Ambassador of the Week: Jessica L Bryant

Meet Jessica L Bryant, this week’s top American Watercolor Weekly Ambassador!

“Long Lake, Noatak National Preserve, Alaska” This is the second location that the National Park Service sent me to during my month-long residency for the Western Arctic National Parklands. This preserve is the size of Massachusetts, and the only people in it were my park ranger guide and me. We were dropped off by a float plane, and spent days exploring the surrounding tundra, river, and lake. It was a remarkable experience punctuated by nine grizzly sightings and a wide variety of weather conditions.

Passionate about nature, wilderness, and our national parks, Jessica has served eight terms as an Artist-in-Residence for the National Park Service, including Badlands, Rocky Mountain, Joshua Tree, and the Western Arctic National Parklands, a grouping of three remote NPS units located north of the Arctic Circle and void of any roads. She has also served as AiR for the Bureau of Land Management and was the 2018 Idaho Conservation League Artist-in-Residence.

“Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park” I prefer to visit national parks when I can spend many days exploring, immersed in the landscape. On my drive home from a residency at Rocky Mountain, I had a day to spare, and decided to spend it at Grand Teton. Feeling completely lost as to what to do with only one day, I asked a ranger what she would do in my shoes. She directed me to hike Cascade Canyon, but to keep going where everyone else turns back because a few more miles in, the canyon opens up. I took the boat across Jenny Lake, enjoyed Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and then started my hike up the canyon. The ranger was so right, and I lucked out with gorgeous afternoon light.

Jessica’s work has received many awards and can be found in numerous national and international private and public collections. She is a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. Exhibition highlights include the 2013 and 2020 American Watercolor Society Annual International Exhibitions, the Flora of the National Parks exhibit at the United States Botanical Gardens in Washington, DC, and Google Cultural Institute’s “One Object” project celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service.

“Copeland Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park” Rocky Mountain National Park has endless incredible hikes, and I covered a remarkable number of miles during my few weeks as Artist in Residence, in a futile attempt to see everything. Copeland Falls is in the Wild Basin region of the park, along the trail to Ouzel Falls. The intimacy of this spot made me stop for a while to enjoy the water, the light, and the abundant wildlife.

Working and teaching out of her studio in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Jessica offers classes and workshops for adults and youth, as well as online classes. Her work is represented by The Art Spirit Gallery.

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Kelly Kane
PleinAir Magazine and American Watercolor Weekly Editor-in-Chief With more than 20 years experience in art publishing, Kelly Kane has served previously as Editor-in-Chief of Watercolor Artist magazine and Content Director for The Artist’s Magazine, Drawing, Acrylic Artist, and Pastel Journal. She has interviewed many of the preeminent artists of our time and written numerous articles about painting, drawing, art education and art history. She is now the Editor-in-Chief of PleinAir Magazine and the American Watercolor Weekly newsletter. Click here to send her an email.

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