2 books helped hundreds
learn art

Gloria Foss's artwork can be found in private collections and on public display. Her books have been used as teaching tools by art instructors. And her students -- some who are accomplished artists themselves -- number in the hundreds.

Foss died Feb. 2 at age 80.

She first won acclaim early in her career as an artist in Japan, one of many places her husband's Air Force career took them.

Her oil paintings were selected for three juried shows at the Tokyo National Museum. She later became the first foreigner invited to join the prestigious Japanese Shinkaijusha Art Guild.

She began teaching oil painting classes in 1970 and later founded the Foss School of Fine Arts in Honolulu, where she taught an innovative watercolor technique of dipping papers in a dye bath.

"She developed her own color theory and was very generous in sharing her knowledge with all of us," said artist and former student Peggy Chun. "She was the kindest mentor one could ask for."

Chun said Foss taught her a new way of seeing light, color and contrast and that without Foss, she would not have become the kind of painter she is today. She said she taught Foss's theory in watercolor to others for years.

Foss also sought a wider audience with whom to share her knowledge.

Her first book, "How to Paint: A Course in the Art of Oil Painting," was published in 1991. It won the American Artist Book Club's Book of the Month when it was released. Art teachers and students hailed the book for its clarity and usefulness in instruction.

Her second book, "Paper Dyeing for Collage and Crafts," documents the watercolor technique she taught to others. The book's cover is a reproduction of a mural Foss was commissioned to do, which is on display in the Christian Science Reading Room in Waikiki.

Foss was a longtime member of the National League of American Pen Women, which promotes development of the creative talents of professional women in the arts.

The organization honored Foss last year by devoting the inner and outer covers and an inner page of the December issue of its national magazine to her art and life.