This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  The following, submitted October 2004, is from Carolyn Williams, Texas gallery professional.
Watercolorist Naomi Brotherton Naomi Brotherton is a fellow Texan, born in 1920, who began painting when she was fourteen. In the mid-1950's she became a watercolorist exclusively. She is an art graduate from Baylor University and studied at the Art Students League and Art Career School in New York City.
As a commercial artist for many years studying under well known watercolorists of the time, notably Edgar Whitney, she discovered that she could teach. This discovery lead her to a career spanning more than thirty years, including workshop teaching from coast to coast. She is best known in the most recent years for her paintings of flowers, which comprise the main study in her workshops.
Ms. Brotherton's palette is made up of staining pigments rather than the less transparent, opaque pigments, therefore her pigments are staining, non-sedimentary, and truly transparent. "Her test of a good watercolor painting is that the picture glows in the semi-darkness" (Marshall, p.7). She captures essences that are fresh, soft, and bright, and is known for night-scene paintings. A list of her warm color pigments for her palette consist of: Winsor red, brown madder, alizarin crimson, and New Gamboge (yellow); her cool pigments consist of Winsor green, Winsor blue, Indigo, Sepia, Winsor violet, and Antwerp blue.
"In addition, I sometimes use raw sienna, burnt sienna, French ultramarine blue (Marshall, p. 14). These colors are less transparent, but she explains that she waters them down so that they will "glow". She adds that she occasionally uses burnt umber, another non-transparent pigment, for spatter or dark interiors.
Her landscapes show an affinity for weather-worn barns, houses, and out buildings and catch the time of day in symbolic or impressionistic manners. "God, Country and Humanity have always been influences in my painting ideas. Trees have long been a favorite subject (God's creation), and in the early days I wanted to capture old barns and houses (man's creation) on paper before they disappeared to decay or the wrecking ball. Times of day and kinds of weather have been a major pursuit in my work (2000 ArtFocusXC)."
She produced a successful series titled "Mirrored Image", where she was quoted, "More recently modern buildings and the reflections of their surroundings in the glass have fascinated me. The sight of nation's flag has always moved me, and I find myself including it in my landscapes when appropriate. I am currently working on an 'Old Glory' series" (2000 ArtFocusXC).
"Brotherton is a signature member of Southwestern Watercolor Society (SWS), Texas Watercolor Society (TWS), National Watercolor Oklahoma (NWO), Associated Creative Artists of Dallas (ACA), and Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS). Her book, "Variations in Watercolor" (co-authored with Lois Marshall), was published by North Light in 1981. Her work and painting philosophies have been included in several other books and magazine articles. She has also won numerous awards, and her paintings hang in many public and private collections."
Her recognition and successful book publications have earned her a prominent place as a contemporary master watercolorist.
Sources include:
1. "Naomi Brotherton", Art Focus XC; copywright 2000; www.artfocusxc.com 2. Variations in Watercolor; Brotherton,Naomi, and Marshall, Lois; Northern Lights Publishers, Cincinnati, Ohio; 1983.
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