An artist’s explorations take her around the world
Gale Waddell
Gale Waddell has been a favorite with art students at Continuing Education for almost 30 years. She has taught watercolor workshops overseas, in Italy and in the Greek Isles. Her travel and sketch journals have been featured in American Artist magazine.
Gale is one of New Mexico’s own artists. She was born in Silver City and reared in Albuquerque, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Drake University where she graduated with honors. Gale is a signature member of Watercolor USA and the New Mexico Watercolor Society.
Of her love for watercolor, Gale says, “Watercolor— glorious, luminous, changing, splashing, quick—is such a joyfully creative medium with which to express any ideas or feelings.”
Gale has truly lived the life of an artist, travelling the world to paint and teach; leading tours to Italy, England, Greece, even China, and also aboard the Cunard Cruise lines. Her travels produce richly detailed sketchbooks which have been featured in American Artist magazine. They are filled with both ink and watercolor renderings, and notes on the day spent in an exotic locale.
As the title of the page to the left, “Italy Revisited,” says, Gale Waddell’s travel sketchbooks provide the opportunity to revisit in rich detail, and to share with others, an afternoon spent painting in a magical setting, whose rich tapestry might otherwise be lost to memory.
“This trip I am an instructor at La Romita. Narni was our first trip out—these towns stay much as they have been for hundreds of years,” say the notes, taking us back to a warm July day in Italy in 1988.
Her joy in painting is shared with her students, of whom she says, “Teaching painting to adults is always stimulating for me in my own work.” Her course, Watercolor Techiques, is fun for beginners and advanced students alike, who enjoy demonstrations of painting techniques by Gale, their own painting exercises, and individual and group critiques.
She imparts to her students lessons gleaned from her travels, painting on-site around the world. The knowledge gained from the study she has dedicated to her own artistic process is bestowed upon her students in the group session after the students complete the class exercise. Nuances of craftsmanship are conveyed as she expressively, passionately and sincerely critiques the students’ work.
Gale captures treasures as she records painting ideas in her sketchbooks. Here, the notes say: “Old old grey green men / Dancing through old age / Twisted / Knarled / Holding hands / Dancing, dancing over hills / Trunks black with age / 100 years some day”
Gale teaches:
Note: Titles above link to our online registration site, which does not post courses after they are held. Course lists are updated at the beginning of the semester. Depending on when you click a title on the list above, some items may have already passed. You may always refer to the course index or to the printed course catalog for course information.
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Contact
For information call 277-6320 or email ddel@unm.edu
