The Whimsical Dee Mundy

This story was originally published in 2005 Big Bear Magazine, and written by Dianne Ackermann. A featured cover on our home page, is a watercolor of boats by Ms. Mundy.
This month’s featured cover artist Dee Mundy has been painting since childhood. Her love of art followed her into college where she majored in art for two years before changing her major to education; she graduated with a minor in art.
“My focus was on commercial art. They didn’t call it ‘graphic design’ then. I actually enjoyed doing designs for frozen food containers but I didn’t think I could make a living out of it that so I switched to education. Being a teacher I used a lot of my art in my classroom.” She taught pre-school until her retirement.
Dee paints in a comfortable upstairs loft lit by a large window affording the northern light on her painting table. The south facing window looks to the forest. Dee and husband Jack built a small cabin in 1969. After moving to Big Bear full time in 1993, they added on to their cabin.
Living in the mountains has been a great influence on her art. “I like painting winter. I love painting snow and water.” So Big Bear has much to offer this artist.
An accomplished watercolor artist, Dee paints a variety of subjects including landscapes, flora, and buildings. “I’m a frustrated architect. My grandfather was an architect and I’ve always doodled buildings.” Traveling though such places as Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii and the Caribbean, she has recorded in paint many of the structures encountered along the way. “I love old barns. I always make my husband stop when I see them.” Her pen and ink drawings of buildings reflect her technical art background.
Dee has a series of work she calls her “whimsies.” Childlike in their innocence, these primitive folk art pieces are another side of this talented artist. Painted in acrylic on paper, the “animal whimsies” such as “The Animals’ Christmas” depicts creatures of the forest celebrating the holiday – dancing raccoons, grinning bears in Santa hats or angel wings and caroling coyotes. “These paintings spring from my pre-school teaching days” she admits.
Both Dee and Jack volunteer at the Discovery Center. This has also been an influence on her art. “We incorporate being good stewards of the forest while enjoying all that the forest has to offer” as she shows in her “seasonal whimsies.” This series shows different parts of the Valley throughout the four seasons. Summer shows the Discovery Center and all the different activities available in the summer – boating, fishing, hiking the nature trails, camping, picnicking. Fall is Fawnskin, Grout Bay, and the Butler Peak tower in the full color of our mountain fall. Winter, of course, is the slopes and the Village complete with boarders, skiers, bus tours, dog walkers, snowmen builders, photographers and others engaged in winter activities. Spring in pinks and greens portray the East Valley with horseback riding, camping, off-roading and other forms of springtime play.
Dee’s watercolors range in size from miniatures of 2 inches by 4 inches up to 18 inches by 24 inches. The smaller watercolors and card size prints of larger paintings can be seen at the Adventure Outpost at the Discovery Center. Her larger pieces were shown at the Mountaintop Fine Art Show held at the Discovery Center this past May.

© 2005 Big Bear Magazine, All Rights Reserved