The paintings of this Iowa artist deal with the precise depiction of everyday objects arranged in simple, straight-forward compositions. The elements of these still-lifes are at once familiar, yet reveal the artist's strong grasp of proportion and visual balance. With a hand for infinite detail and an eye for subtle changes in light and shadow, his watercolors display a mastery of simplicity and skill in a most difficult medium.

The actual process of creating a painting begins with setting up a still-life and light source, then adding and deleting objects until a compositional balance is achieved. Working directly from life, the image is drawn on a thin tracing vellum so that all decisions and corrections are resolved before transferring to the watercolor paper. This is accomplished by drawing over a graphite -backed paper underneath the vellum.

Once the image is transferred, it is then redrawn before the painting is finally begun. From this point on, the watercolors are applied in many successive washes, building layer upon layer, from light to dark, until all the values are balanced and the work complete. This may take anywhere from 20 to 100 hours or more, before the finished painting is matted and framed.

James Petran has been painting professionally since 1983. His watercolors have received numerous awards at top show throughout the country and may be found in many corporate, museum and private collections.