Click here to see a sampling of my paintings!

Penney De Pas

Ah! But a Woman’s Reach…

Enriching lives with images and stories of the

fragility, beauty, and strength of nature

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Although I always loved coloring and art, I only began watercolor painting and charcoal drawing in 2002, when I hit a career slow down and two friends died of cancer within six weeks of each other. The pale, sensitive nature of both mediums allowed me to express my grief in a therapeutic manner. Within a year, I had my first exhibit and sold seven paintings! Most of my art studies have been at Sertoma* or Pullen Art Centers in Raleigh, but I have also taken various watercolor workshops from renown painters around the U.S. (*I am seated on the right side of the photo on the Sertoma website!)

I am drawn to subjects that express the “Eternal and Ephemeral” in life. The eternal nature of the cliffs and rocks of the Grand Canyon or Sedona have an eternal, yet ever-shifting, quality while delicate flowers, like an iris or camellia, are ephemeral—here today and gone tomorrow. I believe the same thing happens with human life – in the grand scheme, we only live a short time period, but yet we have life everlasting.

Lately, I have been exploring the depiction of glass and water: gardenias or orchids in a vase, the lily pond at the Biltmore Estate, a Chihuly chandelier, a bottle of Drambuie with a “small dram” of liquid in a glass, and a set of cut-glass decanters and bowl. This again expresses my interest in the elusive and delicate aspects of water and glass juxtaposed against something more solid and enduring.

I have also expanded my painting repetoire to include acrylics, charcoals, pastels, and Chinese brush painting. Please explore the gallery to see the range of my florals, landscapes, seascapes, and even a few abstracts.