About

Remembering her childhood calligraphy lessons and the feel of brush strokes, Gloria Tseng Fischer took up watercolor as her de-stressor while practicing architecture and raising her family.

She paints with brushes, rarely with prior pencil sketches, directly on hot press watercolor papers. Her mastery of watercolor medium results in accurate but explosively loose depiction of her subjects. Her paintings have a sense of textures which are beautifully rendered dark and lights with washy tones. She is very strategic in the use of white paper. The white becomes the highlights and thus usually an active participant of the painting. Gloria’s watercolor foregrounds are accurate and explosively loose. Her works are naturalist and not realistic.

Gloria’s work has been recognized by numerous international, regional, and local art competition awards and inclusion in curated exhibitions.

Awards

Lace (2024) awarded Third Place: 2025 Baltimore Watercolor Society Signature Member Exhibition: Bernice Kish Gallery at Slayton House

Onion V (2021) Honorable Mention: Maryland Federation of Art’s Food for Thought 2024

Apple Story (2023) Memorial Award in honor of Jung Lea Smith: 2023 Potomac Valley Watercolorists: Green Springs Gardens “Art in Bloom” Exhibition

Coffee in Zimbabwe (2023) Merit award: Laurel Art Guild 54th (2023) Annual Open Juried Exhibition. Exhibited in Montpelier Arts Center

White Onions (2022) awarded Third Place: Maryland Federation of Art: Food for Thought 2022. Exhibited in MFA’s Curved Gallery

Spent Valentine (2020) awarded 2022 Honorable Mention: 2022 Potomac Valley Watercolorists: Green Springs Gardens “Emergence” Exhibition

Oranges for J Albers (2020) awarded 2021 Honorable Mention: 2021 Baltimore Watercolor Society Signature Member Exhibition: Strathmore Mansion

End of a Workday (2018) awarded 2018 Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Award in 2018 Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition

Van Gogh Sunflowers (2016) awarded 2018 Second Place: Still Life in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Boy (2017) awarded 2017 Second Place: Portrait in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Iris (2014) awarded 2015 First Place: Still Life in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Girl (2015) awarded 2015 Honorable Mention: Portrait in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Leek, Onions, & Garlic (2014) awarded 2014 First Place: Still Life in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Beets (2013) awarded 2013 Honorable Mention in Culinary Art Show at Friendship Heights Village Center 

Sunflowers (2013) awarded 2013 Honorable Mention: Still Life in Montgomery Art Association: Creative Expressions

Organization

Baltimore Watercolor Society, Signature Member: 2017 - Present

Potomac Valley Watercolorists, Member: 2019 - Present

Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Member: 2024 - Present

Philadelphia Watercolor Society, Associate Member: 2024 - Present

Capitol Hill Art League, Member: 2024 - Present

Maryland Federation of Art, Member: 2017 - Present

Montgomery Art Association, Member: 2012 - Present

Takoma Artery, Member: 2024-Present

City of Takoma Park, Arts & Humanities Commission, Board Member: 2017 - 2021 (Vice Chair 2020-2021)

Arts on the Block, Board Member: 2011 - 2015