Finger painting a stroke of luck for Maple Valley native

Finger painting is usually thought to be part of a kindergarten class project. Through the finger tips of Iris Scott finger painting has been raised to a fine art.

By Dennis Box • April 18, 2012 12:51 pm
Tahoma High graduate Iris Scott is now making a living as an artist using a finger painting technique which has netted her thousands of dollars for her paintings She recently demonstrated the technique at Grass Lake Elementary.
Tahoma High graduate Iris Scott is now making a living as an artist using a finger painting technique which has netted her thousands of dollars for her paintings She recently demonstrated the technique at Grass Lake Elementary.

Finger painting is usually thought to be part of a kindergarten class project.

Through the finger tips of Iris Scott finger painting has been raised to a fine art.

Scott was raised in Maple Valley and is 2002 graduate of Tahoma High School. She credits the art teachers she had through her schools year as helping get started as an artist.

Scott attended Washington State University and spent her junior year studying at an art school in Florence, Italy.

After graduating from WSU, she flew to Taiwan for a job as a nanny.

“I came up out of the subway and I was blown away by the heat,” Scott said.

She found a place to rent and, of course, an art store.

“I bought oils and put in a ton of hours painting,” Scott said. “It was the first time I had all day to paint.”

It was in Taiwan when she discovered the art of finger painting.

She rented an apartment with a kitchen and bathroom down the hall, which is where she had to go to clean her brushes.

She had a brush with Prussian blue that needed cleaning, but the kitchen and bathroom were not available.

“I started with my fingertips,” Scott said. “Once I started I couldn’t stop. The next day I bought gloves.”

The art that flowed from her fingertips that night in Taiwan has blossomed into fine art being sold around the world.

“For the first time in my life everything I posted would sell,” Scott said. “I came across a style that was working.”

After about a year in Taiwan she returned to the Maple Valley area. She found an online gallery ugallery.com, to display her work and has now sold more than 50 paintings.

Recently she sold two painting for $2,500 each and a one to a customer in Dubai for $13,000.

“I can’t believe it,” Scott said. “I was told by many you can’t make a living as an artist‚ so it is very exciting.”

Her inspiration as an artist comes from Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Gustav Klimt.

And like so many artist before her, once the inspiration came, a new world opened up for her and anyone who experiences her art.

“Art is not taught by parents and teachers,” Scott said. “The learning takes place at home and through practice.”

Through her fingers a world of art does flows.