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July - August 15th 1998

Floral works by Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Claudia McKinstry and Kathy Mitcham

Patricia Tobacco Forrester is known for bold, close-up realist watercolors featuring blooming plants and trees, often depicted from unusual vantage points. Her virtuoso command of the genre brings a photo-realist quality to a medium known more for suggestion than for literal renderings. Her interpretations of bark and other plant textures are astounding in their clarity. Several large works measuring 60"x40" will be on display as well as smaller works in the 20"x30" range. Ms. Tobacco Forrester, represented by galleries throughout the country, received an MFA from Yale University in 1965 and a Guggenhein Fellowship in 1967. She has been a subject of the arts press for the past three decades including stories in Art in America, Art Forum, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle and many others. Her works have been acquired by many of the most important museums, corporate and private collections in the U.S.

Patricia Tobacco Forrester
"Windy in the Sea Grapes"
watercolor on paper
40"x60"

Patricia Tobacco Forrester
"Storm Flowers"
watercolor on paper
37"x23"

Claudia McKinstry, who makes her home on Bainbridge Island, is also a master of floral realism but works primarily in oils. Ms. McKinstry's work has an almost spooky, surreal feel to it; palm-sized flowers are enlarged many times, against a dark background, to as big as or larger than a human face, giving the feel of a doll house voyeur in the form of a flower. Textures and details not normally obvious tend to startle the viewer. Several works in the 30"x40" range will be displayed as well as one giant diptych, "Foxglove," measuring 80"x36".

Claudia McKinstry
"Fox Glove"
oil on canvas
36"x80"

Seattle watercolorist Kathy Mitcham works in a style similar to that of Ms. Tobacco Forrester but on a much smaller scale (11"x15" to 22"x19"). Her paintings depict garden scenes, potted plants and, most recently, freer big picture landscapes which are more concerned with mood than with literal details. Ms. Mitcham is a long standing member of the Northwest Watercolor Society and has works in many significant local collections.

Kathy Mitcham
"Twig Chair"
watercolor on paper
22"x19"

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