Kent resident Cheryl Long’s “Snowy Owl, Nisqually Delta” watercolor was selected by jury for the 2012 Puget Sound Bird Fest Poster Contest.

The award comes with a check for $200. Bird Fest started in 2005 as a celebration of birds and nature.

“My focus as a painter this summer is birds and nature so we were a match made in heaven,” Long said.

Long is a watercolor artist/educator. She specializes in painting Pacific Northwest birds.

Long has lived in Kent for 17 years and has the Pacific Northwest all her life.

“I spent my teen years in Eastern Washington (Wenatchee) and there began a lifelong fascination with desert landscapes,” she said. “I started to paint seriously by age 12.”

Long attended Washington State University as a fine arts major and graduated from the Burnley School of Professional Art in Seattle. She lives and works from home with her husband, copper artist Thomas Long.

“I am a breast cancer survivor of eight years and I live in gratitude,” Long said. “Inspiration comes from a lifetime of daily spiritual practice and energy healing work called Attunement. My paintings express my sense of wonder and also the concern that I feel for nature and for human life on this planet. It is my utmost desire to share both the delight and responsibility with those who view my paintings.”

Long’s paintings and prints are widely collected in the United States and Canada. Her art is represented by the Raven Gallery in Eugene, Ore.

She teaches watercolor classes to adults in Maple Valley, and classes resume Sept. 11. She is also a member of the Northwest Watercolor Society and a member of the Poverty Bay Painters Group.

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To purchase Long’s painting, “Snowy Owl,” contact Long at CherylRLong@comcast.net or www.CherylRLong.com.