The Future of Watercolor December 2012

Transcription

The Secret to More
Luminous Landscapes
10 Artists
You Should Know
Trees in Every Season:
4 Easy-to-Follow Demos
8 Steps to Starting
With Darks
DECEMBER 2011
I N S P I R AT I O N
•
I D E A S
•
I N S T R U C T I O N
US $5.99
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cnVlZ2VyAE5DlSEEMTAuNAI4MAExBVVQ
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Display until December 26, 2011
Snowbound (detail; watercolor on paper, 11x15) by Kris Parins
C1_WCA1211_CoverFINAL.indd 1
www.watercolorartistmagazine.com
9/12/11 11:52:28 AM
creativity
workshop
by kris parins
Fresh Take
Use digital technology to preserve your subject’s luminosity—
and your enthusiasm for painting it.
New View In Solstice Shadows (watercolor on paper, 11x15), I was struck by the
graphic nature of the trees and the long blue
shadows cast when the sun doesn’t get very
high above the horizon.
I
was born and raised in snow
country, but I spent the last
seven winters in the South
painting tropical subjects. When
I experienced the season in the
12
hit, the sun shone brilliantly as
I headed out the door with my
digital camera.
I was stunned by the colors
of the shadows, overcome by the
north woods of Wisconsin recently,
patterns tracing the contours of
it was as if I were seeing snow for
the drifts and astounded at the
the very fi rst time. The morning
stark contrasts and the intensity of
after the fi rst big snowstorm
the blue sky. I couldn’t wait to get
12_WCA1211_Creativity.indd 12
9/12/11 11:30:32 AM
back to my studio to start painting.
Diehard plein air painters might scoff
and say I should have set up to paint
right there in the snow, but with the
temperature at a frigid 19 degrees,
I felt it wasn’t practical for me to
paint outdoors with watercolor.
My usual preparation process
involves printing photographs
to use as painting references, but I
knew from experience that printing
images is often time-consuming, and
I wanted to get at the painting while
I was still high with the excitement
Color Contrast It’s surprising how much color there is in the woods in the winter. I like
the contrast of the man-made structure against the soft drifts in The High Road (watercolor
on paper, 11x15).
of the day and the sun was streaming
through my studio windows.
I imported the photos from
Working from a digital display
I continued to paint directly from
also helped me to capture the feel-
my computer display all winter,
ing of “being there.” Because the
creating a series of snow scenes.
up the computer near my work
image was at least an arm’s length
In order to communicate the excite-
table, and began painting immedi-
away, copying the photo was less
ment I was feeling, I was careful to
avoid overworking and didn’t go
my camera into my laptop, set
ately. I discovered that the backlit
likely, and I could zoom in to see
digital display captured more of
detail if necessary. Plus, skipping
back into a painting after the session
the vibrancy of the actual scene,
over the printing step allowed me to
was completed. Each fresh snowfall
whereas photos printed on paper
start painting while my enthusiasm
had its own character and altered
can appear flat with distorted color.
was still fresh.
the landscape in a different way.
Paint directly from a digital display to preserve
the luminosity of your photo reference.
Cold Shadow In Snowbound (watercolor on
paper, 11x15) I wanted to express the sensation
of standing in cold shadow, where the distant
sunlight has an almost magnetic appeal.
Watercolor Artist
|
December 2011
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9/12/11 11:30:36 AM
t this
try
at home
Use your camera and computer
to get closer to the excitement
you feel about your subject
matter. Skip the printing stage
and go directly to painting.
Try some of the suggestions
described here, or tell us about
the technical tricks you used
to improve your painting experience. Send a JPEG (with a
resolution of 72 dpi) of your
painting to wcamag@fwmedia.
com with “Creativity Workshop”
in the subject line and tell
us about your process. We’ll
choose our favorite paintings and publish them on our
website. One entrant will receive
a six-month subscription to
ArtistsNetwork.tv online video
workshops, plus $50 worth of
North Light ﬁne art books. The
deadline for entry is December
12, 2012. Happy painting!
Winter Wonders Here Comes the Sun (watercolor on paper, 11x15) required a compressed
value range to emphasize the drama of the sun rising over the hill.
Techno Tips and Tricks
• If there’s a lot of action in your
It’s not necessary to spend hours
subject matter, shoot a short video.
at the computer or have an apti-
You can isolate frames to use as
tude for complicated software in
reference photos, and the sound
order to take advantage of digital
and motion of the video will help
technology. Here are a few quick
to remind you of the place that
and easy ways to use your digital
inspired you. Most digital cameras
camera and computer to improve
are now able to capture video.
your watercolor paintings:
• For an even larger backlit reference,
• Look at your painting-in-progress
through your camera. The reduced
plug your computer or camera into
size gives you a fresh eye, similar
your high-defi nition television.
to looking at your work in a mirror.
• Have you ever traveled to a work-
• To get a better sense of the value
shop and wished you had the
pattern and eliminate color dis-
photos that you left at home, due
tractions, try setting your camera
to space considerations? If you
mode to black-and-white and use
have an iPad, netbook or laptop,
it to look at your reference. You
load it up with your references
can also view your painting via
before you travel. You’ll have your
the camera’s black-and-white
favorite photos at your fi ngertips,
screen to check values.
in all of their backlit glory.
The Immediate Future
While I don’t intend to entirely
Set your camera to black-and-white mode
to determine the values in your subject.
forego my usual process, I’m pleased
to have found a way to quickly
create paintings that communicate
View selections from former Creativity Workshop
activities at www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/
inspiration-creativity/creativity-workshop.
the freshness and immediacy of my
surroundings. Why not walk out
your own front door and see what
discoveries await you?
14
9/12/11 11:30:47 AM
ELLEN LITTLE
LANA MARINGAS
J U DY LYO N
D AV I D M A X W E L L
EDIE MANEY
S TA N K U R T H
M O N I K A PAT E
PAT TO N H U N T E R
MARY L ARUE WELLS
HANNA ADLER
ones to
watch
10 artists you should know forge their own paths,
revealing their individualistic methods and philosophies.
By Jessica Canterbury
It might seem odd to look at this batch of emerging watermedia
artists as a group, considering their works’ main attribute is a
celebration of the individual. Yet throughout the year, their paintings caught the eyes of today’s top instructors and exhibition
jurors; as a result, a new assemblage of “Ones to Watch” surfaced.
The following 10 pages show them painting through heartache,
nurturing their imagination, carefully calculating their process
and, conversely, figuring it out as they go—always pushing for just
a little more expression with each new work. They endure labels
such as “the car guy” and “the cat lady,” and they’re all the better
artists for it.
The artists who nominated them were also kind enough to
share what they admire about the work. At their suggestions,
we’re watching the following 10 artists, and we like what we see.
Watercolor Artist
27_WCA1211_OnesToWatch.indd 27
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December 2011
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9/15/11 4:28:19 PM
Ellen Little
San Francisco, California
www.ellenlittle.com
Backyard No. 63 (watercolor on paper, 51x51)
“For my ‘Backyard’ series, I start with a flower
or two from my garden and then see what
emerges. I like to play loud music and lose
track of everything but the painting. The splatters and loose brushwork suggest motion and
flight; the tension between the tightly tethered
flowers and the freely floating moths accentuate
“She had a painting in the 2010 Triton Museum Watercolor
Exhibition, Santa Clara, California. It was so fresh, clear,
direct and fun.” CAROLYN LORD
Backyard No. 69 (watercolor on paper, 22x8)
the effect. The dark, heavy moths make the
lighter moths and flowers appear delicate.
“Really big watercolors, such as Backyard
No. 63, can be intimidating, but painting
large makes me take risks, be afraid, let go
and have fun. In Backyard No. 69, I enjoy the
contrasts that create a powerful emotional
quality: from thin transparent paint to thick
opaque; light to dark values; complementary
28
colors; and fi nally, containment to freedom.
“I think Helen Frankenthaler said it best:
‘A really good picture looks as if it’s happened
at once, though I think very often it takes 10
of those over-labored efforts to produce one
really beautiful wrist motion that is synchronized with your head and heart … and
therefore looks as if it were born in a minute.’ ”
9/15/11 4:28:28 PM
Patton Hunter
St. Petersburg, Florida
www.pattonhunter.com
“A wonderful
transparent
watercolorist and
figure painter,
Patton is now
branching out
with acrylics on
canvas and does
it all well.”
JEAN GRASTORF
The Critic (acrylic on canvas,
30x40)
Childwoman Blue (acrylic
on canvas, 30x40)
“I’m drawn to narrative work that triggers
responses and enables viewers to relate to
what they see. The Critic is a simple story of a
tiny, dignified old woman coming in out of the
cold one gray day in London. In her rumpled
old coat and carrying a tattered paper bag, she
walked the exhibit in Whitechapel Gallery,
deliberating over each painting. The paintings pictured within my painting are originals
from my imagination, but the body language
of the woman and the wonderful perspective
created by the ascending floor line and the
descending level of the frames existed in reality. Childwoman Blue gives us the opportunity to
recall—and resolve as adults—memories that
we were unequipped to deal with as children.
“I draw with a brush on a mid-value ground
of color. My continuous layering of paint and
editing adds depth and movement to the
work—even in areas where the underpainting
isn’t obvious—and gives me the chance to grow
as an artist as I work. Actually, this process
evolved out of ignorance. In changing from
watercolor to acrylic, I made many mistakes in
guessing the value and intensity of colors when
dry. I was forced to overpaint many times and
mix colors over and over to achieve what had
become second nature with watercolor.”
Watercolor Artist
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December 2011
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Fort Worth,
Texas
David Maxwell
Going Green
(watercolor on paper,
20x26)
Interior Mobility
16x21)
“There are a lot of artists who find reflections an intriguing
subject, but Dave is very aware of the underlying abstract
design. His paintings are based on careful observation, skillful
use of value and a very sophisticated sense of design.”
JOHN SALMINEN
30
“Reflections have become the most important element of my paintings. Although I’m
known as ‘the car guy,’ without the reflections my work would have no outstanding
attributes. Of course, design is also very
important. The chief element of my design
process is the emphasis of abstract shapes
found in the reflections. As my painting process matures, the abstract elements become
more and more vital. My palette doesn’t
always contain the same colors. My use of
color relationships is more important, and
the brighter the result, the better.
“My greatest painting challenge is getting
beyond the photograph. Although the viewer
may not be aware of it, the emphasis of the
abstract elements in each painting sets my
work apart. I’m still struggling with that challenge, and expect to do so for however long
I’m wielding a watercolor brush. We must
always try to attain just a little more with
each painting, and that challenge has become
my unreachable goal.”
9/15/11 4:28:50 PM
Mary LaRue Wells
Knoxville, Tennessee
www.marylaruewells.com
“Mary has an enviable imagination, and her work has always
been playfully surreal and sometimes quite whimsical. Her
painting surface is rich with layers of built-up colors and
texture; her demand for originality and authenticity sets her
KATHERINE CHANG LIU
work apart from the crowd.”
Misplaced Cat (acrylic and collage on paper, 11x71⁄2)
“All of my paintings have stories. Sometimes
I feel like a playwright but it’s not long before
my actors on the canvas take over the story,
pushing my imagination further.
“Sometimes I’ll consciously begin a series.
Other times I’ll paint a piece and it will suggest another, and by exploring those I’ll have a
series. Because I painted pretty cats, I was getting a reputation as the ‘cat lady.’ I needed to
get a handle on my subjects, so I stuffed one
in a jam jar. One outraged woman who saw
a picture in the newspaper came into the gallery and complained that it was cruel to stuff
a cat in a jar. Impressed by her response, I
painted more cats in jars. Then the cats began
to escape, and soon the cats were on the outside and people were on the inside. Now owls
are in jars. Who knows how this will end?
“My favorite aspect of these two paintings,
as with most of my work, is the imaginative
and surrealistic component and the humor
that I fi nd in them and the viewer’s reaction
to them.”
Short-Eared Owl (acrylic and collage on canvas, 12x9)
Watercolor Artist
|
December 2011
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Judy Lyon
Cambria, California
Point Sur (watercolor
on paper, 14x21)
San Simeon Pier
14x21)
“I first saw Judy’s painting of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
when she entered it in a National Watercolor Society annual
exhibition. She had chosen an unusual point of view, employed
strong draftsmanship and a simple color scheme with a deft,
almost stylized structure. It was eye-popping.”
CHRIS VAN WINKLE
32
“I feel in awe of the elements of nature that surround me: the mountain range, the ocean, the
forests and streams. The wildlife and wildflowers
therein capture my admiration equally.
“My friends associate washes and glazes
with my work. They probably don’t realize
that I consider that a risk-free way of painting. I use good paper with a tough surface,
usually Arches 300-lb. cold-pressed, and nonstaining paints for my plein air work. These
materials not only allow for the removal
of paint for corrections or changes, but
also allow the fi rst layers of paint to blend
into subsequent glazes, thus softening the
landscape painting. In contrast, I often use
staining paints in my studio work, because
I’ve laid out a defi nite plan.
“Years ago I received some good advice from
a painting buddy, Art V.R., to standardize my
surfaces. Since I frame my own pieces, it
does save time and money to standardize. For
example, by painting on full-sheets, ½-sheets
or ¼-sheets of 22x30-inch watercolor paper, I
get the most use out of a 32x40-inch matboard.”
9/15/11 4:28:59 PM
Hanna Adler
Rancho Cucamonga, California
www.hannaadler.com
“Hanna’s portraits are expressed in a very loose manner
with the use of minimum line work and a limited palette,
revealing only the essentials to convey the characteristics
of the individual.” TOM FONG
Too Much of Everything (watercolor on paper, 21x14)
“For the last two years, I’ve been painting portraits, and faces continue to fascinate me. The
tilt of the head, a shy smile, a bold look in the
eyes is just too tempting not to be captured on
paper. Interesting faces are all around waiting
to be painted; you just have to look.
“The subject in Too Much of Everything looks
like he’s had too many cigarettes, as well as too
much food and alcohol. That’s the story I gave
him, at any rate. Without a Name was painted
on Fabriano Artistico soft-pressed 300-lb. paper.
I fell in love with the paper’s soft, velvety surface that’s so well suited for portraits.
“Light and shadow play a huge role in
my paintings, more so than my choice of color.
Because my paintings contain many layers
of color, it’s essential to use only transparent
watercolors, mostly Winsor & Newton, Holbein
and Cheap Joe’s bright and transparent poppy.
“My hugely talented art instructor Fealing
Lin is my biggest inspiration and her artistic
perspective pushes me to be a better painter.”
Without a Name (watercolor on paper, 21x14)
Watercolor Artist
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Stan Kurth
Peoria, Arizona
www.stankurth.com
emotion or inspiration I had when I started.
Now, I never do anything preliminary for a
painting. It all develops during the process.
“For a number of reasons, I believe shape
may be the most significant design element
in a composition. For sure it’s a key ingredient
in capturing the attention of viewers. Texture,
color, line and value around or included in
shapes provide interest. My current work
includes shapes derived from the human
form, to which we as humans are naturally
attracted. We’re drawn to investigate these
shapes, even if only subliminally, when we
see them. In my work, the figures are more
archetypal than narrative.”
Lunatic Fringe (acrylic and gesso on YUPO, 25x19)
“I have evolved as an artist in a direction
that best expresses my feelings toward the
subjects I paint. In years past, I was meticulous, making preliminary drawings and value
studies in what I presumed was a necessary
part of the painting process. This works for
some, but more often than not I found that
by the time I actually started painting or
sometime during the process, I had lost any
“There is a complex simplicity in Stan’s paintings that’s both
paradoxical and straightforward. As he works with multiple
layers of watercolor and gesso, his provocative images
emerge. Ambiguity and form coalesce into a singular, cohesive
vision that holds the viewer spellbound.” BETSY DILLARD STROUD
At the Café (watercolor and acrylic on paper, 17x17)
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9/12/11 12:30:14 PM
Lana Maringas
Twin Falls, Idaho
“Lana has a special
eye for subtle shape
variation and color
combination. She
applies this unique
ability to create
her color contrasts
and harmonies while
tweaking the shapes in
the painting process.
The end result is a very
personal statement for
each of her paintings.”
KATHERINE CHANG LIU
Encounter (acrylic on paper,
16x20)
Reaching Out (acrylic on paper,
16x20)
“Shapes act as symbols in my work. In general,
I like shapes that are rather eccentric, but,
more than any one shape by itself, it’s the
relationship between shapes that excites me.
“I begin a painting with the intention to
establish an underlying structure. Sometimes
I’m undecided about what structure will work
best, so I just start painting, limiting myself
to 12 colors for any one painting, making each
one predominantly warm or cool. At some
point a structure emerges.
“Encounter is from my new series about
connecting with others. It was my original
intention to paint a high-key yellow painting
with an accent of black, but it became necessary for me to add more intermediate values
and more colors to transition the black with
the yellow. Reaching Out is also from my new
series. The notion of reaching out to others
might mean that we have to reach beyond
our normal, safe boundaries. I suggested this
by having lines running out of the picture
plane, creating a compositional problem in
the process. I used value and perpendicular
lines to slow the eye from escaping out of the
picture plane.
“I never know exactly how the painting
will turn out. I like that.”
Watercolor Artist
|
December 2011
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Edie Maney
Nashville, Tennessee
www.ediemaneyart.com
“As a non-objective painter, I feel that the elements and principles of design are extremely
important because the viewer sees no subject
with which to identify. Therefore, I hope to
pull the viewer into the painting with the
colors, shapes, values and design. The language of color is profound in my exploration
of the painting process. My goal is for my
audience to become lost in my paintings—as
if on a journey, feeling emotions of pleasure,
playfulness and drama.
“The allure is the surprise in the power art
brings to both me and my audience. Whether
a painting is realistic or abstract, it’s all
about the emotion the painting conveys.
I enjoy soaking in the work of J.M.W. Turner,
“Edie is very productive, and her work has
always struck me as outstanding.”
PAT SAN SOUCIE
Helen Frankenthaler and the Abstract
Expressionists who took risks with their art.
“I usually begin a work chaotically with
earth colors and then add some blues and reds,
but I like to develop as I paint. Acrylic paints
can be transparent as well as opaque, which
allows for intensity and depth. I love texture
and often use acrylic mediums as well as
values to create texture—I also scrape into the
paper for added flavor. In addition to brushes,
I use palette knives, plastic scrapers and printmaking brayers. I enjoy using secondary colors
as they blend well with each other.”
Embrace Me (acrylic on paper, 15x11)
Wildwood Garden (acrylic on paper, 22x30)
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9/12/11 12:30:23 PM
Monika Pate
College Station, Texas
http://monikapate.com
“Through the years, Monika
has retained her love of light.
She has strong drawing and
painting skills. Her work sings.”
JEAN GRASTORF
Magnolias (watercolor on paper, 27x33)
Cannas (watercolor on paper, 29x21)
“Ever since I started painting, I’ve been
interested in capturing the drama of light
and shadow. I always paint subjects that are
influenced by a strong light source, and I’m
fascinated by the resulting visual effects. Light
makes the colors more vibrant, the textures
more pronounced and the shapes more threedimensional. The contrast between the darks
and lights brings the painting to life.
“Nature is one of my favorite subjects because
of the variety of shapes and colors. I especially
enjoy capturing its beauty close-up—details one
may not normally see with a casual glance.
“I seldom mix colors; instead, I layer them
(sometimes 10 or more layers) to achieve
richness and luminosity. Also, I never use
white or black paint. I preserve the white or
light areas of the paper and I layer various
color to get darks.
“One of the best pieces of advice I’ve
ever received is to never give up. There’s
always a stage in the painting process when
I think that the painting won’t work, but with
continued effort, it always does.”
JESSICA CANTERBURY is managing editor of
View more works by these artists—and revisit
previous years’ Ones to Watch—at www.
artistsnetwork.com/article/wc-ones-to-watch.
Watercolor Artist.
Watercolor Artist
|
December 2011
37
9/12/11 12:30:28 PM
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The Future of Watercolor December 2012

Transcription

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