Thoroughly Reston, in Art and Life

While other girls her age were babysitting to make a few dollars, Dana Ann Scheurer  was launching her career as an artist. Her father noticed the pen and ink drawings of “big-eyed children”  his daughter was prolifically turning out, and realized they were quite good.

“He took them to work,” recalls Scheurer, who is originally from Indiana, but who has lived in Reston since 1981. “He sold them for two and three dollars. It was better than babysitting.”

Fast forward a few decades and Scheurer is well past babysitting, unless you count for her grandchildren, one age four and one on the way.  But she is no less prolific as an artist.

Her new show, replete with the whimsical watercolors that have made her a fixture on the well-established Reston art scene, opens this week at the   The show, which runs until mid-April, is notable for Scheurer because of its size – this is her largest, with more than 20 works. But it is also   another on her list of achievements, which include:

• Four shows at the Hyatt, including this one.
• More shows at the   than she can remember – “I’ve done so many, I can’t even tell you how many.”
• Exhibitions at all 20 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festivals (www.northernvirginiafineartsfestival.org). “There are only a few of us left, who have been there since the beginning.”
• Designer of the logo for the Reston Home Tour.
• Designer of specially commissioned pieces for Founder’s Day and the 90th birthday of Reston Founder Robert E. Simon.
• Designer of the logo for the Walker Nature House 5K race.
• Designer of the posters for the 20th and 25th Reston triathlons. She has already been commissioned to design the poster for the 2013 triathlon as well. Scheurer and her husband are avid runners and participants in the nation’s largest marathons and triathlons.
• Designer of the logo for the Reston Kids Triathlon.

GRACE, which is co-sponsoring Scheurer’s show, simply titled “New Works,” says this:

“As one of the area’s most creative and prolific artists Dana Ann Scheurer is known for her expert manipulation of watercolor paints and whimsical subject matter..  The upcoming exhibition of New Works will include 20 watercolor paintings that showcase Scheurer’s mastery of drawing, color, composition, and precise execution of a delicate media.  For example, the painting, Garden Melody, is a comprehensive expression of Scheurer’s love of form, music, classical images, all experienced by the viewer as a striking dreamlike visual delight.”

Scheurer’s Reston connections also extend from her art to her family:

• Her husband, Michael Scheurer, is president of Reston Interfaith’s Housing Corporation.
• Her eldest daughter, Laura Kowalski, is Aquatics Manager for the Reston Association.
• Her younger daughter,  Elizabeth Scheurer, is an elementary teacher in Vienna but spends summers working for RA’s Aquatics Department.

GRACE also prominently notes the role Reston plays in her work:

“Other new compositions will explore Scheurer’s love of special iconic Reston images, such as Lake Anne and Town Center, ageless classical forms, and the light hearted “beach series” where she excels in the use of bold color.  The precision of all Scheurer’s hand drawn work offers the viewer an opportunity for careful study. There are so many details in each painting that multiple viewings are necessary to take it all in.”

New Works by Dana Ann Scheurer is open until April 16 at the Market Street Bar & Grill at the Hyatt Regency Reston.  A reception with the artist will take place on Jan. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.