Interview by John Vitale
An interview with artist Kerry Siderius, whose paintings chronicle Central Washington’s wine region
“I have been painting since I could hold a paintbrush,” says Kerry Siderius, who grew up on her parents’ apple orchard north of Wenatchee. Influenced by the diverse beauty of the four distinct seasons, Siderius has been exploring the twists and turns along the banks of the mighty Columbia River and mountain forests throughout North and Central Washington for years, capturing treasured moments of nature with her rich palette of earthy colors.
The turn of the 21st century brought a growing progression of wineries to the region, and the artist wasted no time chronicling still lifes of local vineyards. Her paintings quickly gained prominence among patrons of the wine community.
“My parents, John and Jan Little, planted grapes, built Rio Vista Wines with a gorgeous tasting room right on the Columbia River, and began making award-winning wine,” says Siderius, who studied at The Art Institute of Seattle and Central Washington University in Ellensburg. “So I got to use the entire tasting room to exhibit my paintings. I have art in other wineries but Rio Vista is my gallery.”
In the following interview with Tasting Room Magazine, Siderius shares her artistic perspective and love of wine country.
What’s your inner connection to vineyards?
I’ve always loved to paint fruit like cherries, pears and apples. But there is something about a cluster of grapes, the tendrils, the wide veined leaves and how colorful they get in the fall. They already look like a painting to me.
When did your vineyard art start to click?
After growing up here, I lived away from Washington for about ten years when I was first married in Denton, Texas, and I was so delighted to return and see that my little hometown was really becoming wine country (and actually the whole state). That’s when I started painting vineyards, like really amped it up. Then, when my parents planted their vineyard and started making wine (Rio Vista Wines), and needed a label, my paintings of grapes and vineyards became just what everyone was looking for.
What are you trying to convey through your art?
Why beauty, of course. When I grew up here, in Bridgeport actually, the tiny town next to Chief Joseph Dam, I guess I took the beauty of this area for granted. I thought, “Oh, ugly brown hills, sage brush, orchards everywhere, nothing special.” I don’t know if it was moving away, or growing up, but now I find this part of our neck of the woods so amazingly gorgeous, especially with the addition of the vineyards, and now I love orchards and sagebrush.
Describe your medium?
Well, watercolor mostly. Sometimes I use ink on a really wet wash to get it deeper, especially deep reds or blues. I use gouache for some whites, like a dog whisker and for things I need to be opaque. I draw it out if it’s a house, or a precise structure. But landscapes and fruit I just paint straight away.
Wenatchee has four distinct seasons; is there a favorite time of year you enjoy painting most?
The last grapes to be picked at harvest, usually Cabernet Sauvignon around Halloween. The reason is, especially if there has been a light freeze, the leaves have begun to turn all shades of red and even purple. The sun is lower in the sky, which makes for nice long shadows and a golden light, making a vineyard landscape so much more dramatic. The grapes can look deep dusty blue to black, depending on the light.
Has your painting style changed over the years?
I am more accepting of “mistakes” than I used to be. What I mean by that is, if the red on my American flag bleeds into my blue-sky background, now I let it be. I find little imperfections like that interesting. Also, when my husband and I lived in Dallas I worked downtown in the Design District at an art gallery. I was their watercolorist and worked directly with the interior decorators and designers. It trained me to be fast and really in touch with a color palette that is timeless and not dated. I want my paintings to look beautiful on people’s walls now, and 40 years from now.
What do you enjoy doing most when not painting?
We love camping, and going to the ocean. One of my (our) favorite things to do is take the kids to a beach and just spend the day turning over rocks and finding beach life, fishing, clam digging, that sort of thing.
Visit the Gallery & Tasting Room
Kerry Siderius Watercolor Gallery at Rio Vista Wines:
24415 SR 97, Chelan WA
Ph: 509-682-9713
KerrySiderius.com
RioVistaWines.com