a b o u t
ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint inspiring people and everyday life. Whether painting figures, cityscapes, or landscapes, I strive to capture the beauty I find in familiar people and places. Although my watercolors are realistic in nature, my objective is not to create paintings that look like photographs. Instead, my primary goal is to present a story that is universally relatable yet reserves enough ambiguity to allow the viewer to experience the painting in their own way. My version of realism is rendered through minimal brushstrokes, fluid washes, and pure pigments.
My work is influenced by my Italian/Slovak blue-collar background and a childhood inundated with the sights, sounds, and smells of the rivers and steel mills of Pittsburgh, Pa. Those influences have given me an appreciation for seeing beauty in unusual places--rusty barges, drab alleyways, steep hillsides, and hardworking, everyday people. Having a highly extroverted and curious personality has led me to seek out and meet people from all walks of life, whether in my hometown or in my travels. As a result, my paintings are filled with people and places that inspire me with their extraordinary beauty, resilience, and strength. Each painting strives to tell a story, elicit an emotion, or evoke a mood.
When viewing my paintings, I want the viewer to feel as if they are standing there, right next to me, taking in the scene. I want them to experience that moment of euphoria when rounding a corner and stumbling upon a deserted alley glowing in the early morning sun, or the empathy felt when observing a person whose life story seems to be written on their face. Each scene is an opportunity to invite others to see a new or familiar place or person through a different perspective. In this regard, my greatest reward is creating a painting that connects with the viewer emotionally, rationally, or inexplicably.
NEWEST SERIES
My latest series of paintings are cityscapes that blend realism with abstract elements and luminous color to transform ordinary street scenes into magical encounters.
BIOGRAPHY
Peggi Habets lives and works as an artist in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. Her deep love for the fluidity and spontaneity of watercolor have led her to paint and teach in the medium for over 15 years. Her figurative and cityscape paintings have been exhibited and collected internationally and she has received awards in many prestigious shows, including the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society International Juried Exhibitions.
Publications of her work include “Splash 18” and the upcoming “Splash 19” watercolor books, as well as magazine articles in The Art of Watercolour, Pratique Des Arts, Watercolor Artist, Watercolor Magic, and Palette magazines. She is the author of "Watercolor Made Easy: Portraits" and was featured in "The Art of Drawing and Painting Portraits", both books published by Walter Foster Publishing.
Peggi’s artwork was selected out of 7,000 entries for the esteemed Shanghai Watercolour Biennial and the Shenzhen International Watercolour Exhibition, both in China. A popular watercolor instructor, Peggi enjoys teaching watercolor workshops and painting retreats around the country.
Read Peggi's full bio HERE
AWARDS AND PRESS
Peggi's artwork has been published in numerous artist magazines and has received awards in iinternational exhibitions, including the American Watercolor Society's 150th International Exhibition. For a listing of awards, exhibitions, press, and publications, click HERE
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Galerie Werner / Mansions on Fifth, Pittsburgh, Pa
Nemacolin Woodlands Retreat, Farmington, Pa
Xanadu Gallery Studios, Scottsdale, AZ
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
National Watercolor Society, Signature member
Pittsburgh Watercolor Society, Signature member
Baltimore Watercolor Society, Signature member
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
The Artist Guild at Sweetwater Center for the Arts
CONTACT
I can be reached at [email protected] or 412-951-9144. I look forward to hearing from you!
ALL IMAGES ON THIS WEBSITE ARE THE PROPERTY OF PEGGI HABETS STUDIO AND ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Painted watercolor portraits and figures of people by Pittsburgh, Pa artist Peggi Habets