Denice Belcher-A Journey Towards Original Art (second of Art Talk series)

18"h x 10"w original watercolor
barn interior by Denice Belcher 2008

15"h x 20"w original watercolor
undergrowth by Denice Belcher 2008
"These works...they are things that I have seen,
I have taken photos of them myself,
and then painted from the photos."

click on triangle to view this clip (sound is muffled by wind)

Denice Belcher shared her power point presentation in the Conference Center of the Carrollton Public Library Wednesday evening, October 22nd.The Art Talk series is sponsored by the Arts Council of Carroll County.

"Oil is where I began when I started taking classes. There was a lady in Excelsior Springs, Missouri that taught oil painting. I would go one night a week. There was a group of us that would sit around a lunch table in her basement and paint. That was where I learned how to mix the colors, make a palette, learn what kind of brush to use, and that was a lot of fun. It was before I had children, so I didn't have all those other distractions. I went once a week for probably a year. We got to be friends, so it was fun to sit around, chat, and paint. I would like to see something like that happen here in Carrollton."

16"h x 12"w pastel on paper
self-portrait by Denice Belcher

watercolor close up

working with watercolor in her own words
(click triangle to view video)

snow photo file

lilly pad photo file

horse photo file

take your camera everywhere

pencil exercises (click on triangle to view video)

"The pencil medium is really new to me. I went Christmas shopping and heard about this little shop in Alma, Missouri. I went over there. Alma is a real small town. The owner Don Stoll does a lot of pencil portraits. He was starting up a class. So I signed up in the spring, for a couple months, one night a week from 7 to 9:30 each week to draw. The group of people that came were from all different areas and do all kinds of things. It was fun to meet new people. You would draw for the first hour or two, then there would be a period in the evening when everyone would gather around one person and critique each other's work. That was when you learned what improvements you could make."

closeup of class work

"House work can wait.
GO PAINT."
Evelyn Miller

listen to Belcher
click on triangle to start video
"There are times when things CAN come out of my head.
Most of the time,
I do have to look at something,
when I first started in anything."