Meet Lee Grest | Watercolor Portrait Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lee Grest and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lee, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I am very disciplined about my art practice. It’s very rare that a day goes by that I don’t engage with my art in some way. I paint almost every evening of the week. If painting somehow doesn’t work out, I sketch, plan, prepare materials and/or network with other artists. I water the roots in some way—everyday—to nourish the growth of this dream.

In addition to my art career, I have a part-time job in healthcare and three young sons. In the juggle of the day-to-day, my family comes first. Once their needs are met and little ones are tucked in, I head to my studio. In the early days, my “studio” was the laundry room counter, a card table in our bedroom, or a clipboard on the floor. With dedication, I carved out time and space whenever and wherever I could. My art practice has evolved, and with that the space in which I create has also bloomed and grown. I now work in a studio shed in our backyard, which feels like a hard-earned luxury.

The most important factor behind my success is dedication. In the early days, I had to remain committed amidst the significant friction, failures, and fumbles. It often felt messy, uncertain, and there were many days that I wondered if any of it was worth the effort. Today, there are many evenings when I could just skip painting, opting for one of the many distractions at our fingertips. But I show up to my nightly painting like my third shift of the day. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline, but the yields are worth it. There isn’t a roadmap for making a life in the arts. The unrelenting commitment to showing up is everything.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a watercolor portrait artist. To me, portrait painting feels like a form of sacred storytelling. Often the most difficult and most rewarding aspect of composing a portrait is identifying the underlying narrative within—the significance concealed within the expression, the cultural heritage reflected in the palette, the thread of narrative woven into the composition. I gravitate toward images that feel candid, usually opting for subjects captured in profile or with their gaze “off camera.” In doing so, I believe my portraits reflect a sense of authenticity that invites the viewer into the subject’s human experience.

The artist John Singer Sargent famously described watercolor as “making the best of an emergency.” By its nature, watercolor can be both simplistic and illusive. The materials can feel at once basic and simultaneously impossible to control. In this sense, the medium of watercolor imitates human nature. Given these parallel characteristics, it seems fitting that portraiture and watercolor would go hand-in-hand.

I have always had a profound appreciation for stories. In healthcare, I work as a speech-language pathologist in neurological rehabilitation due to stroke, brain injury, and/or cognitive decline. Working in the domains of language and memory within the geriatric population has deepened my appreciation of narrative. My patients, many of whom are entering the final season of their life, are nesting dolls of stories, heritage, and traditions.

Getting to where I am today wasn’t easy. Balancing my roles as mom of three and speech therapist has required me to remain incredibly dedicated and persistent to my art. I came to watercolor portraiture via pure infatuation with the medium and a dogged sense of determination. I have had to embrace vulnerability and overcome my insecurity around coming to art as a second career and one in which I lack any formal training. In creating art daily, refusing to quit, and embracing the uncertainty, this seed of a dream has begun to bear fruit. Bit by bit, the path begins to unfold before me, growing into exciting commissions, awards at local shows, installations in public community spaces, and teaching roles.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would make it a kid-friendly itinerary so my sons could join!

Our default is to be outside, no matter the season. I would set aside time for a long hike, say the Raccoon Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We’d stop for coffee/hot chocolate and pastries at Moxie on the way out of town.

After our hike, we would have worked up an appetite, so we would get pizza at Lucky Pie followed by ice cream at Sweet Cow next door.

Other kid-friendly activities to fill out the week might include a gymnastics class at Mountain Kids, family climbing at The Spot, or ice skating at Blue Sports Stable.

Louisville is wonderfully connected with a network a bike paths, so we often spend weekends park-hopping from playground to playground. A swim at the Recreation and Senior Center is always on the schedule, no matter the season. If it’s winter, we might stop into the Louisville Library followed by skating at Old Town Skate across the street. If it’s summer, a swim at Memory Square Pool and an outdoor concert are just the ticket.

And we would be sure to stop into the Louisville Art Association to see some local talent on view!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success would never have been possible without the support of my husband. He perceived my dedication to a creative path before I did and has always encouraged me to pursue a path in life that reflects my authentic desires.

When I’m hard pressed to meet a deadline, he jumps in to pick up the slack with childcare. When I’m approaching burnout, he reminds me to rest. When I struggled to find space to paint, he built my studio shed.

Like me, my husband believes in the power of art. As a violinist and mandolin player, he believes in the root conviction among artists that art is not a mere luxury or decoration but rather a deep human need that stems from a yearning to understand ourselves, communicate across differences, and preserve our histories.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lee.watercolors/

Other: Sktchy Art School: https://school.sktchy.com/members/13342837