'The North is beautiful,' in watercolor show

Claudia Trepanier finds herself often painting scenes of her native country.

"I miss Korea," the Lakeville artist said.

She wanted to paint her piece "House on the Hillside," which took third place at the recent awards ceremony for the Minnesota Watercolor Society, because she was drawn to the unique rooflines. The scene of rural dwellings in Korea — now long gone, Trepanier said — is shrouded in mist.

"It's kind of mystical," said Fred Dingler, of Burnsville, who judged the show that runs through Nov. 30 at the Ames Center gallery in Burnsville.

This isn't the first award Trepanier has earned through the watercolor society, a group of about 300 members. At the group's 2013 spring show, she took first with her piece "A Sunlit Tree."

In 2012, she received an honorable mention for "One Fine Day in Aitken," a farm scene from Up North, and she finds both the hilly landscapes in Korea and flat Midwest scenes inspiring.

"The North is beautiful," she said.

Steve Lackore's "Artist Point Reflection" received honorable mention; the painting was of the well-known rock formation that juts out of the harbor in Grand Marais. Lackore and his family used to live up there and had a view of the point.

"The lake changed from minute to minute," he said. "It's really just a special place."

"Everyone sees it as a winter painting," said the Rochester resident. Though the painting has a lot of negative space, the fog and reflections that day actually created the surreal effect. The rock shelf, said Lackore, was wet that day and reflected the bright sky.

Lackore, who has been painting for only five years, had captured it in a photo and wanted to paint the scene, though his wife said she discouraged him because it looked so unreal.

"I just couldn't resist it," said Lackore. "I just thought it was so interesting."

"It's just a nice neighborhood scene," said Dingler, "the coloration and the way the foliage was handled."

"Best of Show" went to Catherine Hearding for her piece "Ski Trail," a peaceful, wintry scene of parallel cross-country ski tracks winding through the trees.

Hearding, of Lake Elmo, said the piece was inspired by memories of ski trips on the Gunflint Trail, in the far north of Minnesota.

"We used to go skiing there every winter," she said. "It's a gorgeous area, and of course, the snow up there is wonderful."

Hearding took home first place in watercolors earlier this year at the Minnesota State Fair for her piece "Of angels and ornamentals."

It wasn't easy to pick out winners for this year's show, said Dingler, an artist who did advertising illustration for four decades and now often judges shows.

"They made me work," he said.

Other awards went to Judith Hallbeck Meyeraan, Robert Jeffery, MarySue Krueger, Kathleen Sovell, and Susan McLean-Keeney.

The Watercolor Society's spokeswoman, Theresa Weseman, said the group has started hosting some workshops at the Ames Center. It recently held a member workshop there with renowned Uruguay artist Alvaro Castagnet, and another three-day workshop is scheduled there in April, with visiting artist Pat Weaver.

Liz Rolfsmeier is a Twin Cities-based freelance journalist.