Like so many out of school, Jason Reicherts wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. He became a real estate agent in Scotts, Michigan. When he wasn’t selling houses, he found himself doodling. Until one day, his doodling turned serious. His garage soon became WaterWood Studio, and today it is filled with watercolor paintings, steampunk fantasies, and wildly colorful images of wildlife.
“My art interest has been my whole life,” Reicherts says. “I knew what I liked and how to do a lot of it. I liked to draw a lot, and yes, doodling was huge for me. That’s all I did. My homework assignments were just covered in doodles.”
Out of high school, he says, like many, Reicherts wasn’t sure in what direction to take his future career. He took some art classes, but it was selling real estate that became the more practical option. He got married, started a family. Yet the doodling continued.
“Only recently, during the pandemic, was my art interest rekindled and I was able to dive back in,” Reicherts says. “We had time. As a realtor, I wasn’t able to sell houses.”
Reicherts tells his favorite story—how his art took off when a family friend became pregnant and wanted an abstract painting of the embryo. She ordered a painting online but was disappointed. Reicherts assured her that he could do better. The resulting painting, abstract and brightly colored, pleased both him and the recipient. He had found his style.
Reicherts’ paintings are all in bright, eye-catching colors. Favorite topics are wildlife—he calls these his Odd-ubon paintings—technicolor doodles, and fishing lures done in a Steampunk style.
View his work at Eastend Studio and Gallery at 143 West Michigan Avenue in Marshall, Michigan. Reicherts’ work may also be purchased on his Etsy store.
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