Artist Lee Fritch - Biographical Information 

Lee, a retired research chemical engineer, has been a painter since 1971 in transparent watercolor and water-soluable oils. He work-shopped with many nationally recognized professional artists. He teaches private and group lessons, has conducted regional workshops and been visiting lecturer on watercolor at several colleges. Prior to moving from WV to Tennessee in 2010 he was a signature member of the West Virginia and Ohio Watercolor Societies. He now is a member of the Tennessee watercolor Society and WPA. He regularly exhibits in state, regional and national shows and has won over 45 awards for his work. He was a finalist in the prestigious National Arts For the Parks competition in 2001 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has also been a finalist in the Paint America Mini-50 competitions in 2007 and 2008. His work has appeared in six issues of an internationally distributed calendar and in a book “100 Ways to Paint Flowers and Still Lifes” , published by International Artist Magazine. He recently contributed an article to the e-magazine Interactive Artists on watercolor sketching when traveling (Feb 2010 issue).

Forty four paintings are in institutional or corporate collections, including six in the collection of Senator J.D. Rockefeller IV. Three works are in the permanent collection of the Parkersburg Art Center in West Virginia. In 1977 he was juried into Tamarack, “the best of West Virginia” in Beckley, where he sold over 185 original watercolors. He is currently represented by My Color Image gallery in Chattanoga. (www.mycolorimage.com) He and his wife have traveled extensively, abroad and in all 50 states. Many of his landscapes are the result of works actually painted on these trips or from sketches and photo references. More of Lee’s art can be seen on his website www.leefritch.com

Artist’s Statement: "I want my art to entertain viewers with the visual smorgasbord our unique planet provides. I strive for good composition, strong light-dark patterns and color variation within shapes. My watercolors often make use of the somewhat unpredictable but exciting nature of the medium to create textures seen in nature. I want my oils to have directly applied, obvious brushwork not fussed over. I strive to simplify and become more impressionistic, to have the viewer become involved by mentally painting in the details that I deliberately leave out. I particularly enjoy painting outside on-location (plein-air)."

Lee Fritch…Vienna, WV

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Sonoran Desert, Arizona  (see web page about this Oct 2002 trip)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado

Trinity River, California

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

West Virginia