Featured artist April Metternich share her portfolio of fantasy and nature-based watercolor paintings. To see more, visit her website.
An artist since I was three, I inherited my creative passions from my mother and her mother. At twelve, I took first and second place in the Southern Oregon Society of Artists Paint Out, competing with adults and professionals. At sixteen, I was the youngest member ever accepted into the Watercolor Society of Oregon. Selling my work through my parents’ gallery in Ashland helped pay my college tuition. Three galleries are currently showing my work in Oregon.
Painting is a form of meditation for me. One of my favorite aspects of watercolor is that it can be unpredictable. I like to observe how different colors interact; some blend to form a new color, and some intertwine without mixing. Some artists view backwashes as flaws to be avoided, but I embrace them as textural interest.
Growing up on a remote forested ranch, I was inspired by Winslow Homer’s style as I painted nature. My whimsical watercolors of gnarled tree roots, ancient moss-covered rocks, dancing water, and cool pools conveyed my spiritual connection to the earth.
Artists Brian Froud and Alan Lee inspired me to look for fairies and dark, mysterious creatures in the forest. Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo depicted strong, capable women that I could identify with. They were instrumental in the development of my self-esteem, the acceptance of my own strength and stature. I am an Amazon. A Goddess.
After marrying Bob the Barbarian, a powerful warrior and photographer, my painting took a domestic tone, reminiscent of Bon Appetit. I planted and painted wildly overgrown flower gardens, the crooked rows of my vegetable garden, and its bounty upon my table.
Goddess Portraits and Fantasy Art Illustrations blending all these elements are my focus now. Shunning superficial standards for beauty, my goal is to depict the true and natural beauty of my subjects, enhance their self-esteem, and help them discover their inner magic.
Like happy watercolor accidents, I embrace physical “imperfection” as interesting. Some people are already comfortable in their skins, willing to display their dark side, their shadow, their grotesque. Seeing someone do this enables others to incorporate, accept, and work with their own inner monsters and insecurities.
The theme of my work encompasses a wide range from the sweet and angelic to the dark and sensual, from humorous and light-hearted to grotesque and scary. Messages of ethics, bravery, love, and loyalty are woven throughout. My latest endeavor includes photography and digital art along with watercolor, ink, and pastel pencils. I am looking for illustration and licensing opportunities.
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