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Show CI Expressions Community Calendar . . MarchM Book Qub at Golden Age Center at 1 pan. It is sponsored spon-sored by Uintah County Library. Book to be discussed is "The Secret Life of Bees" by SueMonJtKidd. ;.v. - : v Uia Caldwell will teach a dan J the Family History Center ait 7 pjn. on 'Creating a Family History in Passage IZZssizt, Kvch K 2007 Basin Life A Hove By Janine Shannon Express Writer : Paint by numbers for Trina Strong never turned out the way the box said. Instead of following the instructions, Strong did her own thing as a child, sometimes painting over the provided canvas can-vas and creating her own work of art. After years of experi-inenting experi-inenting with oils, acrylics, and pastels, she finally found her artistic ar-tistic niche with watercolors. About five years ago, Strong attended a watercolor workshop in Escalante with a friend. She teamed just enough at the work-Shop work-Shop to fell in love with the medi-itm medi-itm and to start teaching herself the techniques. Since then, her watercolors have won awards and competitions, been exhibited exhib-ited in shows and museums, and been purchased by people as far away as New Zealand and Bel-glum. Bel-glum. Strong's work is currently on exhibit at the Assunta Fox Art Gallery in Santa Ana, Calif., the Fremont Indian Museum in Richfield, Utah, and multiple sites on the internet -'lt took a long time, however, before Strong felt good about her work. She admits that what they say is true, that you have to paint about 3,000 watercolors before you are even ready to get started. Although it sounds like an exaggeration, based on Strong's own experience, that number is just about right She kept all of her practice pieces, however, because now she can look back and see the progres sion of her skills. 'J'" ' ' l " " "'" '' ....in. j L i . i I . i ri j times f'V'.. ' This watercolor titled "Pheasant Haven Thumb" shows the detail with which Trina paints. ...... i t Strong uses her own techniques to paint petroglyphs and pictographs like this one titled "Ancient Whispers." Furnishings &F Watteff(D)l(Q)IF Watercolors are a difficult medium me-dium to learn, mostly because mistakes are nearly impossible to fix. Unlike acrylics or oils where an artist may just paint over a mistake, once the water-color water-color dries, it is permanent. "Watercolor is very unforgiving,'' unforgiv-ing,'' Strong said. Simply put, watercolors are color pigments mixed with water. wa-ter. Using heavy-weight paper, an artist paints the paper with water and then dilutes the pigments, pig-ments, mixing various colors at the center of the palette to achieve a desired shade. The thick paper soaks up the diluted dilut-ed pigment, which eventually dries, leaving the finished painting. paint-ing. For Strong, a watercolor can take up to 40 hours to complete. While it's difficult enough to paint watercolors in a studio, Strong actually prefers "plein-aire," "plein-aire," or painting outside in the elements. This requires working at a much faster pace in order to achieve the desired effect of shadow and color. Strong has participated in numerous plein-aire plein-aire competitions throughout Utah and loves them. The biggest challenges are the wind, rain, and insects. Ants and bees are the worst, according to Strong. Her love for painting outdoors has taken her on some pretty wild adventures. Once, she got lost in Salina while looking for petroglyphs to paint and suffered suf-fered heat stroke by the time she found her vehicle again. Another Anoth-er time she got two fiat tires in the Nine Mile area,, and a sweet British couple, touring the U.S., stopped to help and then asked fA C spa n II I i 1 -- -mss . V . .. ', Trina Strong works in her home studio, mixing just the right shade on her watercolor. her to join them for afternoon tea at their campsite. Always watching for a brilliant scene to paint, Strong has earned a repu-, repu-, tation in her family for getting distracted and taWng hercar ' on some unusual detours acrpss country, some of them dangerous danger-ous and ill-fitted for her vehicle. The payoff for such single-mlndedness single-mlndedness has been some truly beautiful works of art Strong paints birds, botanicals, botani-cals, landscapes, old buildings, petroglyphs, and southwestern themes. Although her watercolors watercol-ors are on display in a gallery in California, she sells most of them to people in the Basin and to tourists passing through the area who wish to take a piece of Utah home with them. Strong has developed her own technique for painting petroglyphs petro-glyphs and pictographs, which uses oil and salt She has researched re-searched the meaning behind many of these scenes on rock and finds them fascinating. Nothing upsets her more than people who deface these ancient artworks by shooting at them, writing over them, and otherwise other-wise destroying them. She feels that one way she can help preserve pre-serve them is by painting them. While Strong has sold many of her watercolors, the income is not enough for her to paint full-time, full-time, so she also works part-time as a medical technologist at Ashley Ash-ley Valley Medical Center. This job, and her degree in zoology, uses the analytical part of her brain, a trait which also carries over in her artwork. She says her watercolors look more like acrylics to others because they are so detailed. The abstract aspect as-pect of art is something she is working on. Strong has been told she had a natural ability, although she herself is rarely satisfied with her art and says that artists always al-ways "knock their own work." Every time she picks up a brush, however, is a chance to improve. For Strong, watercolors have become be-come a lifelong love. Janine.shannonhotmail.com J- . ' fv This watercolor of geckos is very several times for buyers, although no "La Sal Beauty" is just one of many or outside in the elements, r To purchase a watercolor by Trina Strong visit her web site at www.trinastrongwaterroIors.com, email her at strongeasilink.com, or call her at 783-6333. ;:; TT pallette to add depth to the sky of this -v" ! . 0 popular, and Strong has reproduced it two are exactly alike. : 3 watercolors Strong painted plekrtjrv " u:; ;t ; . v".v!k 0 Express-Part 5. You must have taken parts 1-4. Sign-up is mandatory. March 14-15 A driver Safety Class sponsored spon-sored by AARP will be held at the Golden Age Center in Vernal from 1 to 5 p jo. on the 14th (Wed.) and 1230 430 p jn. on the 15th (Thurs.). Call 789-2168 or 790-7894 for more hiformatton. March 14-17 Vernal Girls Softball Signups Sign-ups at Vernal City offices. March 14 16, sign-ups are from 7 to 9 p.m. Sign-ups on the 17th will be from 9 am. to 12 p.m. March 15 MS Support Group meets each third Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Vernal City offices. For more information, call Vernie at 789-1903. Are you afraid to speak in public or would Just like to peak better? Visit "Talk of the Town" Toastmaster's club at the Uintah County Bldg. lunchroom at 6 p.m. For more information, caU Julie at 790-5682. 790-5682. ,- : ' ' March 16 Open K! House at Uintah County Library for : Doris Burton, Beverly Merkley and Cheri Womack, who are retiring retir-ing from the library, 1 to 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. Community dance at the Golden Age Center, 155 South 100 West, from 8 to 10 pan. every Friday night Kay's Band provides the music. 18th annual Radio Auction on AM 920 KVEL from 9 am. to 12 p.m. to help fund Chamber of Commerce events. The Chamber is currently col lecting donations. Girl . Scout Cookie Booths win be held at each oflttr&H lowing business locations: Alltel (West Main), Basin Sports, Maverick, and Wal-Mart Wal-Mart from 2-5 pjn. Friday afternoon. March 17 '-V.v Family Home Evening and Game Night for Uintah Basin Singles 80 will be held at 630 p.m. at the home of Ruth Brown, 133 W. 650 N., Vernal Happy St Patrick's Day Green Tea and Silent Auction from 1030 a.m. to 330 p.m. in the basement of the St James Catholic Church in Vernal, 138 N. 100 W. Students from USOMATA wiH perform Irish mmiCi dnUUion to the tea and lunch is $6 per person. Proceeds will benefit the USOMATA Carnegie Tour. . Girl Scout Cookie Booths will be held at each of the following fol-lowing business locations: Alltel (West Main), Basin Sports, Maverick, and Wal-Mart Wal-Mart from 9 am. to 5 pjn. Saturday. : Pruning Workshop spon sored by Uintah County Extension. Learn to prune fruit trees, ornamental trees and shrubs; 10 a.m. at 653 W, 200 N. in Vernal. March 18 A fireside featuring the Spencers, who will report on their missionary experi ences, will be held at 7 pjn. at the 2nd and 4th Ward Relief Society Room, 235 East 600 South; The fireside is for all Uintah Basin Singles 30. . March 19 'Beginning Computer-Part 3 will be taught by Lila Caldwell at the Family History Center at 2 pjn. Sign-up is recommended. recom-mended. ; ;; '.:;, V: To place items of puUk interest In tilt Community Calendar, CaS or email them to eo tmCvfiUALcom. -uO, r |