Celebrating Life

Featured on the cover of The Pen Woman, Fall 2024

“Painting is for me a celebration of life,” says this edition’s cover artist, Charlotte Severin, 22-year member of the Diablo Alameda Branch (California). 

Severin has painted since she was 5 years old but began painting in oils at age 12. She studied with a German artist and his Italian artist wife, as well as at the California College of Arts and Crafts. She continued at Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in nursing. 

Severin enjoys working in all media but prefers watercolor for its flexibility in on-location paintings and for the freshness it inspires. She has taught watercolor classes for 31 years for the city of Pleasanton and Tri Valley Schools and has led painting trips throughout the world, from the United States and Mexico to Europe and Asia, including China and Tibet.

Honored by many one-person professional exhibits, her works are owned by collectors in the USA, Europe, and Asia. A frequent award winner, Severin is a signature member of the California Watercolor Society and founding member and president of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. She received the Pleasanton Community Patriot’s Award and the Mayor’s Award, was named Woman of the Year, and is listed in “Who’s Who of American Women.”

Enthusiastic to share the joy of painting, Severin often speaks at conventions. She calls this “refilling your cup.”