Schedule of Events
9:00 am Doors open, Breakfast served
9:20 am Opening Remarks
9:30 am
Linda Renaud
“Lessons Learned: Watercolor Wax Batik”
Renaud will discuss her wax batik watercolor technique and share insights into the importance of value, shape, and color in building strong, compelling compositions in her session
10:30 am
Wendie Martin
“Lessons Learned: Watercolor Wax Batik”
Renaud will discuss her wax batik watercolor technique and share insights into the importance of value, shape, and color in building strong, compelling compositions in her session
11:30 am
Izabela Tysver
“The Beginning and the End of the Creative Process”
Tysver will guide artists through the challenges of starting new work, overcoming creative resistance, recognizing when a piece is complete, and approaching pricing as a reflection of artistic value and self-worth.
12:15 pm Lunch Served,
provided by Papa Johns
1:15 pm
Cody Kuehl
Multilayered Paintings Workshop
Juror Cody Kuehl will host the hands-on workshop sharing his unique approach to art work using multiple layers to create 3D effects for his paintings.
2026 Seminar Speaker Biographies
Linda Renaud
Linda Renaud has painted in watercolor for all of her adult life. It was an on-again, off- again affair until a bout with breast cancer ignited a serious commitment to her art. Ironically, she became the “artist-in-residence” on the chemo ward, and since then, she has dedicated herself to painting professionally in watercolor wax batik – twelve years and counting.
Creating her paintings involves a significant amount of preparation before the first brush touches the surface. It’s a process that demands mental energy and meticulous attention to detail. Each piece is a major commitment. Linda has learned that good things take time!
Doing primarily paintings of wildlife, Linda seeks to draw attention to the incredible animals that share our planet. Her art strives to do justice to the wondrous creatures who exhibit such strength and mystery in their very beings.
Teaching watercolor wax batik is another joy for Linda, allowing her to share her learnings and techniques with others. She has been fortunate to participate in juried shows and has received recognition for her work, which is always a delightful surprise.
Linda is currently a signature member of the Red River Watercolor Society, the Colorado Watercolor Society, the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies, and Rocky Mountain National Watermedia.
Ultimately, her art is about connection—between the viewer and the beauty of nature, and between herself and those who engage with her work.
Wendie Martin
Wendie Martin is a publisher, certified auctioneer, and experienced art exhibition judge with a strong focus on artistic excellence, historical context, and market awareness. As Co-Publisher of American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, American Fine Art Magazine, Native American Art, and International Artist Magazine, she brings a broad, informed perspective to evaluating contemporary and historic works. Wendie is recognized for her thoughtful, balanced approach to judging, informed by decades of engagement with artists, galleries, collectors, and the broader art market.
Izabela Tysver
Izabela Tysver is a mixed media artist rooted in reflection and deep connection—with nature, memory, and material. Her work is a tactile dialogue between heart and hands, inspired by organic objects and the quiet beauty of overlooked fragments—weathered wood, rusted metal, fallen leaves, and discarded paper. She reclaims these materials and reimagines them into layered, soulful pieces.
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Bookbinding and altered books are central to her practice. Drawn to the intimacy and mystery of books, she creates handmade vessels from found objects and natural textures that exist between artifact and artwork.
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Guided by intuition, Izabela honors imperfection and the marks of time—stitch by stitch—exploring themes of healing, resilience, and connection. Her work invites viewers to slow down, look closer, and discover their own stories within the textures and grunges she assembles.
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Cody Kuehl
Cody Kuehl is a contemporary painter who features moment of impact images of the west. Born in Northern Colorado, Cody's formative youth was raising, training, and showing draft horses with his family. Cody currently resides in Longmont Colorado. He is the board president of the A.R. Mitchell Museum where he runs his gallery, Kuehl Fine Art.
Thank you to our
2026 Western Spirit Juried Art Show & Sale Seminar Sponsors
