Artist and instructor Kathleen S. Giles has been working with watercolors for more than 26 years. Her realistic and sensitive portrayal of everyday life has won her awards across the country, including the National Watercolor Society First Place Purchase Award on several occasions and the Morris Watercolor Guild Award in the 2021 Transparent Watercolor Society show, to name a few. 
Walking Pismo Beach, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30"
“My art has become such an all-encompassing force in my life that I am always involved in some aspect of it. Painting, teaching or imagining a new composition all keep me engaged and motivated,” says Giles, who works from her home studio and gallery in western New York state.
Painting in a variety of genres, including still lifes, florals, figures and wildlife, she uses realism and carefully placed details to grab the viewer’s attention and then invite them to explore the scene. “My paintings capture a moment in time,” says Giles.
“I hope to elicit an emotional response from the viewer that will ensure my work is remembered.”
Dirty Martini, watercolor on paper, 12 x 16"
Crab Apple Teapot, watercolor on paper mounted to board and varnished, 22 x 29"
Crab Apple Teapot is part of a series of crab apple paintings the artist has been working on. “The variety of coloring from one apple to the next creates interest and movement through any composition I add them to.I also have used them as a subject matter when teaching about wet-into-wet painting and complements. They are perfect little globes of color,” she says.
In Cat on a Quilt, a fluffy ginger cat sits contentedly on a plushy mound of blanket. Giles says of the piece, “I saw this beautiful cat when visiting a friend and we planned a photo shoot. I included one of the quilts from her collection. I thought the blue pattern was the perfect complement to the cat’s golden coloring. I worked hard to capture his fluffy looking furriness.”
Cat on a Quilt, watercolor on paper mounted on board and varnished, 21½ x 16½"
We Have Our Eye On You, watercolor, 23 x 22"
Giles is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, the Transparent Watercolor Society, American Women Artists, the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society. She also is a member of the Watercolor USA Honor Society and the International Guild of Realism. In 2022 she will be teaching at the Bonita Springs Centers for the Arts and be the judge and workshop presenter for the Baltimore Watercolor Society Mid-Atlantic in 2022. —
Life is Planning Your Next Move, watercolor on paper, 22 x 22"
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