfaction.

Right now, I am building up a body of work and developing my style. I have always painted and drawn, but this past year I have really become more immersed in my art making. I show my art on my blog: http://marciabeckett.blogspot.com. I will be showing a couple of artworks in a coffee shop gallery in Chicago this fall. I also enjoy giving my art as gifts.

My current projects include painting vivid and bright watercolor "doodle" paintings, inspired by nature, fruit and flowers. I also do a lot of art journaling and have been submitting them for publications. Within the next year, I am going to create an online shop for prints and greeting cards and I would like to begin selling at arts and craft fairs. I'm not looking to make tons of money, but it would be nice to earn a little extra in order to sustain my art hobby!

Ms. Beckett's beautiful interpretations and expressions, with this medium, portray such a flowing feel, that she makes it look almost easy.

In the words of Marcia Beckett, from her website, "I am a K-6 art teacher in Madison, WI. I am a new mom and I try to do some creative things in my spare time. This blog is about my personal art experiments."
Connecting with Marcia Beckett :
	Blog :	vividlayers.blogspot.com
	Blog :	marciabeckett.blogspot.com