Watercolor artist featured at Murrysville library art gallery

Drawing and painting have been part of Darlene Miklos’ life for as long as she can remember.

“Even as a child, I thought of myself as an artist,” said Miklos, 81, of Murrysville. “I went from pencil drawings to charcoal to oil painting and finally to watercolors.”

Her watercolors will be on display during September at the East Suburban Artists League’s gallery in the Murrysville Community Library.

“I attended watercolor classes by watercolor artists like Homer Hatcher and Tony Couch,” she said. “It’s difficult. I’ve been doing it or quite a while, but once you get used to it, and learn how the paint works, you really start to like it.”

The transparency and fluidity of watercolor paint makes it a medium may artists consider challenging.

“I really like the softness of the paint,” Miklos said. “I’m constantly working to try and learn more, and get better.”

Her exhibit at the library is a mix of older and more-recent pieces, with a focus on outdoor nature scenes.

“My inspiration comes from a lot of sources, but nature inspires me most,” she said. “Sunset skies, flowers, winter scenes, and anything interesting and beautiful provides inspiration for me.”

Miklos’s pieces will be on display through Sept. 30 at the library, which is at 4130 Sardis Road in Murrysville.

The East Suburban Artists League is a group of amateur and professional artists, which meets monthly at Christ’s Lutheran Church in Murrysville, with a new featured speaker each month. The ESAL’s library gallery changes monthly as well.

For more on the East Suburban Artists League, see ESALart.org.