Kathy Anne Greco’s paintings can be a little too lifelike at times.
She’d hung one of her canine portraits on an easel to catch any faults. Buddy, her Labradoodle, was none too pleased.
“He did look at it going, ‘How did he get in here?’” said Greco, of the Village Santiago.
Greco has spent the last ten years immersing herself in a childhood pastime she did not have enough time for when she was younger. She primarily paints watercolor portraits and still lifes.
“I’m looking for expression,” Greco said. “It’s like you know something about the person. It’s challenging, but it’s a lot of fun when you meet the challenge. When it comes out good, it motivates you to try something else.”
Greco relocated from Tucson, Arizona to The Villages last October. One of the reasons she moved to Florida was the art scene, particularly for watercolors. She became a member of the Visual Arts Association and The Villages Art League and began attending their meetings. She also went to the art league’s recent art festival to see how the members displayed their work.
“It gives me a chance to get acclimated,” Greco said.
Greco is excited about group painting sessions. She enjoyed painting with a large group of people, as well as the criticism sessions when she attended these types of events in Tucson.
“I showed them a painting that I had problems with, and they suggested how to fix it,” Greco said.
Greco has been engaged in art her entire life, beginning with drawing as a toddler.
“My favorite things were a box of crayons and a coloring book,” she said.
Greco, who mastered landscape architecture, worked as a park designer for San Diego for around 30 years, but things didn’t go as planned.
“I thought I would do more art, but it was more contract management,” she explained.
She took some watercolor classes in San Diego but didn’t devote much attention to them. She took more introductory art classes after retiring and relocating to Tucson, Arizona, around ten years ago.
“I really loved it,” Greco said. “We did everything.”
She experimented with acrylics, oils and pastels, but she always returned to watercolors.
“It’s the color. It’s just so dazzling and beautiful. It glows on the page.”
In one lesson, she created a picture of an American Indian using photographs provided by the teacher.
“I loved it. It came out really well. From then on, I was hooked.”
She attended lessons in which a model sat in various stances, and Greco painted them. In other instances, she took images and viewed them on her computer to choose the best angles.
“I’ll (paint portraits of) my friends a lot,” Greco said. “They’ll say, ‘Don’t use that picture.’ It’s best not to tell them.”
Greco likes to focus on one painting at a time.
“I have to concentrate on what I’m doing.”
Greco will set aside a painting-in-progress if she has made a mistake with it and move on to another subject.
“After weeks or months, sometimes I’ll figure out what I can do to fix it.”
She is grateful that art has entered her life at this time.
“For me, it’s always been the road not traveled,” Greco said. “Could I have done that? I didn’t study art in college. Art is part of my journey. I just enjoy challenging myself.”