Dee Edwards will be honored with a one woman show at El Dorado of Sun City Retirement Community, 10330 W. Thunderbird Blvd. The public is invited to the artist’s reception 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9.

Edwards was born in Troy, NY, and lived there until 1979 when she moved to Arizona with a friend. Soon after her arrival in Arizona, she met her husband, Rick. They raised their family in the Phoenix area and moved to Sun City in 2015. Edwards retired a few years later.

She has always loved art and writing but never had any formal training. She was intrigued with the medium of watercolor, the luminescence of it and its versatility. She took a couple classes and workshops before moving to Sun City but was frustrated with the results when she would paint on her own. Eventually, she just started “playing” with the paint and colors, learning how they flowed together, and using different techniques such as salt, cling wrap and water spritzing.

YouTube videos and books were a great help during this time.

Edwards had encouraging results printing postcards and notecards, on which she added Bible verses and favorite quotes, and her confidence grew. She remembers hearing words of wisdom the Lord shared with a friend of a friend: “Just get those first 100 ugly paintings out of the way and after that your art will flourish!” Those proved to be helpful and encouraging words.

After retiring, Edwards was able to join the Sun City art clubs, Palo Verde Artists and Artists by the Lake. She signed up for classes with Ruth Little, art instructor at Palo Verde Artists, where she learned the basics such as color theory, composition, staining properties and colorfastness, brush strokes, layering and complimentary colors, to name a few. It was a little overwhelming at first, but Little was patient and kind, and Edwards’s art began to flourish.

During Covid, Edwards stepped back from the art world and pursued more time for reflection and prayer and quiet time with God, and only recently began painting again.

“I would love to flow more in the Spirit when I paint, to be looser and freer,” Edwards said. She believes that before your dreams to fly can become a reality, you need to understand the laws of flight and thrust to overcome the laws of gravity and physics and that the same is true in the art world.

When you learn the basic fundamentals of watercolor, you can create masterpieces full of light and beauty.

Her advice is, “If you want a new hobby, or dream of doing something outside of your comfort zone, step out, take a class, find what you love to do, and then enjoy this wonderful place where we live.”

The exhibit will be open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through April 9.