Ambassador of the Week: Lena Thynell

May 22, 2018

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Meet Lena Thynell, this week’s top American Watercolor Weekly Ambassador!

“Country Road Morning”: I painted this watercolor en plein air at the Pennsylvania Countryside an early September morning. The light was so special and it was a joyful moment.

Lena Thynell moved to the United States in the summer of 2011. She lives with her husband nearby State College, PA. Lena got her education in watercolor painting at the Gerlesborg Art School in Sweden, this school is located north of Gothenburg on the beautiful Swedish west coast.

“The Old Stone House”: This painting is from the Pennsylvania Countryside, painted “en Plein Air” one morning in May. I was drawn to this old , dilapidated stone house, surrounded with fields and cows.

She is an art instructor at the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania. After a long career as a registered nurse, nurse midwife and department head in Sweden, watercolor has now become an important part of her life. She paints “en plein – air” which gives her much joy and new inspiration. “It’s a challenge to paint on location and that’s what I like” Lena states.

“Sunrise Over the Swedish West Coast”: Painted during a trip to Sweden. It was an early morning in July, I went out at 5.30am to capture the morning sun over the old fishing village, painting “en Plein Air”. When I was done, I rewarded myself with a quick dip in the ocean and a second breakfast. Oh, a memory of a lifetime…

Lena has participated in Juried Art Shows as well as Solo Art Shows in Sweden and has started to show and sell her work in the USA. She achieved Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Signature Status, PWS, in 2015, Philadelphia Watercolor Society Signature Status 2016 and Baltimore Watercolor Society Signature Status 2017. Lena is on the Bellefonte Art Museum art registry and a member of Farmland Preservation Artist’s of Central Pennsylvania. Lena has attended workshops with Skip Lawrence, Alvaro Castagnet and Andy Evansen.

“Being outdoors, painting is very inspiring and I love it. It’s a challenge to paint outdoors exposed to wind, sun, rain and even snow. I like it a lot. My paintings come alive in a way that is quite different from those paintings created in my studio. What started as a hobby has been an important part of life. When I paint, I aim to express a feeling or a mood of the object rather than to create an exact picture.”

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