VIRGINIA KWELLER Named one of the TOP TEN in Tennessee by the Protrait Society of America 2007

Virginia Kweller grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, just north of Nashville Tennessee, where she now lives with her husband and two children. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Kentucky University where she studied printmaking. Her primary form of printmaking was lithography, which allowed her to draw directly on the stone or plate.

After school and needing to make a living she found herself in the field of television advertising where she spent the next 20 years. During this time a friend wanted to try watercolor painting and suggested they
take a workshop. Virginia was surprised by how much she liked it and began painting again after many years of absence. Since then she has worked developing her own style in creating watercolor portraits and paintings. She recently began sumiting her work for shows and has been very successful. She won 1st place in the watercolor division for the American Juried Art Salon 2006 fall show.

Other honors:
Accepted into the Southern Watercolor Society 2007 Juried Competition
For her painting “Laura Faraway”.

Won 1st place in the Suntrust Bank Art Competition 1998

42nd Central South Art Exhibition Won the Mildred Kautzman Memorial Award for Realism

Portrait Society of America 2008 Top Ten in Tennessee



Artist Statement:
“I love the transparent effect of watercolor. The way it moves and flows over the paper to create light and bring to life the object. My subjects vary as do my taste in most things. My hope, when painting a portrait, is to reach that moment when the look in the eyes of my subject is captured and all of a sudden they come alive.”