February Artist of the Month
Meet Yvonne Posa
Artist Yvonne Posa grew up in New England and attained her BA in Art History at Brown University. Interested in art and architecture, she took a few of the necessary studio art courses during college, but did not begin her own studio art journey for many years. She received her MBA in marketing from the Wharton School and then worked as Commercial Real Estate Loan Officer. She and her husband spent some time working in the Midwest and then returned to New England while raising their three children.
When Posa’s youngest child started kindergarten she signed up for a Beginner Watercolor class at Weston Recreation and “fell in love.” Her first teacher’s instructional style was very directed and structured “which was helpful at the time, but through other teachers, I began to learn loosen up and to look for the happy accident.” Posa has sought to develop her own style and has studied with a variety of instructors, both locally in New England and in workshops elsewhere.
One memorable moment is from a workshop with British artist Jean Haines. She recalls, “Jean would not allow us to use a pencil…I remember using my brush to paint a picture of a chicken and when I started painting the chicken’s beak, Jean said, “Stop there. Don’t paint the other side of the beak. We can imagine the rest of the beak.” She tries to incorporate this “less is more” principle to her own approach. Posa also received inspiration from “California Vibe” portrait artist David Lobenberg who encouraged her to use unexpected colors to achieve excitement.
For the past decade, Posa has studied with Andrew Kusmin (AWS, NWS) of Plymouth, MA. Kusmin currently teaches classes on zoom. Kusmin encourages his students to discover their own style or “brush stroke”, and he provides invaluable instruction, especially in improving composition. Posa finds the group critiques in his classes to be the best way to grow. Posa has tried Encaustic Painting and Chinese Brush Painting but her first love has remained watercolor. Her subject matter comes from her photographs taken during travels with her husband, at their home in Maine and of their beloved grandchildren. She admires the work of American artist Mary Whyte and Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla. “When I do portraiture I really try to capture personalities more than anything else…My philosophy is to suggest only as much as is needed and leave the details up to the imagination. I like to convey an emotion that I feel toward the subject.” She also admires less conventional artists such as the late Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ai Wei Wei.
In addition to being a WSA member, Posa is New England Watercolor Society Associate Member, Rhode Island Watercolor Society Signature Member and a member of Arts Wayland. She has participated in many juried shows and has won multiple awards, including Honorable Mention for “Late Afternoon in Stanford” at the 2021 North American Open Juried Exhibition and 1st Prize for “Tree Peony” at Plymouth Center for the Arts Annual Juried Arts Show and Festival 2021 and many more.
Website: yvonneposa.com
Instagram: @ yvonneposa