RANDALL BARTLETT – WATERCOLORIST
Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, I spent many of my weekends hunting in the swamps of south Alabama, fishing from the pier on Dauphin Island, and navigating canoes through the rivers and creeks of Mobile and Baldwin County. The landscapes of the Gulf Coast left a lasting impression on me—an influence that continues to shape my work today.
During high school, academics did not hold my attention, yet by the grace of God I graduated and went on to attend Auburn University, where I studied industrial design. My passion for art began much earlier, in third grade, when a teacher asked me to draw a house on the blackboard. While she expected a simple flat elevation, I instinctively drew it in perspective—without knowing what perspective drawing was. I simply drew what I saw in my mind. That moment planted the seed for a lifelong love of art and visual expression.
After earning my degree, I devoted my career to teaching and practicing industrial design, eventually retiring from Auburn University as Professor Emeritus. Throughout my years as a design educator, I emphasized sketching as both a problem-solving method and a powerful communication tool. In product design, sketching is where ideas are born and refined, and I consistently encouraged my students to use drawing as a way to think.
While my professional life centered on design and teaching, painting remained quietly in the background. In the fall of 2014, my passion for painting was rekindled. Late nights in the studio became a time of rediscovery and renewal. Watercolor, with its fluidity and unpredictability, has always fascinated me. I began exploring various techniques and styles, focusing primarily on landscapes—lakes, rivers, streams, and seascapes that echo the waters of my youth along the Gulf Coast.
Today, my work reflects both my design background and my deep connection to the natural environments that shaped me. Through watercolor, I seek to capture not only the beauty of a scene, but the feeling of being there.
