Watercolor
Our artists' watercolor paintings will captivate you. Mountain Living Studio features the extraordinary work of many exceptional artists, including Mary Jago Cohagen, Deborah King and Liese Chavez. Mary Jago Cohagen's watercolor work exemplifies quality, precision, and timelessness. Deborah King uses watercolor to paint colorful and inviting masterpieces, while Liese employs the use of watercolor and ink to create imaginative and narrative pieces that will leave you deep in thought.
Mary Jago Cohagen
Mary was born in England to parents who encouraged her creative nature. Her mother had a serious case of wanderlust, and traveled the world extensively. Her father was a commercial flower grower. Beginning very early in her life, Mary learned from her parents to engage passionately in life, embrace the arts, and appreciate the beauty of nature. Mary came to the United States in 1973 and made Colorado her home. She currently resides in Manitou Springs. The Colorado mountains have been a constant source of inspiration for her paintings, which feature the natural beauty and light that is unique to the high country. Mary’s paintings have a luminous quality that draws the viewer into the scene encouraging them to “stay awhile and breathe the mountain air.” When Mary is not painting, she can be found surrounded by tropical beauty in her flower shop, “Island Orchids.” Artistic endeavors have always been an important part of Mary’s life and, over the years, she has studied in oils, pastels, acrylics and watercolor. During the past decade Mary has concentrated on watercolor. She has traveled to Spain, England, Hawaii and Mexico to participate in En Plien Air painting. She has also participated in workshops with such renowned instructors as John Salminen, Steven Quiller, Frank Webb and Thomas Owen. 
Deborah King
Deborah King is an artist working in watercolors and mixed media. She moved to Colorado Springs from Canada in 1995 to marry her wonderful husband. They have a son and 2 cats. Always having a deep desire to be creative and trying many mediums, Deborah found her love of watercolors in a class at Bemis School of Art taught by Lorraine Danzo, followed up by many of her workshops. Deborah has also taken a class at Cottonwood taught by Thomas J. Owen and an intro to Batik taught by Martha Kisling. As a member of the Colorado Springs Art Guild, Deborah has shown her work in juried shows for the past 4 years. Painting brings her great joy and even more when she shares it.
Liese Chavez
A statement from the artist: "When I was small, I remember lying on my back under a side table in my Grandparents' house. The tabletop was a round slab of marble, out of which grew a lamp with lead crystal teardrops dangling from a filigree bloom. There was a circlet of these crystals beneath the lamp as well and I watched the front parlor glow in the half-light reflected from these tiny worlds of faceted glass. In that private world just a few inches from the floor, the chairs all had carved feet on the bottom and way above me near the ceiling I could see the undersides of little animal faces in the corners of the moldings. I would climb up the steep stairs to the dusty attic with crates of 45 records and the secret-seeming low doors to mysterious things in storage in the eaves. Sometimes I would hide myself in the tiny sewing room under the stairs or spend hours pawing through Grammy’s costume jewelry, trying on clip-on earrings and peeking into lockets. One day I came into my grandparents’ house and everything looked different. The tiny details were still there, but I was too tall to see them so intimately anymore. Some of the magic had disappeared. I have been trying to get back to that magical world ever since. This series holds all the nostalgia and strange faces of my past. I wanted to know what was inside, what was under, what was behind things. I still do. Come into the wardrobe with me, let the smell of old faded minks brush your face and peek with me up onto the high shelf filled with hatboxes and secrets…" If you are looking to purchase Liese's work online, look HERE.
Leo Rivera
"My name is Leovigildo Rivera and I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. My first exposure to art, that I can remember, was when my grandmother took me on a trip to El Museo De Arte in Ponce Puerto Rico. That was the first time I can remember that art really spoke to me and made me feel, made me move. I am a self taught artist, for the most part, really analyzing and breaking down the styles of the artist I look up to for inspiration and guidance. Of course, you cant teach yourself everything, so I took guidance from the local community college professors and developed my style. When I paint, it’s all about the drive and seeing how far I can push myself. The drive and love to produce art that causes the viewer to feel emotion is what keeps me going and its what keeps art pouring out from within. If I am not moved by the piece, how can I expect the viewer to be moved. That type of emotion caused by visual stimulation, is priceless. I enjoy working with all sorts of medium but what really makes me move is painting with coffee. I enjoy this style because of its fluidity and its loose, yet contained look that it gives each piece. It makes me feel like I am home, in Puerto Rico, on a hot, humid day. They take me back to my culture and memories I cherish from my childhood."