Paula Fiebich Watercolors

Artists Magazine Finalist

2026-02-04T20:47:00.002-05:00

Congratulations!

Your image has been selected as a FINALIST by our Awards Juro, Chris Krupinski, in the Splash 27: The Best of Watercolor art competition.

Your artwork will be published in a special issue of Artists Magazine, scheduled to hit newsstands in July 2026. Title of the painting: Commedia dell Arte'.

First painting for the new year

2026-01-25T20:23:00.003-05:00

First painting of the new year!  I have not firmed up a title yet. This still-life is different. I have some unique objects in my house along with textiles. 

I was interested in putting different textures together such as the distressed "Santos" statue. The "Santos" are Roman Catholic Saints originated in Spain. They are used for worship and protection. The ceramic vase to the right holds "Hypericum Berries" also known as St. John's Wort. They symbolize protection, good health and positive energy. French Toile textile in the background and vase on the left holds some favorite brushes. I baked in a lot of symbols in this one as I feel a good vibe for the new year  is needed in 2026!

"Chanterelles" has been accepted into the IWM Exhibit!

2025-10-05T23:47:00.002-04:00

I have been given the great honor of being part of IWM Exhibition in 2026! It is an opportunity to hang with the masters! This show will be held at Lilleshall Hall in Shropshire, England next May. Some history on my painting entitled "Chanterelles" is something that caught my eye while visiting the Village of Sarlat, France. Outside this restaurant was a basket full of Chanterelle mushrooms. Their rich color and gourmet aspect I found interesting. There were stems of ferns stuck in the basket and a chalkboard sign advertising about making them into omelettes. The wicker french chairs and cobblestone patterns added to the design.

Development of "Enlightenment"

2025-10-05T23:37:00.000-04:00

The development of "Enlightenment" starting with developing the statue of Buddha. I achieved the texture utilizing such materials as salt, granulation paints, and techniques such as spattering. Once I was satisfied with the result, I proceeded onto developing the plants and floral parts of the painting. The background was worked on in stages as I worked in different areas.

Enlightenment

2025-09-03T17:58:00.002-04:00

This is a painting that have revisited. I did one a few years back but was not happy with the result. I still wanted to paint this buddha statue and worked hard to not only come up with a different composition, but also to capture the stone work with its textures. I am happy with the result. What I am most proud of is the texture on the statue that was created with different watercolor effects. He holds a single blossom and is surrounded with tropical foliage. This was on on Arches Rough watercolor paper.

Monpazier, France

2025-03-17T16:00:00.001-04:00

This is a cafe scene from the Village of Monpazier, France located in the Southwest corner. A few years back, I painted this scene with a different composition but wanted to try a different layout. I am intrigued with capturing the weathered stone walls with watercolor granulation and texturing techniques.The medieval village of Monpazier to find such textures is an excellent source. This is the first new painting of 2025!

New Year and more art to explore!

2025-01-07T12:26:00.001-05:00

What is it about a new year and making a fresh start? Do we constantly have a need to re-invent ourselves? I believe the answer is yes. I know that I always start to think about what I want to accomplish this year and what would make me fulfilled and happy. What does one want to have in one's life. As you get older, your thoughts lean toward your longevity. We are all here on a temporary basis. But we get caught up in the everyday things that we need to do in order to live. Art has a way of making even the most mundane lives one of excitement and pleasure.

Last year and this year, I tried some new mediums that can work with watercolor as I have been wanting to expand my creativity. I dabbled with jelly gouache to create my Monet Garden series of paintings. I tried my hand at Collage in which I created my Moon Series. I now have been interested in lino printing. A novice at best but here is my first result shown below. It is entitled "White Mulberry".

Let us all continue to see the beauty around us and leave the troubles in the world to a God. We can help a little to aleviate some discomforts. Hopefully, I hope that you have enjoyed my blog and has brought some inspiration. Take care and have a happy new year.

Watercolor and Collage

2024-10-20T20:38:00.001-04:00

Forest Moon

Spirit Angel Moon

Collage work as intrigued me for some time now. The way that you can put elements of designs and subject matter to form pleasing sometimes abstract or surreal images together. Combining watercolor, is something that I have been toying with. For me, I have to have it revolved around a single theme idea and creatively put together elements in an intuitive way. Here are some results that I am pleased with. The Moons with the backgrounds are my watercolors. The rest are images and papers that I have collected over the years that I am now putting to use.

Empress Moon

My Watercolor Workshop in Duravel, France

2024-10-20T17:08:00.008-04:00

The watercolor workshop in the Southwest corner of France was a resounding success! This was my first time teaching internationally. I could not be more please. All students enjoyed the workshop. Here are a few photos of the art studio and the surrounding medieval villages that we had the pleasure in visiting and learning about the history.

Bridge in Cahors

Medieval Village St Cirq La Popie

My Students and I out for dinner at Michelin Star Restaurant, Stelsia

The grounds at Domaine du Haut Baran. The workshop generated this painting of Haut Baran.

Incognito

2024-07-30T21:49:00.003-04:00

This is a bit different than my usual watercolors. Doing some experimenting and testing out a new watercolor paper that I had not used before. I had a photo of several unpainted venetian masks displayed in a window which included not only human looking face masks but also animals. I was drawn to the different expressions and experimented with color and form. Sometimes you have to get out of a comfort zone and try something different.

Domaine du Haut Baran

2024-04-01T14:34:00.000-04:00

I will be conducting my first International Watercolor Workshop this year! I have been teaching in my local area for some time now and this opportunity came up for me this Fall. I was there many years ago attending a workshop by Judy Morris and love the place! Coming full circle, I am now teaching and will now be conducting a workshop. My workshop is filled for this year already but we'll see what the future holds.

First Performance!

2024-03-03T21:41:00.002-05:00

I am proud of this painting that was a commission for a special friend. It is of his granddaughter in a play. I was so attracted to the theatrical theme and enjoyed creating the lighting effects in watercolor. It was a challenge but I am pleased with the result. I took photos of it in stages as I developed the painting. They are posted below. The painting was done on 300lb Kilimanjaro watercolor paper.

Trying Something New!

2024-01-20T10:14:00.002-05:00

Breaking away from transparent watercolor, I tried working with Jelly Gouache. I enjoyed it but took a bit of practice to get use to it and its quality and properties. Based on scenes of photos that I took while visiting Monet's Garden, I sketched out these designs and painted using the gouache.

These turned out to be fun, small works of art that can be framed or used for notecards. If you have tried painting with this fairly new medium, please comment below. Also, I would like feedback on the designs that I created.

Chanterelles

2023-10-01T17:44:00.001-04:00

Two things were accomplished with this paintings titled "Chanterelles". I took a photo of this scene when in France the last time. I have always been fond of it but I knew the chanterelle mushrooms would be a challenge to paint. Second of all, I wanted to try out new watercolor paper made by Windsor & Newton. It is their professional watercolor block 12 x 16 hot press paper.

As you can see, I think my painting turned out well. It was a pleasure to work on the paper and will now be using it on a regular basis. Any feedback that you might have if you are familiar with this watercolor paper, please comment.

8 x 8" Watercolors

2023-07-08T22:15:00.003-04:00

Because of an upcoming exhibition coming soon, I have created several 8" x 8" watercolor paintings. I am not sure which one I should submit, but I will be creating a page on my website just for these small paintings. I would like to offer small prints of these and hope to source them soon. Here they are:

If one catches your eye, please let me know.

4TH Annual Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition

2023-07-08T22:09:00.007-04:00

I am pleased to have received the following message:

Dear Artist,

We are pleased to inform you that your paintings "Reaching Out" and "Monpazier" have been accepted into the 4th Annual Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition. Congratulations!

Your paintings were two of 216 accepted entries this year out of over 1800 entries from over 60 countries, from the best of the best women watercolor artists; so you should be very proud!

And I am very proud! Here are the paintings:

New 8" x 8" April Dawn

2023-05-16T15:24:00.003-04:00

I am working up a few watercolors in an 8"x8" format. I will reveal at a later time why. I intend to do a series which I will post on my blog. Here, I have recorded in a few steps how it looked leading to the final at the bottom. It depicts a dalia blossom which caught my eye and thought it would make for an interesting watercolor subject. To enhance the composition, I put in a lacy pattern in a strip in the background. (I discovered that "Washi Tape" used in the first image makes for a crisp edge and paint does not seep underneath.)

Painting Finished

2023-05-02T21:32:00.001-04:00

I started this painting back during covid. I put it away for awhile and made some revisions to it. Slight ones. I now feel it is ready. When an artist works on something for a period of time, it is good to stop looking at it only to come back to it with a fresh eye. I generally look at it this way and see things that can be improved upon. Maybe some little things that were not part of the reference or composition. "Low Tide at Mont St. Michel" is now complete.

Zen Redux

2023-01-30T22:05:00.004-05:00

Sometimes as an artist, you have the desire or affliction to not be satisfied with your work. and sometimes you take a painting and mess about with it. That is the case with my painting "Zen". Here is how it has been re-worked. Still not happy with it and desire to let this one go and start fresh with something else. Sometimes you just cannot make it happen. Any thoughts on the two versions would appreciated. You can email me or write a comment.

Stolen Painting!

2023-01-30T21:59:00.004-05:00

Some international intrigue! One of the paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts Van Gogh in America Exhibit was reported to be stolen by a Brazilian art collector. He claims to have paid 3.7m for it. The case is currently in the courts. He attests that a third party stole it. He saw the media about the show in Detroit and immediately notified the DIA.

Van Gogh in America

2023-01-08T14:40:00.001-05:00

Along with my own artwork, I would like for my blog to be about art and artists. I had the privilege of attending the most significant exhibition of Van Gogh outside of Europe here in America. The exhibition was highlighting 100 years of the Detroit Institute of Arts acquiring the first Van Gogh painting ever to be bought in the USA. There was controversy at the time even though his paintings were gaining much exposure in Europe. The museums at the time in America thought it was a foolish move. Ha! It was the smartest move ever. Even though I only found one in the collection that was done with watercolors and mixed media, I still think that my followers will be interested in this. Here are some painting from the collection.

Artistic Excellence Award

2022-12-28T12:20:00.002-05:00

Circle Foundation for the Arts puts out a Circle Quarterly Art Review Magazine Contest. The magazine goes out to galleries I believe around the world. I received this certificate from them for my entry Commedia Dell' Arte! That about finishes up this incredible year of getting much recognition for my art.

Zen Complete (At least for now)

2022-11-12T16:32:00.004-05:00

Reached the final stages. I completed the intricate pattern of the blooms and the leaves. I need to stop working now and look at it later with a fresh eye. I might make a change but can't see what I might want to change later on. Then again, it might just be complete as it is right now. Hopefully you can see my thought process as I have shown step-by-step how I approached this subject. Appreciate any feedback from my followers. Thank you for watching!

Step III

2022-10-09T14:49:00.000-04:00

Here is step III! Now I am developing the leaves and tropical floral around the statue of Buddha. Still using Daniel Smith colors of Serpentine Green, Zolsite Genuine and Winsor & Newton Sap

Green for the leaves.

Daniel Smith Opera Pink, Organic Vermilion and Hansa Yellow for flowers and stems of tropical plant.

A little bit of Brown Umber mix for shadows.

Here is a close-up of the stone texture:

Progression

2022-09-22T09:13:00.001-04:00

After putting down the initial pour, I developed the statue. Using Daniel Smith colors of Black Tourmaline, and Serpentine Genuine, I created the effect of stone. The underlying colors of the pour show through as highlights on the statue. Opera Pink was used for the delicate flower placed in the folded hands to give a sharp contrast. Stay tuned for the next step!