Kerry Siderius – Watercolor Gallery

Several months ago I was forced, by the give-and-take so often needed to maintain marital bliss, to attend the Festival of Trees in Wenatchee. There I was having as much fun as those times when my daughters pounce, pin me down, and pluck my unruly eyebrow hairs one at a time, when I saw something that actually piqued my interest—beautiful watercolor paintings of those local scenes I have frequently enjoyed while hiking, biking, or skiing.

I stopped in, I marveled, and I asked the woman manning the booth – Kerry Siderius– whether we could display some of these gorgeous scenes on the WenatcheeOutdoors website. She agreed.

This is an instance where images rather than words are the emphasis of the day, but it is interesting to note that Kerry is an apple orchardist’s daughter who was raised near Bridgeport, Washington. The family apple farm bordered the banks of the Columbia and, here, Canadian geese, salmon, and apples were plentiful. At the age of three, she began painting the scenes and objects surrounding the farm. That blossomed into a passion that never quit.

After college, Kerry moved with her husband to Dallas, Texas where she was hired as the sole staff watercolorist at the Beaux Gallery, in the Design District. While there, she enjoyed local fame among the decorators of the city, but she missed the mountains and rivers of her childhood. A decade and a baby after moving to Dallas, she returned to the Wenatchee area. Now a typical day entails driving along mountain roads and through the small towns of North Central Washington with her boy, her dog, and her paints in tow.

Kerry paints using a unique blend of watercolor, ink and gouache. She also paints oil on canvas. She likes capturing the variety of the four vibrant seasons we enjoy here, and her paintings focus on the area’s orchards, mountains, towns, rivers, and wildlife. While some of her paintings capture the cultivated scenes of the region, a large percentage of her work focuses on the open spaces, wildness, and natural world we cover at Wenatchee Outdoors.

Which means we we’re very excited that Kerry was willing to share these paintings with our viewer’s that beautifully illustrate themes, large and small, that make Central Washington such a compelling place for those of us who love the outdoors.

For more information about her work, the stories behind her paintings, and/or to see additional paintings, email Kerry or check her website.

This post was originally published on 5/1/08.