Stella’s favorite part of her work is playing with DANIEL SMITH color. Her inspiration begins with play and it just comes to life when suddenly something resonates in it for her and she follows it. She exclaims, “Don’t get intimidated with white paper, just play”. This is also why she very much enjoys plein-air painting, so she can use all her senses, enjoying the way nature is incredibly engaging.

Stella Canfield’s artwork is about capturing a feeling and communicating it to us through her watercolors. Her current solo show is titled “Impressions in Watercolor” and represents that it is not about finding the perfect subject but rather expressing the emotions you feel toward it so that each time one looks at the painting, can discover something new. She likes to live in the freedom of this moment instead of planning a series or theme.

The paintings on the Master Set l and ll are connections to her personally because of the use of color and the scenes. Water scenes have long had a special inspiration and are linked to the magical years of her upbringing and life on an island north of Seattle where she lived with her husband and children for many years.

Stella explains that flowers and gardens are a passion of hers and links her to a very special place in Barzitsa, Bulgaria which was a creative center she and her husband founded in 2000 as a charitable organization serving as financial support for village children. This place bursts with colors and flowers and gardens, like the Master Set II. Vivid colors in both sets are important to Stella, as needed for energy and emotion that she wants to convey. They also mix well and produce beautiful neutrals as well as deep juicy darks.