Monica Turner
Watercolors & Photography
Originally from Riverside, CA, I traveled north in 1980 to attend U.C. Davis. While at U.C.D. I studied Range and Wild lands Science and took to spending a lot of my time out of doors studying nature. Upon graduating, I worked numerous jobs that would allow me the chance to travel to the Four Corners region. However, it was the travel to the Wildlife Refuges in and around the Sacramento Valley where I have had the chance to develop my love of capturing life on paper. I have enjoyed my many attempts to bring just a few of the bird species to life on a sheet of paper.
I had drawn for years before deciding that pen and pencil were too confining for my vision. Then I picked up a paintbrush. I enjoy the freedom that brushes and watercolor afford me. I enjoy painting images using the color pigments in water, whether its pigment first, then the addition of water, or water first, then introduction of the pigment. I like discovering the effects of the interaction because I never know the outcome until the action has been undertaken. No matter if it's a 'good' or 'bad' outcome, I always learn from the results.
My travels have also allowed me to visit Kenya and Tanzania because I have volunteered to take part in field research in Kenya, sponsored through U.C. Davis. The research keeps me busy 6 days a week, but on the seventh day I go out traveling the surrounding area with my camera taking photographs that will be the basis for my watercolors. We usually plan one 3-4 day safari to a National Refuge while there. These travels provide the inspiration for much of my recent work.
While I am self-taught, I have taught a course to children and done demonstrations in Old Sacramento. The one piece of advice I always give people who have asked is that it is best to limit your palette. Then you will learn about the individual colors and how they interact much faster.
Monica can be reached at: turnstan@comcast.net
