Paula grew up in an artistic, musical family, immersed in and surrounded by both. Her father, George Kosanovic, has an MFA and her mother, Willie, has a BFA. Many weekends, Paula's father would take her and her sister plein air painting in the Seattle suburbs; they usually painted on Puget Sound. Watercolor. In the rain. Sometimes they found cover!
Paula treasures this upbringing, playing with paint, learning the rules, then learning how to break them. The yearly family vacations were spent plein air painting with her dad's colleagues on Puget Sound, the Oregon Coast or Southern Utah.
She began attending painting workshops with other artists in 2003. She paints plein air year round, hoping to paraphrase the Creator's endless colors and vistas on the canvas. Plein air provides the most amazing breathtaking moments. It is Paula's passion to be able to quickly throw down the colors as she sees them and capture the feeling she gets from being in that place. Watching the light change in ways that may never happen again, smelling the wet sage, enjoying an afternoon convention of crows and other sensory delights, add immeasurably to the plein air experience. Paula wishes to convey to the viewer the delight and joy of these moments.
PAULA SWAIN
