EVOLVE 35 - Watercolor Master Al Rounds

Al Rounds’ transparent watercolors register a beautiful familiarity with the world we all love.  They carry us over a distance of miles and years, which speak of history revisited and of lives well-lived.  Scouring back roads and country lanes, searching for the past, Al Rounds continues to capture a particular reverence for the pride of a place.  Travel provides an ongoing source of inspiration for Al.  Some of his favorite findings are in upstate New York, with its rural integrity and four-season beauty; in England, with its meandering, damp cobblestone streets; and in his native Utah, where pioneer history still crowds the fence lines and farmsteads of every town.

 

The size, historical significance, and accuracy of the architectural landscapes he creates are hallmarks of his work.  Al can’t think of a time when he didn’t want to be an artist.  While his classmates were working on the serious business of school, Al would be gazing out the window, daydreaming about drawing.  It is apparent that he has always been drawn to architectural landscape.  His first grade teacher sent a note home to his mother asking if Al knew how to draw anything other than his house.

 

In 1977, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.  His painting technique was influenced there by the English portrait master, Alvin Gittins, and newspaper art critic and watercolorist, George Dibble.

 

Utah-born, Al Rounds was brought up in the small-town community of Walnut Creek, California.  This internationally acclaimed artist now finds retreat in his home nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.

 

www.alrounds.com