Gwen Watson is a highly accomplished artist that won Best of Show and first in Oils in last year’s Spring Art Show. She also won second prize in Oils the year before.

Her specialty is Western Art and her favorite teacher is Doug Prine out of Glen Rose. Ray McGuffin, out of Menard, is another favorite teacher. A western artist himself, he is also highly proficient at western landscapes and teaches regularly at the Llano Fine Arts Gallery. Her work strongly reflects the influence of both master artists.

Watson was born in the oil fields of Kilgore where her father worked. His line of work, building refineries required the family to move all over the United States.

The family finally settled in Houston where her father worked for Shell and then the shipyards. Later her father bought some acreage and the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley where he farmed and worked on the side at the oil fields.

Gwen met and married another oil man, Bob. They and their five children lived in the Rio Grande Valley until 1959 when they moved to the Hill Country.

In 1978 they sold their house, bought a travel trailer and traveled for 27 weeks all over the western states, Alaska and Canada before returning to the Hill Country where they have lived ever since.

Watson started oil painting in 1986 when she took lessons with Bell Crawford and joined the Llano Fine Arts Guild where she studied under her sister Dot Darling, who is also a highly talented artist.

Other interests include sponsoring seven American Indian children under the Futures for Children Program out of Albuquerque, N.M..

An avid reader, porcelain doll maker, and jewelry maker she also enjoys photography and scrapbooking. She takes most of the pictures that she paints.

Her life is very full with her 15 grandchildren and 41 great grandchildren.