Doug Lew Watercolor and Acrylics

About the artist

I was born in Shanghai, China, and came to the United States with my parents at age 15, having completed all but the last year of high school in China. In those years, all school children, from about age six on, were required to do calligraphy every day in small and large characters as a daily exercise, somewhat similar to penmanship in the west. An average of one hour a day was spent copying past masters of calligraphy in several styles and sizes. By about age 12 most, if not all, were quite proficient in the handling of a brush, at least to the extent that handwriting could be legible throughout China. As in all endeavors, some excelled more than others but everyone understood the importance of calligraphy not only as means of communication but as an art form in the highest degree - equal to if not surpassing painting. In fact, one form of painting in China is traditionally referred to as "writing nature." Exposure to all things western was a unique advantage growing up in Shanghai in those years. The technological superiority of the west led most of us into a fascination of the west – movies, magazines, fashion, language, food, writings, music and art. I remembered in junior high school, art classes were given once a week for about two hours. We were given a choice of doing western art or traditional Chinese art. I chose western art. Oil was too expensive so we used watercolor instead, which, to me, felt like a natural extension of calligraphy. It was a very superficial orientation to watercolor. In the meantime, with a small circle of classmates, we competed with each other in copying the likeness of movie stars and other subjects in pencil and ink. The skill was further sharpened in life-drawing classes later. It remained a pleasurable and valuable skill in later years.

Any statement by a serious artist can only be the thoughts and ideas expressed at one particular time of his/her long development in art. Look at all the different periods Picasso went through, or the difference between Turner's official paintings and those he did on his own. Observe Goya's court paintings and those wonderful drawings he secretly did of the cruelties of war. Look at Sargent's official portraits and his casual watercolor sketches. Or Homer's long journey from an illustrator to oil paintings and, finally, his marvelous watercolors. One wonders what went through their minds if their thoughts could be written down at various stages for us to muse. I was especially struck by Cezanne's comment who, realizing his imminent death, said, "...damn it, just when I'm beginning to find out about colors!"

This is true of myself. I, too, have begun to find out about colors - a very elusive and mystifying part of painting. It defies any formulas and rejects any systematic analysis. Its emotional impact is immediate and personal. No wonder Monet can paint the exact same subject six or seven different times in different color schemes. If I were to analyze myself, I would say that I paint broadly in the style of contemporary realism and my colors have varied in recent years. I prefer paintings that are unexpectedly well composed and convey a solid drawing - not a copy of a photograph but of imagination and knowledge. I believe there is excellence in every genre of art - representational, abstract, semiabstract, anecdotal, narrative, cause driven and message giving. Each must be judged according to its own criteria, but all still have to deal with the basic principles of art. I enjoy a good abstract painting though it leaves me a bit dissatisfied, for, without the discipline of drawing, I feel unchallenged either in painting one or viewing one. I strive to achieve a sense of force and lightness, of energy and ease, a careful carelessness and a sense of the poetic.

Biography Education Bradley University, BFA 1952, MA 1953 Selected Exhibitions and Awards
1977	Midwest Watercolor Society, annual juried show, Award of Excellence, Duluth, MN
1979	Midwest Watercolor Society, annual juried show, Award of Excellence, Rochester, West Bend, WI
1980	Salmagundi Club, annual juried show, Award of Excellence, New York, NY
1981	Allied Artists of America, annual juried exhibit, Merit Award, New York, NY
1991	Salon Regain, by invitation, Lyon, France. Five paintings exhibited.
1993	National Watercolor Oklahoma, annual juried show, Gold Medal, Midwest City, OK
1996	Salmagundi Club Annual, juried show, New York, NY
1997	Salmagundi Club Annual, juried show, New York, NY
1999	Minnesota Watercolor Society, annual juried show, First Honors, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota.
2000	Salmagundi Club Annual, juried show, Dale Meyers Medal Award, New York, NY
2002	Louisiana Watercolor Society, annual juried show, New Orleans, LA
2002	San Diego Watercolor Society Annual, juried show, San Diego, CA
2003	Watercolor West, juried show, Riverside Museum, Riverside, CA
2004	Watercolor Art Society-Houston International Exhibition, juried show, Houston, TX
2004	Louisiana Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, New Orleans, LA
2005	Northwest Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, Seattle, WA, purchase award.
2006	Louisiana Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, First Honor, New Orleans, LA
2006	Watercolor West, juried show, San Pedro, CA
2006	Pennsylvania Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, Marywood University, PA
2007	Louisiana Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, President’s Award, New Orleans, LA
2007	National Watercolor Oklahoma Exhibition, juried show, Oklahoma City, OK
2008	Minneapolis Institute of Arts, one painting, juried and selected for Art Perchance, Minneapolis, MN
2008	Waterborne, A Regional Exhibition of Watercolor, four paintings by invitation, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota
2009	Philadelphia Watercolor Society International Exhibition, juried show, Kennett Square, PA
2009	Watercolor West, International Juried Exhibition, Signature Membership achieved, Riverside, CA
2009	National Watercolor Society International Juried Exhibition, achieved signature status, San Pedro, CA
2009	Minneapolis Institute of Arts, One painting accepted by Art Per Chance, Minneapolis, MN
2010	Watercolor West, International Annual, juried show, Brea, CA.
2010	Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, annual juried show, Warren, PA
2010	Rocky Mountain National Water media, annual juried show, Avon, CA
2010	Northwest Watercolor Society, International Annual, juried show, Seattle, WA
2010	Allied Artists of America, annual juried show, New York, NY
2010	New England Watercolor Society, annual juried show, Rockport, MA
Signature Memberships
1983	Transparent Watercolor Society of America
1999	Louisiana Watercolor Society
2006	San Diego Watercolor Society
2007	Pennsylvania Watercolor Society
2009	Northwest Watercolor Society
2009	Watercolor West
2009	National Watercolor Society
Books and Video
1987	Author, Capturing Motion in Watercolor, published by Watson/Guptill, New York, NY. 144 page book with more than 300 illustrations. Translated in French, Saisir le Mouvement a l'Aquerelle, 1991 by Bordas, Paris, France.
1991	Author, Tauromachy: The Art of Bullfighting, a six minute video containing 140 drawings and painting. Merit Award, The Houston International Film Festival, Houston, TX .
2000	Author, A Watercolor Journal of Florence, published by Mandragora, Florence, Italy
2004	Author, Painting from Life: Explorations in Watercolor, published by Watson/Guptill, New York, NY.
2011	Author, Great Composers in Watercolors, published by Trafford Publishing, Bloomington, IN.
Selected Publications
1988	"Arts Salutes" by Adelheid Fischer, six works featured, Arts: The Magazine of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, January edition.
1991	Hands Faces and Figures by Angela Gair, seven paintings selected, published by Quarto Publishing London, England.
1991	Painting Solutions: Houses and Buildings by Hazel Harrison, two paintings selected, published by Studio Vista, London, England.
1992	Painting the Effects of Atmosphere by Patricia Seligman, Five paintings selected,published by North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, CBH Publishing, Inc. Houston, Texas.
1994	The Complete Watercolor Artist, edited by Sally Harper, four paintings selected, published by Chartewell Books, Edison, New Jersey.
1996	People in Watercolor selected by Betty Lou Schlemm, one painting selected, Rockport Publishers, Rockport, Massachusetts.
1997	Best of Watercolor - Painting Composition, one painting selected, Rockport Publishers, Rockport, MA.
1997	Best of Sketching and Drawing, one drawing selected, Rockport Publishers, Inc., Rockport, MA.
1998	The Collected Best of Watercolors, one painting selected, Rockport Publishers, Rockport, MA.
2002	The Collected Best of Watercolors, one painting selected, Rockport Publishers, Rockport, MA.
2004	Painting Light & Shade, eleven paintings selected, Quarto Publishing, London, UK
2008	Different Strokes, Two paintings featured, Quarto Publishing, London, UK
2008	Cabinology, author Dale Mulfinger, one painting featured
Selected Publications
Tyrone Guthrie Theater - 14 paintings to commemorate the 30th year of "A Christmas Carol".
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line - 7 paintings for the cruise ship "Enchantment of the Seas"
Ritz Carlton Hotel - 2 paintings reproduced as prints.
US West / Carlson Travel - 1 painting reproduced as prints.
Goldman Sachs of Los Angeles – 1 painting for the lobby.
Doug Lew is listed in American Artist: An Illustrated Survey of Leading Contemporary Artists of Chinese Origin in North America Doug Lew has taught watercolor at the University of Minnesota as Adjunct Associate Professor.