Art by the Bay
    Camano Island's Arts Festival
     July 15-16, 2006

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Artist Profiles

Bev Paulson - Cassandra Olsen

Click here to read the 7/14/06 Everett Herald article about Bev and Cassandra.

Art by the Bay Featured Artist:
Bev Paulson

By vote of the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild membership, Bev Paulson’s watercolor “Ready to Unfurl” won this year’s poster contest for Art by the Bay, Camano Island’s Arts Festival.

Bev is a watercolor artist with a sense of humor, along with a keen sense of form and design. Born at the end of the great depression, her parents strongly encouraged music and art, and to explore the fields that surrounded their Lockport, New York home. During summer vacations, Bev roamed the Canadian woods and river with her cousins.

"These experiences were apparent in my earliest endeavors in putting pastels on paper." Bev explains, "I try to reflect in watercolors encounters with furry or feathered creatures, the love and exuberance of children, the wisdom and spirit of the aging, and majestic moods and textures of the outdoors." Often, she accomplishes these goals and adds a twist of whimsy, or with the tip of her tongue in cheek.

Later, Bev moved west, finished school, and started her working life. Her employer arranged for her to illustrate a purchasing manual using pen and ink drawing for the State of Oregon, and urged her to study commercial art at Oregon Technical Institute. She was later employed as a production illustrator at Boeing Renton, rendering pencil isometric drawings of airplane parts. The company offered an after-hours class, where painting instructor Chuck Webster introduced Bev to the joys of watercolor painting.

Bev married Bill, and the following fifty (yes, 50!) years have been spent at home raising two children, and entertaining five grandchildren with original stories and related illustrations. Bev returned to the work force, spending 11 years working for a picture framer and dabbling in painting for her own enjoyment. Bev and Bill moved from Kent to Camano Island in 2001.

Bev is a member of Stanwood Camano Arts Guild, the Camano Arts Association, the Camano Roaming Artists, and the Brushes Brigade. She has won many awards at shows like the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild Spring Art Show, the Stanwood Camano Fair, the Shoreline Arts Council Show, and has participated in numerous events such as Art by the Bay, the Stanwood-Camano Art Banner Project, the Roaming Artists Show, the Port Ludlow Art Walk, and PAS in Federal Way.

2006 Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild
Scholarship Recipient:
Cassandra Olsen

The Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild, in furthering the appreciation of the arts, awards a yearly scholarship to an outstanding art student attending Stanwood High School. At its last monthly meeting, the Guild was proud to present the winner of its 2006 scholarship, Cassandra Olsen. Cassie has kept busy building an impressive portfolio throughout her high school years, and has already received multiple awards and honors. Between 2005 and 2006, she garnered seven different Regional Scholastic awards, and her paintings received ribbons in both the 2005 and 2006 Art Bash. Cassie also provided the winning T-shirt design for the 2006 Stanwood Camano Community Fair.

One of Cassie's biggest supporters is Gail Merrick, Stanwood High's inspirational art teacher with a track record of helping budding young artists find their muse.  During a class outing to lend a helping artistic hand to some 4th grade students, Cassie discovered that she had an affinity for instruction. "The kids got so excited when I showed them what they could do with a simple piece of charcoal," Cassie said. "It was an unforgettable experience, and this event helped me realize what I wanted to do after High School ... to become an art teacher." Cassie plans on attending Everett Community College and Western Washington University to learn the finer points of art and art instruction, and to earn a teaching degree.

Cassie thanked the Guild for their recognition: "I am deeply appreciative for having been chosen as your recipient for this year's scholarship. This award means a lot to me because your recognition of my talent gives me the confidence to work even harder."

Keep up the good - and hard - work, Cassie!