HOOT Spotlights... Sisters:
Maureen Watkins and Susan Davis

(The first in our series combining our 2012 Convention Theme: "U TouCan Paint" with our Featured Artists)

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sue: I have been married for 35 years to my husband Chuck, have one son and daughter-in-law, and have worked at Encompass Insurance for 33 years. We enjoy camping and I am looking forward to retirement so we can travel and spend our winters in a warmer climate. I'm learning to be proficient at oil and water color because I don't think my husband will let me pack 300 bottles of acrylic paint in the RV!

Maureen: I have worked for Southwest General Health Center / Urgicare for 26 years and for the last 14 years as the Senior Medical Assistant in the lab dept. I also enjoy camping. At most of our camping weekend trips someone will teach a craft (painting, basketweaving), or Sue and I will bring painting projects to work on.

When did you get interested in crafts not necessarily painting?

Sue: I took ceramics classes in 1977 and eventually bought my own kiln and poured my own molds. I got my younger sister Maureen involved and together we did this for about 10 years. We did a lot of Christmas, Halloween and Easter projects that we sold to friends. I eventually sold everything off and moved on to another craft - counted cross stitch. I was always fascinated with the colors and designs that were created by simply putting stitches in the proper place. I still work on cross stitch projects from time to time.

Maureen: Painting eyes and eyelashes on all the ceramic figurines all those years I think has helped us master a paint brush and the control needed to paint the projects that we paint today. I also then moved on to counted cross-stitch and taught myself to crochet. Sue and I took a basketweaving class from a friend of Sue's and I taught few basketweaving classes to friends and at camping weekends. I also make fabric covered photo albums for wedding and baby shower gifts.

How did you learn about HOOT and when did you join?

Sue: I was shopping at a local craft store in 1999 when I saw a display case advertising a beginner decorative painting class. I had always wanted to learn to paint so I signed up and took classes for about 2 years from a local teacher. Some of the ladies in my class told me about the HOOT Convention and as soon as I discovered the huge exhibit hall full of patterns, surfaces and brushes, I was totally hooked! I joined The Society of Decorative Painters and HOOT Chapter at that convention in 2000.

Maureen: After Sue began her classes at the craft store, she started to teach me decorative painting. I had the opportunity to audit one of her classes and saw what beautiful projects they were working on. I joined the Society of Decorative Painters and HOOT Chapter in 2002.

What are your favorite mediums and projects to paint?

Sue: I initially painted in acrylics and did a lot of Maxine Thomas and Distinctive Brushstrokes projects. We have so many different teachers and mediums at our HOOT Chapter meetings, I jumped right in and started taking oil and water color classes. Now my favorite projects are flowers and birds. I am always excited to learn something new.

Maureen: I also started with acrylics and took classes with Maureen McNaughton, Judy Diephouse, and Lynn Deptula. Then I moved on to oil, and now this year at our Hoot Convention took a water color class. I also love to paint on fabric.

Have you been involved with any special projects or offices for HOOT?

Sue: In 2004 I was asked to chair the Heirloom Theme Quilt for the HOOT Convention and designed my first hand painted quilt for "Leap Into Painting". It was exciting to see my idea come together and learn to paint on fabric and also raise money for a local charity. I got Maureen involved as well, and after that, 7 more quilts followed, with each one taking on a new theme and design. I am now working on my own queen size paper pieced quilt using a rainbow of colors of hand dyed batiks. I learned there is a distinct correlation between the colors in a painting palette.

Maureen: I was Assistant Quilt Chair from 2004 to 2010 and Quilt Chair for 2011. Now I am planning to paint my own quilt with Maureen McNaughton Botanical flower pattern series.

Sum it all up!

Sue: I have entered many of my paintings in our yearly chapter art show and I'm so excited when I win a ribbon because it let's me know that I have come a long way from that first beginner tole painting class I took. It has opened up a whole new world to me and besides filling up my house with my painted projects, I have a wonderful group of friends that I have met through decorative painting. We have fun at chapter meetings and working together at convention. My life has never been the same since the day I saw that beginner project at the craft shop.

Maureen: Joining the Hoot Chapter has given us the opportunity to take classes with many exceptional teachers and the opportunity to meet so many talented people from across the country and the world that we would not have been able to if we had not joined HOOT!!

Susan Davis and Maureen Watkins

Samples of Sue's artwork: