Margot’s plein air watercolor paintings reflect her strong connection with nature which began at an early age in the wooded hills of suburban Philadelphia. Her childhood was influenced by the surroundings of the lush Brandywine Valley and the Wyeth painting tradition. She is passionate about depicting landscapes, seascapes, marine life, and all aspects of the environment. Working primarily outdoors, her representational expressionism is vivid in color, contemporary in style and in design. She pushes the realism of our perceived world through a strong use of color to reflect visual inspiration. The signature on her paintings, “Wally”, is a fond family nickname, is now a trade-name in watercolors.
A life-time student of art and culture, Margot attended studio classes at Boston Museum’s School of Art. Relocating to San Diego in 1979, she attended La Jolla’s Athenaeum School of Art, and mentored with George Lykos, NWS, AWS. Virtually, she has been studying recently at the Art Student League, NYC. To compliment her traditional East coast art education in the Masters, she then became a docent for the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. Here her painting style was influenced through studying the works of Georgia O’Keefe, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg. Creating richly colored and exciting surfaces, her bravura use of paint is akin to the abstract impressionists. Unlike them however, she provides the viewer with a recognizable reality ordered by her own personal vision and controlled by her technical mastery. She continues to seek out new sources of inspiration and methods of expression to more effectively share her dedication to detail and accuracy.
An active member, her work can be viewed at the San Diego Watercolor Society, and, the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild’s. A credentialed teacher, Margot enjoys assisting all ages in the pursuit of watercolor painting. She offers on-site demonstrations and classes for the public as well as the individual or group lessons.