Stella Canfield
Watercolor Instructor
Stella Canfield was born in Varna, Bulgaria and graduated from the Academy of Sports in Sofia. After escaping from communist Bulgaria in 1980 Stella lived for five years in Germany and moved to the USA in 1985. She and her husband now divide their time between Bulgaria and the Washington state.
Stella dedicated the first 30 thirty years of her life to the sports world and was a respected national rower. In Germany she worked in ceramics which laid the foundation of her artistic career. Having loved watercolors since her childhood, she became an avid student of the medium. Supported tirelessly by her best friend and husband Michael, she traveled endlessly to take watercolor classes, seminars and conferences. Stella is a student of many of the best watercolor artists in the US such as Milford Zornes, Serge Hollerbach, Karla O’Connor, Frank Webb , and many others. She has participated in and juried exhibits organized by the arts organizations earning numerous prestigious awards. Stella teaches watercolor classes in the arts centers of Coupeville (Washington), Bend (Oregon), Rockport (Texas) and others in addition to leading artist's trips to Europe.
In 1998 Stella opened her own gallery in Coupeville, Washington (noted in the publications of “The 100 Best Small Towns in the USA”) in the heart of Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve. In 2000 Stella founded “Stellar Arts Foundation”, an educational and charitable non-profit organization dedicated to help orphaned and abandoned children in Bulgaria. The foundation conducts painting tours for American artists who visit and recreate in their art the beauty of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Republic of Georgia and Switzerland.
Since 2001 Stella was invited to teach at Daniel Smith, one of the two most prestigious companies in the USA for producing the finest paints in the world. The company purchased one of her paintings for its permanent collection and in November 2010 they included her DVD “Debunking the Myth of Talent” (a two hour film of Stella painting a Prague street scene) in their store for sale.
In 2017 Stella was awarded the title Master of IWS Globul, an organization which is involving 90 countries. Stella activly participates in their exhibitions and has received awards at the shows of IWS Pakistan, IWS Czech Rep and IWS Costa Rica this year. She is one of the jurors of the IWS Bulgaria.
Stella Canfield ’s paintings can be found in several corporate, private and museum collections in America, Europe and Asia. Characteristic of Stella’s work and her place in the American Art is included in “Watercolor - The Spirit of Spontaneity” a book by Karlyn Holman. Her biography is included in “Who is Who in America” and “Who is Who in American Women”.
Stella Canfield was born in Varna, Bulgaria and graduated from the Academy of Sports in Sofia. After escaping from communist Bulgaria in 1980 Stella lived for five years in Germany and moved to the USA in 1985. She and her husband now divide their time between Bulgaria and the Washington state.
Stella dedicated the first 30 thirty years of her life to the sports world and was a respected national rower. In Germany she worked in ceramics which laid the foundation of her artistic career. Having loved watercolors since her childhood, she became an avid student of the medium. Supported tirelessly by her best friend and husband Michael, she traveled endlessly to take watercolor classes, seminars and conferences. Stella is a student of many of the best watercolor artists in the US such as Milford Zornes, Serge Hollerbach, Karla O’Connor, Frank Webb , and many others. She has participated in and juried exhibits organized by the arts organizations earning numerous prestigious awards. Stella teaches watercolor classes in the arts centers of Coupeville (Washington), Bend (Oregon), Rockport (Texas) and others in addition to leading artist's trips to Europe.
In 1998 Stella opened her own gallery in Coupeville, Washington (noted in the publications of “The 100 Best Small Towns in the USA”) in the heart of Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve. In 2000 Stella founded “Stellar Arts Foundation”, an educational and charitable non-profit organization dedicated to help orphaned and abandoned children in Bulgaria. The foundation conducts painting tours for American artists who visit and recreate in their art the beauty of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Republic of Georgia and Switzerland.
Since 2001 Stella was invited to teach at Daniel Smith, one of the two most prestigious companies in the USA for producing the finest paints in the world. The company purchased one of her paintings for its permanent collection and in November 2010 they included her DVD “Debunking the Myth of Talent” (a two hour film of Stella painting a Prague street scene) in their store for sale.
In 2017 Stella was awarded the title Master of IWS Globul, an organization which is involving 90 countries. Stella activly participates in their exhibitions and has received awards at the shows of IWS Pakistan, IWS Czech Rep and IWS Costa Rica this year. She is one of the jurors of the IWS Bulgaria.
Stella Canfield ’s paintings can be found in several corporate, private and museum collections in America, Europe and Asia. Characteristic of Stella’s work and her place in the American Art is included in “Watercolor - The Spirit of Spontaneity” a book by Karlyn Holman. Her biography is included in “Who is Who in America” and “Who is Who in American Women”.
