About Us

   A pure love and curiosity of nature, has been the inspiration  behind Popi Tyler’s colorful and imaginative watercolors. “It fascinates  me the way nature goes about assembling all things that grow--then  assigns the perfect color to each.”

     Popi grew up on a ranch in beautiful Sonoma County,  surrounded by Gravenstein Apple orchards, and cattle ranches.  She rode  her horse through both, all the time learning to observe and be  respectful of the landscape and the animals. “Nature provides every  color and design for us all to see, you only need to slow down and take  the time to look”, she says.

     Popi has painted in all media, and sculpted in clay,  cement, metal, and papier maché.  She still loves pottery and papier  maché, and explains, “Twenty years ago when I first experienced the  tactile qualities of watercolor papers, I became seriously hooked.   Watercolors have a vibrancy and immediacy unmatched by any other medium,  that perfectly suits my loose and risk-taking approach to painting.”

     When Popi moved to Hawai’i in 2002, she began painting  full time.  There she studied watercolor and pottery, at Linecona  Academy of Art, on the island of Oahu.  She worked in watercolor with  George Wollard and Gay Jefferson, and in pottery with Sally Murchison.   “I think of Hawai’i as my other home, and my friends there as my ohana,  my family”, the artist says.

     Here in California and in Baja, Popi studies with her  friend and mentor, Judith Greenleaf, of Mendocino County, and with Dale  Laitinen, in the high country of Nevada.

     Popi goes on to say, “Some of my heroes are also local  kids, such as Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes, Wayne Thiebaud, and  Maynard Dixon, many from the California School of Painters--and don’t  forget to include Georgia O’Keeffe.  To me, their art represents a  certain freedom and has the energy and freshness that comes from  studying the local landscape en plein air.”

     “I love traveling, painting, and being outdoors.  I paint  with warm, deep, earth colors, a combination of line and color, and a  large, up-close focus.  My favorite tools are my watercolor pencils and  crayons, which I use equally as much as my paints.  I always make onsite  studies in graphite, ink, or paint—or a combination of all.  Works I  cannot finish outside, I complete in the studio.”

     “I paint for the pure joy it brings me.  I believe it is  important to remain true to oneself.  If I can entertain you along the  way--well, that’s just a total bonus!”

     Popi is a member of the Arts Council of Sonoma County, which hosts the annual open studios event, ART Trails, for two weekends in October.  You can visit Popi at her Studio 950 by appointment during the year.

Please contact Popi Tyler at:

Popi Tyler
P.O. Box 5063
Santa Rosa, CA  95402
Telephone: 808.220.7452
Email: popi@popityler.com
Web: http://www.popityler.com