Artist: Florence Stevens
Media/Specialty: Watercolor and Oils
Statement: I always wanted to be an artist. I painted in grade school and high school. No lessons – just read anything I could find about art.
After graduating I took a job in the timber industry at $60 a month; this was in 1930. Later when my salary improved, I purchased a Hammond Organ and studied music for several years.
I think it was in the early ‘60’s when I had surgery. The doctor said when I got well I was going to be a “new” woman. That’s when I decided that I needed something new in my life and remembered that I always wanted to be an artist.
I asked around and found that Robert Chamberlain was having a night class at the Olympia High School. He was the fist person to encourage me to keep painting. Later I found another night class in oils.
Sometime in the early ‘60’s I was with relatives and we went to the Seaview – Longbeach area and went into Charles Mulvey’s Art Gallery. I was really impressed with his water colors. He told me he had a two week class the first of August. I joined and spend my vacations every year in this class until I retired at the end of 1973.
I took lessons from Charles almost every year until he stopped teaching. I still use his palette of twelve colors.
I’m now 94 years old and have many ideas. I still have lots of painting to do.
