First Friday Artist Reception at Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center

Our featured artists this month are Pamela Twichtell, Bett Schaffhauser, Axel Bachmann, and Mary Clare Andrews. Pamela Twitchell, a resident of Lake Clark and Fairbanks, creates works using the spontaneity and freshness of the watercolor medium. Raising her three sons on Lake Clark, and later Denali, these wild places influence her love of natural settings. Bett Schaffhuaser began painting later in life, after a professional career and raising a family in Fairbanks. She was initially drawn to watercolors because she loves color, but as her art has progressed, she has grown to love the complexity of portraiture as well. Axel Bachmann did occasional sketching as a young adult, but five years ago, he took his first watercolor class after a varied career in Fairbanks. He is drawn to landscape painting and enjoys the challenges and unexpected surprises of the watercolor medium. Mary Clare Andrews has lived in Fairbanks since 1977, raising a family and working as a teacher from preschool to junior college. She is particularly drawn to the transparency of watercolors, the lovely colors, and the surprises possible as the paint interacts with water on the paper.