stella canfield bw headshot

Stella Canfield was born in Varna, Bulgaria and graduated from the Academy of Sports in Sofia with a Masters Degree in teaching. She dedicated the first thirty years of her life to sports and achieved considerable success as a national competitor in rowing. In 1980, she left her native country to escape the oppressive regime of communism. After living and working for five years in Germany, she moved to the USA in 1985.

In Germany, Stella worked with ceramics, which marked the beginning of her artistic career. Being an admirer of watercolor since childhood, she became an avid follower of this exciting medium. She was fortunate to study with some of the best American master watercolorists, such as Milford Zornes, Serge Hollerbach, Carla O’Connor, Frank Webb, Robert Wade (Australia) and many others.

In 1998, she opened her own gallery in the town of Coupeville, Washington. In 2000, she founded the Stellar Arts Foundation, an educational and charitable non- profit organization dedicated to helping orphaned children in Bulgaria. Currently she teaches watercolor classes, juries and participates in exhibits initiated by art organizations in the USA, Europe and Asia. She has received many international awards for her work. Her paintings are in several private, corporate, and museum collections in America, Europe and Asia.

Stella’s work and contribution to American art are published in the book by Karlyn Holman – Watercolor, The Spirit of Spontaneity. Her biography is included in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Women. She is a member of the International Watercolor Society, California and Urbino In Acquerello, Italy.

“Watercolor is music for the soul – Mozart, Strauss, Chopin and Vivaldi. Emotional, expressive, romantic…gentle and powerful at the same time. It’s music for the eyes – it whispers and flickers like a violin. Watercolor is spontaneous and unpredictable. It provokes and challenges. No other medium is so eloquent, fresh, filled with light and capturing the moment in one breath. Water and pigment mix to create the most exciting nuances.”

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stella canfield poppies

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