About Us
Wyatt Waters
Painting life as it happens
Wyatt Waters is a nationally recognized watercolorist known for his loose, luminous paintings of the people and places he encounters along the way. A native Mississippian, he paints exclusively on location—standing in streets, fields, cafés, churchyards, gardens and occasionally places where a sensible person might have stayed indoors.
For Wyatt, being there matters. The changing light, passing conversations, unexpected weather and everyday activity all become part of the painting. His work is often described as expressive realism, but Wyatt puts it more simply: he paints what he sees—and tries to capture what it feels like to be there.
Watercolor suits him because it is immediate, unpredictable and very good at reminding an artist who is actually in charge.
Learning to see
Wyatt began taking art lessons before he was old enough to attend school and later earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in art from Mississippi College. His work has been influenced by artists including John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper and Mississippi painter William Hollingsworth, but decades spent painting from life have shaped a style that is distinctly his own.
Although known for his command of watercolor, Wyatt still considers himself a student. Whether he is painting or teaching, his focus is less on creating a perfect picture and more on learning how to see—recognizing the shapes, values, color and energy that give a place its character.
His workshops welcome painters at every level and have taken him throughout the South and abroad, including France, England, and Italy. He readily admits that plein air painting can be uncomfortable at first. His advice is usually some version of: keep looking, keep painting and trust the process.
Recognition and honors
Wyatt is a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and the Mississippi Library Association’s Special Award. In 2026, he was named among Magnolia Tribune’s Mississippi Top 100, recognizing leaders whose work has helped shape the state’s culture and communities.
His paintings have been exhibited at the Mississippi Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Meridian Museum of Art and other museums and galleries. His work is held in private and corporate collections across the country, including those of two former presidents and several United States senators.
All of that sounds fairly important. Wyatt is still more likely to talk about the painting he nearly ruined that morning.
Books, television and creative partnerships
Wyatt’s paintings have filled a growing shelf of books celebrating Mississippi, the American South and the places he has traveled. His titles include Another Coat of Paint, Painting Home, An Oxford Sketchbook, The Watercolor Road: Painting and Writing Through the American South and The Watercolor Road | Natchez.
His longtime creative partnership with chef and restaurateur Robert St. John produced four books combining watercolor, food, travel and Southern storytelling. Their adventures also became the Mississippi Public Broadcasting series Palate to Palette, filmed across Mississippi and Italy.
Wyatt and his wife, Kristi, continue to travel, develop books and exhibitions, lead destination painting retreats and operate Wyatt Waters Galleries in Clinton and Natchez. Wherever the road takes them, Wyatt’s approach remains the same: show up, pay attention and paint what is there.
Because, as he says, if something is interesting to see, it can be a painting.
Watch Now
Palate to Palette with Robert St. John & Wyatt Waters
Two Mississippi favorites — chef Robert St. John and artist Wyatt Waters – follow their passion for cooking and painting across the state in their new series Palate to Palette. The duo travels from the Delta to the Coast, sampling local fare, whipping up scrumptious dishes, and painting watercolors of the locales. These best friends have loads of fun on their road trips. Come join them!
Wyatt's Musings
