Kathleen Lanzoni, Pure Joy, transparent watercolor, 29 x 22.
Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and watercolors certainly bear out that claim in the fine-art world. When it comes to thematic and aesthetic diversity, the medium knows no bounds. For evidence, we need look no further than the following section of watercolorists from around the country. Their colorful mélange of artworks includes realistic portrayals of poppies, persimmons, crystal candlesticks, and ballet shoes; whimsical representations of elephants, rhinos, orcas, and cranes; and painterly depictions of fi shermen, mustard fields, mountain lakes, and old barns. From pagodas to gondolas, this sampling of collectible watercolors dishes up the spice.