Cover Artist ... Laurie Bender

Featured on this issue's cover is award-winning California artist, Laurie Bender. "Autumn Retreat." one of her original landscape watercolors, has been released as a limited edition giclee fine art print.

The often asked question of Laurie Bender's award-winning paintings is "What medium are these?" The correct answer is, of course,"watercolor," Ms. Bender's works defy the traditional impression of watercolors as pale. hesitant and washed-out.She paints vibrant landscapes—capturing not so much what places look like, but what they feel like—with bold, decisive strokes and luminous saturated color.

As an undergraduate student in Fine Arts at UCLA, Ms. Bender was exposed to training in a variety of mediums. Her love of water color began a decade ago when she enrolled in a ''plein air" painting course in the Santa Monica mountains. Originally an oil painter, Laurie loved the immediacy and challenges of a new medium, and strove to achieve the same kind of personal color expression that she enjoyed in oils. Since that time, she has journeyed far afield both artistically and geographically. Her widely-collected watercolors capture the beauty and wonder of the landscapes she visits, from the Southwest desert to New England's autumn vistas.

Born in new York and raised throughout the Midwest, Laurie now resides in Sherman Oaks, CA with her significant other, Steven, and two bichon rises. A typical college graduate. Laurie left UCLA seeking job security. Instead of pursuing the career of a fine artist, she entered the fashion business, where she worked as a designer and merchandiser for various Los Angeles-based firms. In 1991 her employer of seven years closed its doors. Laurie realized it was time for a major career change. I really felt I was ready to go out on my own," she said. "The allure of the fashion business with its high profile and attendant high income caused me to make choices based more on perceived earning power than on my real desire, which was to continue painting." A "Saturday" painter for years, Laurie had only shown her creations to family and friends. It was time for objectivity and raw opinions; Laurie sought these out with the aid of an artist mentor who exposed her to outdoor art shows. At her first show in 1992, Laurie was amazed to begin selling her original watercolors to total strangers.

Today, six years later, Laurie enjoys amazing success. Her original watercolors are quite large, time-consuming to produce, and start at $4200 Fortunately, recent advances in technology now allow Laurie's collectors to be able to also acquire her images as gicleé fine art prints, like "Autumn Retreat," the cover image. These are the highest quality reproductions available, produced in very small editions on watercolor paper. These days, most other originals are created on a commission basis for clients who see the kind of work that she paints, and choose to have Laurie create a unique personal painting for their home or office. Laurie markets her works directly at prestigious large outdoor art fairs around the country. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Laurie's works appear in a myriad of private and corporate collections. For more information and acquiring Laurie's work, contact her at her studio at (818) 788-3061 in Sherman Oaks. All other recent works can also be view on her web page at http://www.w3art.com/LaurieBender.html.

Country Register, October - November, 1998