Roland Lee (artist)

Roland Lee also known as Roland Loren Lee (born 23 March 1949) is recognized as one of the key practitioners and teachers of the transparent watercolor method of painting landscapes, and is one of the most respected artists of Zion National Park alive today.Articles on his painting techniques and travel sketchbooks have appeared in numerous art publications(see references below), and he is sought after by National Watercolor Societies to conduct painting workshops. His original transparent watercolor paintings of American and European landscapes have been exhibited in over 50 juried art shows and can be found in over 1000 museum, bank, corporate, university, and private art collections.

Background and Education

Influenced by the book and magazine illustrators of the 1960’s Lee received a B.A. in Art from Brigham Young University in 1971 and worked as a designer/illustrator for several advertising agencies in Los Angeles, CA before forming his own art studio in Utah in 1973. From 1976 to 1980 he taught art at Dixie State College of Utah and began exhibiting his watercolor paintings in commercial galleries in 1979. He operated his own gallery, Roland Lee Art Gallery, Inc. in Saint George, UT from 1994 to 2002 and has devoted the remaining years to traveling and painting worldwide. The travel sketchbooks of Roland Lee have received worldwide interest and he has presented many workshops and published several articles about his on-location sketching techniques.

Collections

Lee’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Springville Museum of Art, Saint George Art Museum,Dixie State College of Utah, SkyWest Airlines, and Zion National Park. His works are also owned by Zion’s Bank, The Village Bank, First Security Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, and other corporate collections.

Books

40 of Roland Lee’s southwest landscape paintings are included in the book, Mukuntuweap, Landscape and Story of Zion Canyon, and his essay, “Eye of the Beholder, 30 Years of Painting Zion,” is included in the book, Century of Sanctuary, The Art of Zion National Park. He is also featured in the books, Painters of the Red Rocks, Contemporary Western Artists, Artists of Utah, and Utah Painting and Sculpture.

Publications

Lee has contributed articles to The Artist's and The Drawing Board magazines, and his work has appeared in Southwest Art, Art-Talk, Salt Lake City Magazine, Art News, and other publications. His southwest paintings were the subject of a feature article in Art West magazine and his European landscape paintings were the subject of a pictorial in European Homes and Gardens magazine His paintings have also graced the covers of Pioneer, SkyWest, and Ensign magazines as well as numerous book covers. As a prominent artist of Zion National Park, he was quoted in AAA's VIA magazine. Lee's contributions to art education are spotlighted in 15 Bytes.

Exhibits

Lee’s watercolor paintings have been selected for exhibit by the Transparent Watercolor Society of America,Arts for the Parks Top 100, and Paint the Parks Top 100 shows which toured America. He was one of only a handful of living artists to be included in the major National Park Service centennial exhibit “A Century of Sanctuary, The art of Zion National Park,” which included original art by such notable deceased artists as Thomas Moran, Maynard Dixon, Ansel Adams, and Gunnar Widforss. He was also invited to write an essay on his 30 years of painting Zion for the accompanying book and catalog. Lee has received awards from several watercolor societies and Best of Show plus Purchase award at the Sears Invitational in 2004. Other exhibits include the Spring Salon of the Springville Museum of Art, Charles M. Russell Show, Western Masters, and Shenandoah Invitational. In 1996 the Saint George Art Museum presented a major retrospective of Roland Lee’s work spanning 25 years.

Online Art Instruction

As a means of sharing art ideas and concepts, Lee posts all his travel sketchbook drawings on his website along with numerous step by step painting demonstrations of watercolor painting techniques. Hundreds of artists and students visit his website daily to access this free learning resource.

References

Cited