At Cole Gallery: Finger Painter Kept Her Passion Long After Elementary School

Remember finger painting in elementary school?

Iris Scott never gave it up. The fine-art finger painter now has a show at Cole Gallery that you have to see. Cole paints in the style of post-impressionism with the use of her fingertips. Strong and whimsical, her work is certainly provocative.

(Watch video of Scott creating "Shaking Off the Blues," a painting that is featured with this story.)

Scott's show is about how finger painting is now fine art. Brushes and palette knives are definitely not the only way to apply paint. Try putting on latex gloves and using thick globs of high grade oils straight from the tubes.

The story of how Scott discovered her destiny as a finger painter is a tale of making the best of a challenging situation:

I started finger painting shortly after I had moved to southern Taiwan. My year there was planned to be a vacation from the States. A tropical art getaway. The cost of living was so low that I could finally afford to JUST paint and not work. I settled into my little apartment, set up studio, and turned on the air conditioning.

It was 2009, I was still painting with brushes, but one night while making the finishing touches to my oil painting of a field of yellow flowers I needed to switch to a new color. Looking at my brushes I noticed they were all thoroughly stained with Prussian blue.

I grumbled, since the communal sink was down a long, blistering hot hallway. Opting to stay in the groove of painting rather than break into a sweat to wash brushes I began using my fingertips to manipulate the paint. Virtually, within a few minutes I was overcome with an excitement I had never felt before.

Iris Scott's fine-art finger painting can be seen through Nov. 11 at Cole Gallery, 107 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds. In addition to original fine art pieces in oil, hand embellished Giclee prints, on stretched canvas, will also be available for purchase.