Meet Spring Obsession 2024 artist Paula Gale Tooman

 Paula Gale Tooman Bio

O-061 Morning-Blooms by Paula Tooman wc 22x18.5 $350

    I feel like I am coming home when I enter the art show at Ironstone Vineyards. The Gold Country has always been special to me. My husband and I love sitting on the Ironstone patio outside the wine tasting room having a glass of wine and some sandwiches. It's a privilege to return as a painter to one of my favorite places.

O-062 Spring-Dreams-Number-1 by Paula Tooman wc 21x17 $225 SOLD

    I am Paula Gale Tooman and I've been painting since my mid-twenties. I first got interested in watercolor when I took a class from Muriel Doggett in adult education in Pleasanton, California. It only took six weeks to fall in love with the fluid surprises of painting with watercolors. I've never been able to pry myself away from this medium - it's exciting, vibrant, unpredictable, and just plain fun. A Friend and I would try to go plein-air painting every few weeks. Something we went to the Sacramento Delta but mainly we painted in the Gold Country. Dogs loved us, and people would meander by to see what we were doing. The spectators seemed to be kind and somewhat envious of the fun we were having.

O-063 Spring-Dreams-Number-2-by Paula Tooman wc 21.5x17 $225

    When I had my first two children, I felt I was too busy to paint. But I didn't know what busy really was until my husband and I adopted twelve Ethiopians between 1994 and 1996. I was too busy to do much of anything. Our last adoption was in 1999 of a handicapped Down's syndrome baby girl. But ... I still dreamed of those days of painting in the Gold Country and wanted to try again. When I was in my late fifties I had only three kids at home - it felt like a vacation.

    This last year has been very busy with trips, and friends, and commitments. But, "God willing and the creek don't rise", I'll be spending much more time in my studio this coming year. It has been hard figuring out what to paint. I hope I can spend more time and try to enjoy it rather than worry about painting "the best picture" I can do.