Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico Alexandra Becker-Black has been creating art all of her life. Formally trained in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, Alexandra's relationship with watercolors started with an odd step when she was forced to choose a new medium after developing an allergic reaction to Oil Paints. Within weeks of first painting in watercolors, Alexandra found her medium and her new voice. Years later, the majority of her technique is still self taught through her natural exploration of the medium and its applications.

Long before a paintbrush ever touched her hand, drawing was Alexandra’s original medium. She continues to draw today, exploring new techniques and concepts by pushing the boundaries between realism and dreamscapes.
Alexandra lives and works in Portland, Oregon where she survives 2020 quarantine with her fiancé and 2 muppet dogs.

    Throughout my career, I’ve been obsessed with the intrinsic beauty of the human form, and as I mature, I’m even more struck by the human capacity to feel. By conveying deep emotional truths through iconic imagery, my work reflects a sacred tryst between the conscious and the subconscious. There by creating a space that exists between dreams and reality. .

I work with several colors that I mix myself from Winsor & Newton watercolors in tubes. The proportions are a little secret that I keep to myself!
My mix consists of different tones of red with phthalo blue as well as a third color that I will not reveal! Phthalo blue is a very powerful color: if you add too much, it can take over all mixtures.
It should be used sensibly. A bit like salt: all it takes is a pinch to spice up a dish.    

AoW 19   Alexandra Becker-Black