ABOVE: Local watercolor painter Caroline Porter oversees student painters, from left: Kaitlin Bormann, Karen Munsch, Brenda Lubenow and Emily Lubenow, at her workshop on Saturday afternoon at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT — The Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont has a new teacher leading art workshops. Caroline Porter is a Fairmont artist who specializes in watercolor art.

She commonly uses wet-on-wet and watercolor-on-ink painting techniques. Many current works include still lifes, plants, animals, scenery and several others. In her class, Porter strives to expand the horizons of the Fairmont community while tethering art into their lives and encouraging enthusiasm for a person’s talents.

Porter grew up in the Twin Cities area and has been painting for a considerable amount of time.

“[I have painted] ever since I could hold a paintbrush,” she said with a chuckle.

In her previous day job, Porter worked closely with microbiology medical research and labs, to which she devoted 60 hours per week. Even with an occupied schedule, Porter made time for what she loved most. She continued to paint, submitted works to competitions, sold her art and picked up art teaching for the community.

“When in college for microbiology, I did a lot of tutoring. A lot of students liked my teaching style, so [teaching art classes] naturally happened,” Porter recalled.

Once a researcher with a colorful pastime, Porter took bull by the horns and pursued her lifelong dream to create.

Before arriving at Fairmont, Porter explained she was moving around the midwest region for several years, living in Omaha, Nebraska before her arrival to Fairmont. After a mutual agreement to be closer to each other’s families, Porter, her husband, and their daughter relocated to Fairmont this previous June.

“We picked Fairmont because it’s in between South Dakota and the Twin Cities,” Porter said. “Our daughter will be four years old this year, and we wanted her to be closer to her cousins.”

After moving, Porter mentioned she was unsure whether to continue teaching art. According to her, her January workshop sold out within two weeks. The experience cemented her as both an artist and instructor.

“It’s incredible. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach after moving from Omaha. But, this is my calling,” Porter said.

During workshops, whether with big or small crowds, complex or straightforward lessons, Porter aims to provoke self-confidence in her students while painting.

“One thing I also love to teach is confidence. Someone in the class looks at the example and is like, ‘Oh, I could never do that, ‘ and they always have the best piece at the end [of the workshop],” she said. “Art is about personal preference on mediums. There is no right or wrong. I always encourage students to recreate tips and tricks they learned in class. My goal is to bring art into people’s daily lives.”

Porter additionally paints to persevere through the impactful troubles of the world.

“There is so much negativity in the world. When I’m upset, I need to think about it. I need to paint about it. Art has so much great uses,” she said.

Porter would like to work closely with local fundraisers and commit to one workshop in Fairmont monthly, with several more classes in the southern Minnesota and Iowa regions. For additional information regarding Porter, her classes, and her watercolor works, visit her official website at https://caroline-porter-art.square.site/ and email her at carolineporterart@gmail.com.