INSTRUCTORS
STERLING EDWARDS
Sterling Edwards is a contemporary watermedia artist, teacher, author, and art juror who is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. He has been a resident of North Carolina since 1973. Following a twenty-year career as a law enforcement officer and a firefighter, he made a commitment in 1993 to pursue his passion for art and begin a second career as a visual artist. Sterling has been studying art since the age of twelve, and although self taught, has developed a unique and expressive style of painting that has gained international recognition and the respect of his peers, students, and art collectors. Most of Sterling’s paintings are interpretive statements that personify his intuitive and creative sense of design and color, ranging from abstract expressionism to traditional. He is a sought-after international workshop instructor and is often selected to jury national and international art competitions. Sterling is also the designer of a signature line of multi-media paint brushes and a watercolor palette that are marketed internationally through his website store, painting workshops, and retail art supply stores.
Sterling has been featured in “Watercolor Magic Magazine’s”, “Ones to Watch”, in “Watercolor Artist Magazine”, and in “The New Palette Magazine”. In 2007, he was awarded a signature membership in the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (CSPWC), an international transparent watercolor society based in Toronto, Canada. In 2010, Sterling was awarded a signature membership in the esteemed Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA). He is the author of the best selling North Light book, “Creating Luminous Watercolor Landscapes, a Four Step Process”, and is a featured artist in numerous other books by various national and international publishers including; “Best of America Watermedia”, by Kennedy Publishing and “Masters of Watercolor”, written by Russian artist and author, Konstantin Sterkhov in 2015.
In 2013, Sterling was honored to have been invited into the International Watercolor Society (IWS), which is headquartered in Teos, Turkey. In 2015 he was awarded the designation of a “Bonafide” Whiskey Painter and bestowed with a lifetime signature membership in the internationally renowned Whiskey Painters of America (WPA), the most unique and exclusive miniature painting society in the world with a membership that is strictly limited to 150 artists worldwide.
In 2017 he was awarded signature membership status in the revered National Watercolor Society (NWS).
Today Sterling’s book, signature line of products, artist workshops, and instructional videos are employed by thousands of artists worldwide. His award winning watermedia paintings are in numerous national and international private and corporate collections. Sterling works from his home studio in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Artist’s Statement
As a visual artist, my world is an ever changing collection of interesting shapes, colors, values, and textures. Everything that I see is either consciously or subconsciously broken down into elements that I might use as the inspiration for my next painting. It does not always have to be grandiose or breathtaking but rather a suitable collection of shapes and values that I can build upon or rearrange to my liking. The colors that I select are a personal choice that I can alter or exaggerate depending on the subject and my feeling at the time that I paint it.
Rarely do I paint something as it is, but rather how I would like it to be based on my sense of design and aesthetics. As my art has evolved, I have come to the realization that, for me, painting visual reality is a wall. I find that it suppresses my creative thought and stifles my intuitive sense of design and composition. I would much rather show the world my expressive and unique artistic interpretation as opposed to merely copying what I see.
Creating a work of art is not just something that I do; it’s the foundation of who and what I am. Even though I’ve been painting for over fifty years, every time that I put a brush to paper or canvas it’s a new experience, and another eagerly anticipated step on my journey as a visual artist.”
Sterling Edwards, CSPWC, TWSA, WPA, NWS
