Travel, light and Whidbey color Teresa Saia’s work

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 24, 2026

At 72, Teresa Saia still finds reasons to play. Whether she’s wandering Whidbey Island with her dog, setting up an easel alongside fellow artists for a day of plein air painting or gathering inspiration while traveling the world, she approaches life with an infectious enthusiasm that radiates through every conversation.

That lifelong passion is on display this month as Saia returns as the featured artist at the Rob Schouten Gallery & Sculpture Garden in Langley, an honor she said she is grateful to receive for the fourth year.

“I really find inspiration wherever I travel to,” Saia said. “But being here on the island, living here full time on the island is really wonderful.”

Nationally recognized for her pastel and oil landscapes, Saia has built a decades-long career that has included teaching workshops around the country while developing a signature style known for expressive color, rich layers of light and whimsical landscapes. Her latest exhibition blends scenes inspired by Whidbey Island with memories gathered from years of traveling.

Paris remains one of her favorite destinations, and several European-inspired paintings are included in this year’s show alongside Northwest landscapes. Other paintings combine memories from destinations that have left lasting impressions, including Montana and Wyoming. Rather than reproducing a single location, Saia often draws from experiences collected over time, combining elements from multiple places into one composition.

While travel fuels her imagination, Whidbey Island continues to shape much of her work. Daily walks, time spent on the water and painting outdoors with friends all influence the scenes that emerge in her studio.

One constant throughout her paintings is light. Whether depicting sunrise, evening shadows or sunlight filtering through a forest, Saia is continually searching for ways to make her landscapes glow. Water often becomes an essential element in that pursuit.

“Having water in them brings more light into the darker areas of the landscape,” she explained.

Art wasn’t always part of Saia’s life. She didn’t discover her artistic ability until she returned to classes as an adult, a moment that completely changed the course of her future.

“I didn’t know I could even draw until I was like 28,” she said.

She spent the next 15 years working professionally in watercolor before discovering pastel, a medium she says gave her the freedom to paint with greater expression and spontaneity. That willingness to follow inspiration wherever it leads ensures that no two exhibitions feel quite the same.

Long before becoming one of Whidbey Island’s best-known artists, Saia built a national reputation as both a painter and instructor. Over the course of her career, she has traveled extensively to teach workshops for artists across the United States and in Europe, sharing the same techniques and expressive approach to color and light that have become iconic in her own work. Collectors from around the country have embraced her vibrant landscapes.

Saia hopes visitors will not only enjoy the paintings but also experience the sense of joy and light that inspired them.

The Rob Schouten Gallery & Sculpture Garden, located in Langley, features rotating exhibitions by regional and nationally recognized artists along with an outdoor sculpture garden. Summer gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Visitors can learn more about the current exhibition at robschoutengallery.com/teresasaia and explore more of Saia’s artwork at teresasaia.com.