Stan Miller Watercolor Workshop

Stan Miller, an internationally known American artist, has been a professional painter in watercolor and egg tempera for more than forty years. Miller has earned many awards, exhibited his paintings in numerous exhibitions, galleries and museums, and instructed workshops and juried art events around the world. He is an award winner and signature member of the American Watercolor Society, and in 2018, he was on the Jury of Awards for the 151st American Watercolor Society International Exhibition.

Miller was born on a small farm in Southeastern South Dakota in 1949, where he was one of seven children. Growing up, Stan would watch his brother, Greg, draw. He was influenced by a various events in his childhood, such as visiting professional watercolorist Randy Penner, a family, along with being taught perspective in the third grade. Stan originally went to attend Spokane Falls Community College for physical education, since he considered an art major unrealistic. Nonetheless, he made the switch to a commercial arts major, and ended up graduating with an Applied Arts Degree and a Commercial Art Degree. It was during the third year of his college education where took his first watercolor class, which led to the selling of his paintings for as little as $2 per piece, before graduating. Since then, Stan has continued to live in Spokane, other than the two years he spent in Pennsylvania.

In the fall of 1973, Stan had made a decision to make a living as a full time, professional watercolorist and has managed to do that now for more than forty years. Along with painting, he started teaching watercolor in 1976, with little teaching experience. Now, he enjoys teaching nearly as much as painting, as he teaches weekly classes in Spokane as well as workshops around the world. Stan spends most of his time in his studio painting, hoping never to retire.

Stan’s recent exhibitions and awards include 2016 Quondam International Exhibition - Quindao, China; 2015 First Place - The Artist’s Magazine Competition; 2014 World Water Media Competition and Exhibition - Narbonne, France; 2014 World Water Media Exposition and Exhibition - Bangkok, Thailand; 2010, 2013 and 2018 American Watercolor Society Exhibition – New York City, USA.

For more about Stan Miller, please visit: www.stanmiller.net

Howard Friedland was born in Bronx New York. Lived in Miami Florida, Albuquerque and Taos New Mexico and now resides in Bozeman Montana with his wife artist Susan Blackwood. He studied fine art and commercial art at New York's High School of Music and Art. He went to college at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science in the department of Art and Architecture in New York's Greenwich Village. Howard has studied painting with Ned Jacob, Michael J. Lynch, Mark Daley, Laura Robb, William Schultz, Robert Kuester, Charles Reed ,Carolyn Anderson, Mitch Billis, Scott Christensen and most recently with Matt Smith.

Oil Painters of America inducted Howard as a Signature Member into their organization in 2003. Friedland is a Director on the Board of Oil Painters of America and is the Chairman of the Jury Selection Committee. He was featured in the July 1989 issue of American Artist Magazine . He has been featured in the Master Painters of the World section of the International Artists Magazine, Plein Air Magazine and Fine Art Connousseur Magazine. He has painted, taught and exhibited extensively in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Arizona, Florida, Mexico, France, Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and China. His work has won numerous awards and is in many private and corporate collections.

"The challenge for me is always to see the world with fresh eyes and respond spontaneously to the beauty before me ... I prefer to paint only enough for the viewer to get a clear vision of what the subject is and suggest the rest. When the painting is viewed close up you can see the many colorful brush strokes, as you step further away the brush strokes disappear and your eye pulls the whole painting together. That is what the magic of painting is about for me. This allows the viewers to use his or her imagination and participate in the painting", exclaims the artist.

For more about Howard Friedland, please visit: www.howardfriedland.com 

We're proud to present Comfort Inn + Suites as the official sponsor of Piqua Arts Council's Artist Workshops. Comfort Inn + Suites has an average customer rating of 4 stars, and is collectively claimed the best hotel in Piqua, Ohio. The establishment is a beautiful, newly renovated hotel with 101 oversized rooms with 22 two room suites. This hotel is connected to the Miami Valley Centre Mall with several anchor stores and a food court. There are several restaurants within walking distance such as Buffalo Wings and Rings, Red Lobster, Bob Evans, McDonalds and Cracker Barrel. Cinemark theater also sits in the Southeast corner of their parking lot. They have ample parking for bus tours and car shows. Option to enjoy a very large indoor heated pool and refreshed fitness center.

Participating Workshop artists may call 937-778-8100 for special rates just for them.