Studio 10 watercolors on display at Burbank Creative Arts Center

Art enthusiasts will have the chance to browse a new painting exhibit that opened in Burbank on Friday.

The city’s Creative Arts Center will display watercolor works from artists from Studio 10 this month. The free exhibit contains roughly 60 watercolor pieces, said 73-year-old group member Michelene Laski.

All of the exhibit’s pieces are for sale and all are created by women, the oldest being 92 years old.

Studio 10 formed more than 12 years ago. The group meets weekly to not just paint, but also critique each other’s pieces. All are juried members of various art organizations, Laski said. They’ve painted for decades.

Laski began as an oil painter before switching to watercolors in the early 1990s. She said the way the paint flows from watercolor, and the glow, piqued her interest in the medium. Some of her pieces include portraits of people, landscapes and animals such as roosters.

“Our inspirations come from traveling, meeting different people, our daily lives and people we know,” she said.

Some of the painters are former board members for the Valley Water Color Society, where many of them met.

“It’s a lifelong love,” said Laski about watercolor. “But there’s inspiration being in a group of painters that keep doing it.”

Fellow member, 74-year-old Marie Laurent Burdick, said surrounding herself around people excited about what they’re doing keeps her engaged in the art form. She had painted with oils for for 20 years before — like Laski — becoming a watercolorist.

“It’s got liveliness to it, and it’s transparent,” said Burdick, who grew up in Burbank but now resides in Chatsworth.

And that liveliness inspires her work, including landscapes and people. Her pieces in this month’s exhibit include Topanga State Park, deserts and runners on a winter morning.

“At first, I thought watercolor would be an easier technique. It’s just an easier cleanup,” Burdick said with a laugh. “But it is what I like.”

Friday marks Studio 10’s second exhibit at the Creative Arts Center, said gallery director Frances Stantistevan. And for the art group, choosing pieces for exhibits isn’t just to make a sale.

“We’re hoping to demonstrate that watercolor is a very beautiful medium,” Laski said. “And attract more people to try their hand at it.”

The exhibit will last until July 31 and will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Burbank Creative Arts Center is located at 1100 W. Clark Ave.