Colleen McWatters

I have been an artist since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I spent
my childhood drawing the pictures from coloring books, instead of
coloring in the books themselves.I spent countless hours at my
grandmother’s kitchen table drawing those pictures on any piece of
scrap paper I could find.
Throughout my life as an artist, I have worked in many different mediums. I paint in
acrylics and oils, I draw in pencil, pen and ink, charcoal and oil pastels. I have created
wearable works of art in the form of one-of-a-kind statement necklaces under the
moniker Lua Cheia Jewelry. I sold my jewelry for 8 fun years full of indoor and outdoor
art fairs and festivals. I have spent the last 14 years creating cut paper art that I
animate using stop motion to create short films and music videos. My animation is a
collaborative effort with my dear husband, Tom, under the business name McH2O
Animation.
Out of all the various mediums I use to create my art, drawing in pencil, oil pastels, and
charcoal has always been my favorite medium to work in. I fell in love with charcoal
when I was 15 years old when my parents enrolled me in a summer college art
program. This was my first experience with charcoal and conte crayon as well as my
first experience with drawing from a life model. It came so naturally and brought me so
much joy. I credit the drawings I made in that program for my receipt of a Presidential
Scholarship to Pratt at Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute. After my time at Pratt, I
finished my Fine Arts and Art History degrees at SUNY Albany in my home town.
Over the years, I have supported my passion for art by working office jobs. Due to this,
I developed severe carpal tunnel, which caused debilitating pain when drawing. The
pressure I needed to use to create the vibrant, layered colors on paper was too much
and I stopped drawing for many years. A few years back, I had carpal tunnel surgery
and was determined to draw again, but the pain of working with traditional mediums
persisted. This is when I discovered digital art.
For the last year, I have learned how to draw in a digital medium. After much practice,
trial and error, I am now able to recreate the look and style of my traditional art in a
digital form. Since this breakthrough, I am now able to draw daily and for hours at a
time... something I haven't been able to do since I was in college.