Marlene Gregor

My journey into watercolor painting began in 1980 as a respite from the usual dreary winter weather. I
needed to do something different. I realized I had almost no artistic talent and certainly no knowledge of
watercolor painting. Little did I know I chose one of the hardest mediums to use! But I had fondness for
art, and I used it as an enrichment in my Second Grade classroom. I was game!
I signed up for an evening Adult Education class located in the Art Room at Normal Community High School.
It was going to be a struggle, but so what!! I had a wastepaper basket. My instructor, the high school art
teacher, was very good, kind and patient. He enjoyed painting in the style of Andrew Wyeth. I followed the
instructor’s style and did a Wyeth. Surprisingly, I had one decent watercolor to save. It is in my show.
Lucky me, I met Harold Gregor, Professor of Art at Illinois State University that summer. He was impressed
that I was trying to paint, and I was impressed that he was a highly regarded artist. We married and my art
life really started. It was a wonderful journey, full of museum-going, art shows, gallery walks, and art
history.
To understand and appreciate Harold’s artistic achievements and what it took to produce a quality piece of
art, I took early retirement and signed up for his Watercolor class. I was terrible! I needed to learn to draw,
so I enrolled in many drawing classes with Lyle Salmi, Richard Finch and Harold Boyd. Then I took Harold’s
watercolor class again and my production resulted in my vintage year- 1994. WOW! There were some
acceptable paintings. I was flourishing! Many of these are in the show.
Those 21 hours of art classes at ISU paid off because I felt confident enough to sit in on his many
professional watercolor workshops scattered beyond Illinois. I usually sat quietly in the back row cowering
over my work because I was with some top-notch watercolorists. I was not confident of my work, but to my
surprise some paintings were save-able and frame-able. Again, I was flourishing.
I found Harold Gregor to be a great teacher, even though he was VERY SLOW to praise my watercolors. He
would say to me, “Keep your brush wet.” “Keep your brush upright.” “Best to stand when watercoloring.”
“Be patient! Wait until the surface dries before you put on another layer.” “Just follow the brush.”
The result of his teaching is reflected in my watercolors. He took a raw talent and breathed life into my
ability to achieve this level of work. They are modest compared to major watercolorists. There is a saying,
”You throw away the first 1000 watercolor attempts.” I am not quite there. Even though I am still on a
journey to learn, the future of my achievement in painting may be in doubt. My life is not the same because
in early October 2018, my mentor died. It is hard to keep my brush wet.