My work begins when something captures my attention and stops me in my tracks— colors, the way shadows move through a place, people who make me wonder about their stories. I paint in watercolor with subjects drawn from the North Carolina coast where I live and from traveling and camping farther afield. The pieces are representational, but the specific weather and light of a moment and the small surprises that come when watercolor and paper decide some of it for you can be gratifying and magical. —Shelley

Shelley Hobson came to watercolor ten years ago, after the death of her mother, an artist. Her brother (also an artist) gathered their mother's watercolor supplies, handed them to her, and said, "It's your turn." She has since studied with a number of regionally and internationally known watercolorists, and her work has been juried into the Wilmington Art Association Spring Show, the NC Watercolor Society Eastern Regional Show, the Landfall Show, the Art League of Leland annual show, and Artworks. She lives and creates award-winning paintings on the coast of North Carolina.