Ann Waters, this month’s featured artist of the month at the Douglas Art Gallery, held her art reception on March 9.

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Waters creates three dimensional portraits of horses, indigenous people and landscapes in a unique medium, using leather.

A lifelong artist who has worked in many different art mediums, she found that creating three dimensional portraits in leather enabled her to use her skills from almost every medium that she has worked in, drawing, painting, sculpting, silver and goldsmithing, and of course, leather.

Waters’ love of house and her passion for leather and art melded together.

Horse lovers from all over the world have commissioned me to create three dimensional leather portraits of their horses that have become treasured family heirlooms, she said

Her unique way of using leather starts as a drawing, then is transferred to vegetable tanned cowhide and then hand sculpted. The portrait is then painted in either acrylics or leather dye.

She also creates one of a kind leather accessory, such as address books, barn books, photo albums, purses, guitar straps, and even Christmas ornaments.

Her work has been shown in Europe, Japan and across the United States. She has won first place in world competition for her work.

Waters works out of her studio on her McNeal ranch.

I love working with people to create special family heirlooms, she said.

Custom orders are accepted by appointment at her McNeal studio, call (520) 642-1594 for an appointment.

The exhibit will be on display until the end of March.

Maria J. Coleman, a Holocaust survivor, will be April’s featured artist.

The Douglas Gallery is opened Tuesday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and located at 625 10th Street next to the Post Office.