Watercolor and Pastel Paintings
Don Parker
December 29, 2020 - February 4, 2021
Brought to you by the Community Gallery at Kendal at Oberlin in collaboration with FAVA
“Watercolor painting is a balance between craftsmanship and serendipity.”
- Don Parker
Don Parker is a retired physician specializing in Nephrology, having practiced in Akron, Ohio for 35 years. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine Emeritus at Northeastern Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio. For 30 years Don painted in oils and acrylics on canvas. In the 1980s, Don’s wife, Joyce, persuaded him to join her in a watercolor workshop with a professional artist in the neighborhood. It has been predominantly transparent watercolors ever since, with only the recent addition of another medium, pastels, to his repertoire. Don currently resides at Kendal at Oberlin. This series of work was completed between 2015 and 2020 at Kendal’s Creative Art Studio.
All proceeds from the sale of paintings in this show will be donated to the Kendal at Oberlin Residents Assistance Fund (RAF) and FAVA.
This online exhibition is in cooperation with The Art Committee of Kendal at Oberlin, with special credit to Mary Behm, Curator of the Community Gallery and Grover Zinn, Chair of The Art Committee.
** Due to COVID-19, Kendal at Oberlin Community Gallery is not open to the public for in person viewing.**
"Aspen Valley", watercolor, 21”x17”, double matted in wood frame, SOLD
"Aspen Valley Redux", watercolor, 20”x16”, silver metallic frame, $125
"Cloud Shadows study", Pastel, 19”x15”, small study for Cloud Shadows, NFS
"Cloud Shadows" Pastel with watercolor underpainting, 26”x18”, NFS
"Colorado Front Range Hike", watercolor, 20”x16”, NFS
"Colorado Ranch", watercolor, 20”x15”, double matted, wood frame, $150
"Faithful In Storm and Calm", watercolor, 24”x19”, wood frame, $150
"Faithful In Storm and Calm Redux ", watercolor, 21”x17”, wood frame, $150
"Fence Line", pastel with watercolor underpainting, 18”x16”, wood frame, NFS
"High Alpine Meadow", pastel --study for Rocky Mt. High Meadow, 17”x15”, NFS
"Flower Shop in Lisbon", watercolor, 16”x21”, NFS
"Celtic Lodge at Cape Breton", watercolor, 17”x20”, wood frame, $150
"Oregon Lake Shore", watercolor, 24”X19”, double matted, wood frame, $150
"Prairie Icon", watercolor, 22”x18”, NFS
"Rainy Morning Walk", watercolor, 21”x17”, wood frame, SOLD
"Rocky Mountain High Meadow", watercolor, 28”x24”, fine finish wood frame, $250
"Stony Field", watercolor, 30”x21”, $250
"Swiss Alps Morning", watercolor, 21”x17”, NFS
"The Path Less Taken", watercolor, 26”x20”, NFS
"Undone", watercolor, 27”x21”, NFS
"Evening at a Wisconsin Farm", pastel with watercolor underpainting, 18”x17”, wood frame, $95
"Grand Tetons from Jackson Hole", watercolor, 28”x14”, double matted, wood frame, $75
"Lorain Lighthouse", watercolor and pastel, 21”x17”, wood frame, $75
"New England Idyll", pastel, 21”x17”, oval mat, wood frame, $75
"Rural Afterglow", watercolor, 26”x20”, wood frame, $150
"Seeking New Pasture", pastel and watercolor underpainting, 21”x17”, $100
Images from the Community Gallery at Kendal at Oberlin
Artist’s Statement
Don Parker
I enjoy the quality of color and the almost lit-from-behind transparency of watercolors. At times the spontaneity of water and color on paper makes me think that I am not so much controlling it as it is determining the final result. Watercolor painting is a balance between craftsmanship and serendipity.
I have discovered pastel painting in the last 3 years and find it a refreshing change. In contrast to watercolors, pastels can be layered and blended almost endlessly and thus are less spontaneous than watercolor. They are not transparent, but, being almost pure pigment, can be spectacular in the saturation of color obtainable. I have chosen to paint pastels on watercolor paper in order to make an initial watercolor underpainting. Almost all of my subject matter derives from photos taken by myself, or someone in our family.
All of the paintings in this virtual exhibit have been made in Kendal’s Creative Art Studio since its opening in 2015. As part of my expression of gratitude to Kendal for this delightful space and exceptional opportunity to create, I have decided that all of the proceeds from the sale of paintings in this exhibit will be donated to the Kendal at Oberlin Residents Assistance Fund (RAF) and FAVA.
Artist Bio:
Don Parker is a retired physician specializing in Nephrology, having practiced in Akron, Ohio for 35 years. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine Emeritus at Northeastern Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio. He currently resides at Kendal at Oberlin.
Art has been a life-long hobby for Don. Formal training began in the ninth grade with a year of traditional Chinese painting from a professional tutor in Chengdu, China, where his parents were medical missionaries. During high school, he took an evening community art course at Earlham College, Richmond IN, and, later, three terms of art at Manchester College, North Manchester, IN. He has taken workshops with professional artist's (in basements and art centers, at Art New England, Bennington, VT, JC Campbell Folk School, NC and other venues, some sponsored by Road Scholar, to name a few).
For 30 years Don painted in oils and acrylics on canvas. In the 1980s, Don’s wife, Joyce, persuaded him to join her in a watercolor workshop with a professional artist in the neighborhood. It has been predominantly transparent watercolors ever since, with only the recent addition of another medium, pastels, to his repertoire.