Ann Peperak has been a painter for the past 30 years. Mostly self-taught, she works in watercolor. Watercolor, she says, is not as forgiving as oil, but is quicker to work with.

A few years ago, at the age of 70, she quit her job in order to have more time for her artwork. That job was at her husband of 52 years, John’s, dental lab in Warsaw. Other than a brief stint as a nurse, all of Peperak’s jobs have been artistic and creative. She is a trained beautician, cake decorator and florist.

“Unfortunately, I can never seem to put my art first. I have to have things in order before I can devote myself to my art,” said Peperak. “Some days I get to paint and some days, I don’t.”

Despite some health setbacks, including cancer, Peperak says she’ll continue painting until her health no longer allows.

“I’m like a cat with nine lives and I’ve already used up seven! I need another 50 to 70 years to get everything done that I want to get done,” she said.

Peperak doesn’t have one subject she focuses on for her artwork. Her watercolor paintings range from flowers and nature scenes to a canal in Prague and a fire in Argentina. Avid travellers, the Peperaks’ trips often serve as inspirations for her paintings.

This summer, the couple took a train ride through Canada, and next summer they will tour five European countries.

“I had been wanting to photograph a great, big fire for some time in order in paint it. In Argentina, we were having lamb for lunch and outside I saw a big fire where they were roasting the meat. I poked my camera through several lamb carcasses in order to get a good photo of the fire. One lady asked me what in the heck I was doing! I told her she might see it in a painting one day.”

Peperak received an award for that piece. Recently, she also took Best of Show for a painting entered into a show at the Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart.

“Sometimes I get in over my head when I paint, but it’s good to challenge myself,” she said. “It’s often the paintings that make me want to scream and drive me up a wall that are the best.”

In addition to submitting her artwork to galleries and shows, Peperak sets up a tent at several art shows each year. Starting Sept. 29, she will have art displayed at the new Winchester City Hall in central Indiana through November.

She is also a member of the Lakeland Art Association in Pierceton and the Artist Forum in Warsaw. The Peperaks’ have three grown children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

“My friends tell me I go, go, go,” said Peperak. “I tell them the day they find me not going, it’s because I’m six feet under.”