Debra Botman

Debra is an accomplished watercolour artist with a decade of experience shaped by intense workshops under the guidance of renowned national artists. Over the last 10 years, these mentors have included Julie Snider and Marta Sykes in Canada.

From her winters spent in Florida and attendance at the Village Art Workshops, she has been able to cross paths with Kathie George, L. Cole Wolford and Dan Wiemer. To date, her style truly reflects a combination of the skills taught by each of these accomplished artists.

Her artistic journey has been a constant exploration of new techniques using a variety of mediums. She began with the love of a simple pen and ink sketch, then moved on to working with the fluidity of watercolours. More recently, she finds herself using intricate graphics, applying a combination of watercolours with acrylics, calligraphy and a number of different masking fluids. Using opposing forces and the balance between both realism and impressionism, her most recent pieces are often either loose and restrained or vibrant and subtle at the same time.

She truly enjoys creating watercolour batiks, driven by a love of the subtle blend of colours uncovered at the end of this process.

In a watercolour batik, the cloth is replaced with rice paper and a paraffin wax is used to save the whites of the paper. Transparent washes of colour, with additional layers of wax applied between washes of paint, create vibrant effects. Using this method has opened up a new world for her creativity.