Peggy Flora Zalucha’s Still Life Reflections

EAST PEORIA — A master in watercolor painting, Peggy Flora Zalucha brings to life ordinary and often overlooked objects of daily life. Using various techniques, she magnifies the vibrant colors found in bottles and pans and brings attention to the raw beauty found in our everyday life.

Zalucha was present at Illinois Central College on March 18 to see the opening of her exhibit in the 336B gallery.

“I was blown away,” one ICC student said. “I have worked with watercolor before and I know its difficulties. What Zalucha can do and what she does proves that still life paintings can be done beautifully and realistically in watermedia.”

A Peoria native, Zalucha went to high school at Richwoods and took her first art class here at ICC. She studied in a studio setting during a time when it was considered taboo for a woman to be painting in such a way. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington and also had further education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, China.

“In the United States, watercolor is not as respected as it is in other parts of the world,” Zalucha said. “Japanese and Chinese art histories are based in watercolor paints, so it is nice to be able share what American watercolor paintings are doing.”

Her paintings, a few of which can be seen in the ICC gallery, glorify the ordinary. “They dignify the everyday objects which surround us, exalting the real worth and beauty which too often the world fails to notice.” Her work has been in shows throughout the country, as well as in Japan.

The level of complexity seen in her paintings resonates in her skill in watercolor and would normally overwhelm amateurs who wished to dabble in watercolor. However, her techniques make it appear much less intimidating.

“I use masking tape and break the whole down into little parts and deal with it little pieces at a time, and it doesn’t become quite so overwhelming,” Zalucha said. “I could not paint it any other way; I just have to think about it as little pieces at a time.”