4 Sketching Strategies Watercolorartistsnetwork.COM

SPECIAL FEATURE: 4 Sketching Strategies WatercolorARTISTSNETWORK.COM

5 Artists On the Creative Power of a NEW DIRECTION Find the page 14 DRAMA Discover Unique Painting Subjects in Everyday Encounters

PRESENTED BY GOLDEN ARTIST COLORS

CCuuraratotor LLaauurinn McCcCrraackkeenn Raancn e Joonnes MMiichchaeael Hooltlteerr MaMattthehew BiBirdrd LyLynnnn Praratttt

ThThomomasas Bucuccici JJaammees MaMarriia Iainn Steewwaartrt FFrranank SpSpinino DaD vviid StStiicckkeel For centuries watercolor artists have struggled for recognition of their medium as equivalent to other mediums in importance, stature and value. Ten nationally recognized watercolor artists are now on the forefront of developing modern techniques for presenting work in a permanent fashion, without the glazing that is common to watercolor paintings. Breaking Glass is an important exhibition for watercolor as we remove the barrier between this magnificent art and its admirers, and shatter the ceiling of arbitrary values placed on a medium rather than the work itself. thepaintingcenter.org

ADS_WCAFalls21.indd C2 6/29/21 11:19 AM Contents FALL 2021 Features 18 AN OPEN HEART Lisbon-based artist Eudes Correia ﬁ nds inspiration in the human stories of the city. BY ANI KODJABASHEVA 26 SEIZING THE DAY Tim Wilmot prefers the charm of Europe’s backroads and side streets for his loose and painterly watercolors. BY JOHN A. PARKS 34 GENIUS LOCI James F. Williamson engages the Italian countryside with the eye of both artist and architect. BY JOHN EISCHEID

42 42 52 SKETCHBOOK LESSONS FIRST WATERCOLORIST Four sketching enthusiasts OF MODERN INDIA share their techniques for The work of Abanindranath advancing and enhancing Tagore was transformative in a sketching practice. the story of art in India. 34 COMPILED BY ANNE HEVENER BY SAGNIK BISWAS

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01_WCA_Fall21_Contents.indd 1 6/28/21 1:34 PM Columns 4 EDITOR’S NOTE Get ready for a new view.

5 HAPPENINGS Meet the top award-winner in Splash 22. BY MCKENZIE GRAHAM

8 CREATIVITY WORKSHOP Use a simplified palette to capture “local color.” BY SUSAN ABBOTT

14 BURNING QUESTION We asked five artists: What has caused your work to move in new directions? BY ANNE HEVENER

60 BRIGHT IDEAS For your next painting, just take a look out the window. BY SHARI BLAUKOPF

64 WATERCOLOR ESSENTIALS When composing a painting, think like a creative director. BY MARIO ROBINSON

72 OPEN BOOK 8 Enjoy the sketching pleasures of pen and wash. BY YUKI HALL ON THE COVER 4 Sketching Strategies 42 Find the Drama 18 5 Artists on the Creative Power 60 of a New Direction 14 Color Simpliﬁ ed 8

Marca–o (detail; watercolor on paper, Get Social 114⁄5x15¾ ) by Eudes Correia @ARTISTSNETWORK

Watercolor Artist (ISSN 1941-5451) is published quarterly by Peak Media Properties, LLC, dba Golden Peak Media, 9912 Carver Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242; tel: 513-531-2222. Single copies: $7.99. Subscription rates: one year $21.97. Canadian subscriptions add $12 per year postal surcharge. Foreign subscriptions add $18 per year postal charge, and remit in U.S. funds. Watercolor Artist will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Only submissions with a self-addressed, stamped envelope will be returned. Volume 29, No. 4. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH, and additional mailing ofﬁ ces. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Watercolor Artist, P.O. Box 37869, Boone, IA 50037-0869. Peak Media Properties. Back issues are available at artistsnetwork.com/store or by calling 800-811-9834. GST R122594716. Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 40025316. Canadian return address: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7.

2 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

01_WCA_Fall21_Contents.indd 2 6/28/21 1:34 PM They Made Maps of The Sky by Kim VanDerHoek

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ADS_WCAFalls21.indd 3 6/29/21 11:24 AM Editor’s Note Watercolor ARTISTSNETWORK.COM

he lengthy production cycle EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Anne Hevener of a magazine being what it is, SENIOR DESIGNER Brian Roeth the specifi c content plans for T SENIOR EDITOR Holly Davis an issue typically begin taking shape about six months ahead of the publi- MANAGING EDITOR Christina Richards cation date. Th at means it was some ADVERTISING time last February that I began to contemplate articles for this Fall issue, and it seems rather ADVERTISING CONSULTANT Mary McLane clear—given the various travel-themed articles assembled Northeastern, Western U.S. & International; 970/290-6065 here—that I was feeling a bit restless at the time. I was [email protected] eager, after a long winter, to get out of the house, and— ADVERTISING CONSULTANT Kaline Carter encouraged by the rollout of COVID vaccines—I even Southeastern U.S.; 505/730-9301 allowed myself to start dreaming about travel again. It [email protected] was in this frame of mind, then, that I encountered Eudes Correia’s Lisbon-inspired paintings of busy locals and MEDIA SALES COORDINATOR Lori Hauser happy tourists (page 18), and I imagined myself right into 715-318-0037; [email protected] GOLDEN PEAK MEDIA

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Gregory J. Osberg The artist sees what others only VP, DIGITAL Melanie Darienzo “catch a glimpse of. VP, STRATEGY Andrew Flowers DIRECTOR OF CONTENT, FINE ART GROUP Tricia Waddell —LEONARD DA VINCI ” NEWSSTAND SALES Scott T. Hill

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the scenes—complete with backpack, camera and a happy 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242 smile. Likewise, each of Tim Wilmot’s inviting landscapes [email protected] (page 26)—whether of an English seaside or a bustling marketplace in Spain—prompted a similar response, as did SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES James Williamson’s Italian vistas (page 34). P.O. Box 422140, Palm Coast, Fl 32142-2140 Traveling to these and other festive locations sounds like US/Canada 800/811-9834 a wonderful way to rekindle creative inspiration, but even if Foreign subscribers 386/246-3371 we’re not hopping on planes and heading off to exciting des- wcm.pcdfusion.com/pcd/customersupport/app/17221 tinations just yet, the artists in this issue still have plenty to teach us. You’ll discover paintings that demonstrate the CUSTOMER SERVICE power of close observation—and the potential for fi nding To submit a request, visit subjects in ordinary moments and unexpected places. You’ll peakmediaproperties.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new also fi nd advice about composing a scene, selecting a palette and making the most of the watercolor medium—insights NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION that are applicable to art-making whatever the subject, Internationally distributed by Curtis Circulation Co., wherever we are. In fact, on page 60, artist Shari Blaukopf 730 River Road, New Milford, NJ 07646 shares her strategies for painting an outdoor view from Tel: 201-634-7400. Fax: 201-634-7499 indoors—including a new discovery that allows her to Attention Retailers: To carry Watercolor Artist in your stores, trade a backyard view for something more exotic—without contact: [email protected] ever leaving home. PRIVACY PROMISE Whether we’re indoors or out, at home or away, inspiration awaits anyone who views the world with the open eyes Occasionally we make portions of our customer list available to other companies so of an artist. WA they may contact you about products and services that may be of interest to you. If you prefer we withhold your name, simply send a note with the magazine name to: List Manager, Golden Peak Media, 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242.

Watercolor Artist magazine is a registered trademark of Peak Media Properties LLC. CARA HUMMEL. BY PHOTO

4 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

04_WCA_Fall21_EdNote.indd 4 6/28/21 1:35 PM Happenings

/ MAKING A SPLASH / Rukie Garip

Rukiye Garip often depicts the the artist, who lives in Balikesir, competition publication sponsored tranquility of nature in her serene Turkey. “Each contributes to a nat- by Artists Magazine. paintings of water, but her water- ural order that feeds one another, Th e scene that inspired her paint- color painting, Fishermen, was encourages growth and enables ing took place at a fi sh auction in a slight deviation in order to por- existence.” Garip’s painting took Golyazi on a small island in Lake tray the chaotic push and pull of life First Place in the Splash 22 water- Uluabat. Garip fi rst visited the site 20 and death in the natural world. “All media competition and is featured years ago, but now makes the trip a living organisms and organic matter in the Summer 2021 publication, few times a year to gather inspiration in nature are parts of a whole,” says Th e Best of Watercolor, a special from the island’s natural beauty. “Th e fi sh auction is an abundant time for those who earn a living from fi shing, but it’s the end of life for the fi sh.” Th e concept was a driving force for the artist, who made deliberate decisions to strengthen the composition and the storytelling. “What stopped me in my tracks,” says Splash 22 juror Keiko Tanabe, “is how eff ectively the artist realized her vision in a brilliantly structured compositional framework. Th e outcome is a powerful image with a simple yet clear narrative. Th e great depth in this lovely scene draws the viewer into the painting—and we can almost feel the glaring sunlight. Th is story is so viv- idly and convincingly told that we can almost hear the fi shermen’s conversation and smell the fi sh.” Garip begins any painting with a clean studio, palette and brushes. For Fishermen, she used warm and cool colors for her transparent watercolor technique. After choosing fi ve reference photos from which to work, she played with the compositional elements before sketching out a design. Her modifi cations include an increase in the number of fi sh in the foremost basin, the addition of the cropped basin to create the illusion that more basins follow, extra highlights and a beam of light. “I wanted to create a magical atmosphere,” says Garip. Th e Best of Watercolor (Summer 2021) is available on newsstands and can also be purchased online at artistsnetwork.com/shop.

Fishermen (watercolor on paper, 30x22)

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05_WCA_Fall21_Happenings.indd 5 6/28/21 1:36 PM Happenings New + Notable

/ ON THE SHELVES /

En Plein Air: Light Tracey Emin and Color [$22] [$19.99] Perfect for beginners In this beauti- to either watercolor fully illustrated or the plein air look at experience, Iain provocative Stewart’s En Plein Air: English multi- Light and Color media artist (Quarto, 2021) Tracey Emin, covers a lot of editor Jonathan ground: the basics Jones uncovers of painting previously outdoors, tools and unpublished materials, choosing watercolors. a subject, building Jones cele- a composition, brates the painting techniques artist’s diverse and more. Beyond talents by these essentials, showcasing you’ll learn how to capture the mood and atmosphere of installations, paintings and more—work that’s famously a landscape or busy cityscape, and master color to convey autobiographical and confessional. weather, time of day and much more. Ensure that your many adventures with paintbrush and paper are peaceful and full of joy with Stewart’s guiding hand.

What’s Online Discover more art, instruction and inspiration at ArtistsNetwork.com.

3 TIPS SO YOU DON’T WIPE OUT ON SMOOTH WASHES Mastering the watercolor wash takes a lot of practice. Here are three great tips for laying washes that are soft, diffuse and flowing. artistsnetwork.com/go/ smooth-washes

MAXIMIZE YOUR POTENTIAL Here are 10 tips to take advantage of all the capabilities offered by WHAT COLORS MAKE GRAY? watercolor tools and supplies. Watercolor artist Keiko Tanabe invites us into artistsnetwork.com/go/ her studio to harness the power, or embrace watercolor-potential the subtlety, of this versatile hue. artistsnetwork.com/go/mixing-gray

6 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

05_WCA_Fall21_Happenings.indd 6 6/28/21 1:36 PM Watercolor Goes Mainstream In “Painting with John,” HBO takes viewers on a watercolor journey filled with beauty, meditation—and miserable little trees.

Gokyuzu Can’t Be the Word for “Sky.” It Should Be the Word for “Pig Farmer” (watercolor and gouache on paper, 22½ x30)

Musician, actor and storyteller camera comes in close to off er more Given the artist’s rich history of John Lurie paints in watercolor and detailed views of the creative process. creative pursuits, it’s unsurprising gouache in the HBO series “Painting Small squares and rectangles of color, that the show itself is clearly Lurie’s with John,” in which viewers take tiny scenes and long-tendriled botan- larger canvas. Robert Lloyd, televi- in close-ups of his technique inter- icals come together to form Gokyuzu sion critic for the Los Angeles Times, spersed with shots of the small island Can’t Be the Word for “Sky.” It Should Be had this to say: “Th ere is a sort of arc on which he resides. Th e paintings, as the Word for “Pig Farmer” (above). to the series, in that Lurie’s circum- they come together across the span Th e botanicals in Gokyuzu might stances come increasingly, if never of an episode, seem to illustrate the include trees, if that’s where your completely, into focus; that what stories he tells. visual interpretations take you, but we’re watching is by the end framed in In the fi rst episode, Lurie provides, don’t misinterpret Lurie’s subject and a slightly diff erent way; and that the in his family parable, a concrete take- apparent ethos for another famous last episode builds toward a fanciful away: Encourage children in their television artist’s. Lurie asserts right dance in the garden, like something creative pursuits. As he spins the away that his images don’t share any out of Henri Rousseau, that has the tale, we see frayed brushes (real and commonality with artist Bob Ross’ force of a small, aff ecting fi nale.” painted), lips pursed in concentration, famously “happy trees,” saying: “None “Painting with John” is available satisfying wet-into-wet applications of the trees in my paintings are happy. for streaming on HBO and HBO Max. and swaths of opaque color. Th e Th e fl owers in particular are miserable.” hbo.com/painting-with-john. WA

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05_WCA_Fall21_Happenings.indd 7 6/28/21 1:36 PM Creativity Workshop

Breezy Day at the Market (watercolor on paper, 12x16) Putting a Palette in its Place When painting on my travels, I’ve found it helpful to use a simpliﬁ ed palette that reﬂ ects the characteristics of the colors I see in the local surroundings.

By Susan Abbott

hen standing at the easel, setting is unfamiliar. Th is challenge is On these travels, as I’ve tried to gazing at a landscape and one I’ve faced many times over the capture all the interesting things I see, W about to pick up a brush, years as my painting and teaching have with watercolor on paper, I’ve made the possibilities for color choice seem taken me to diff erent countries around a discovery. Every locale has its own almost infi nite, which can also feel the world—Italy, China, Borneo, India color composition—its own distinctive overwhelming. Th is is especially true and Singapore, among others—where palette. With this in mind, I developed when an artist is traveling and the I’ve encountered diverse landscapes. strategies that simplify color decisions.

8 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 8 6/28/21 1:37 PM FIRST IMPRESSIONS Wherever I’ve traveled, I’ve found that the colors of a city tie in not only to the area’s landscape but also to the Provence Palette culture, geography and history of a My Provence palette place. Often, there are distinct diff er- consists of alizarin ences between cities within the same crimson, ultramarine country, such as the gray palette of blue and lemon Paris versus the more colorful palette yellow as the base of Marseilles. To help me avoid feel- triad, which allows for clean violet mixes ing overwhelmed with the many and more neutralized choices as I’m in the midst of discov- greens and oranges. ering a new place, I’ve developed an For more range, approach to color that fi ne-tunes and quinacridone rose limits my palette. and cobalt blue are When I arrive in an unfamiliar set- two harmonious additions. ting, the fi rst thing I do is take a walk with my sketchbook. As I take in my new surroundings, I ask myself: What colors do I see around me? What pigments do I have on my palette that are similar? After I’ve gathered initial impressions, I go to my easel and choose a triad of three primary colors —a red, a yellow and a blue—as a starting point for mixing and layering. Often, I fi nd these three colors To provide examples of this for cool colors. Th erefore, the starting- are actually all I need. approach to color, I’ll turn to two set- point color triad I use for Provence To select my triad, I consider color tings that I especially love to paint consists of ultramarine blue, alizarin temperature. Is the color palette in and that off er two distinct palettes— crimson and lemon yellow. I know this location warm—with many Provence and the Bahamas. this blue and red will mix a lovely, yellows and oranges and yellowish clean violet. Th is triad will mix greens? If it is, I’ll choose a warm red, THE PALETTE OF oranges and greens that are good such as cadmium red; an intense yel- PROVENCE matches for the red earth and bluish low, such as cadmium or Hansa yellow; Mention Provence and most people foliage colors so typical of the area. and a warmer blue, such as Prussian are going to picture a warm environ- When I feel the need, I may add a or phthalo blue. If, however, the sub- ment—and that it is—especially few hues to this base palette to extend ject is cooler in temperature—with when standing under a July sun, my range. Th ese additional pigments violets and blues in the lead—I’ll go painting in a vineyard! Many of the should harmonize with my triad. For instead with a triad that will make landscape elements in the region’s the Provencal landscape, for example, mixes of clean purples and less intense summer season, however—the acres I might dip into quinacridone rose, greens, such as alizarin crimson, of lavender fi elds, distant violet which is in the same color family as lemon yellow and ultramarine blue. mountains and intense blue sky—call alizarin crimson. I might also add

Fields of lavender, lush rolling vineyards and scenic villages are all part of the colorful palette of Provence.

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08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 9 6/28/21 1:37 PM Creativity Workshop

ABOVE Above St. Saturnin (watercolor on paper, 14x20)

LEFT Lavender Fields at Dusk (watercolor on paper, 11x16)

cobalt blue, which—like ultramarine— is a violet-leaning blue, to add some clean color notes. Th ese colors would work well for a vibrant red drape in an outdoor market, a stand of pink hollyhocks or a bright blue café umbrella. Flowers, furniture and signage are all examples of objects that often feature local color that’s instantly identifi able in the landscape. Th ese elements can be very eff ective as focal points in a painting, and it’s a good idea to factor them into your palette.

10 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 10 6/28/21 1:37 PM Palms and Sea (watercolor ISLAND COLORS on paper, 14x20) My favorite island in the Bahamas is Elbow Cay. When I take my explor- atory walk on the island, I see huge Bahamas Palette expanses of blue in the sky and the Quinacridone coral, surrounding water. So, which of my Prussian blue and many blue watercolor paints should Hansa yellow medium I pick? On the island, I notice more are good matches for greenish blue hues. I also see saturated the warm, vivid colors orange and chartreuse where the sun of the Bahamas. To that base triad, I often lights up sand and grass, creating hot add cobalt turquoise refl ected light next to deep cast shad- and helio cerulean. ows. Bright local color is everywhere in Elbow Cay—pink and teal cottages, red bougainvillea, vivid blue walls and the bright, varied greens of the island’s palm trees and shrubs. Instead of the violet-trending cool colors I use in Provence, I base my Bahamas triad on warmer colors— Prussian blue, Hansa yellow medium and Daniel Smith’s quinacridone coral, which is a warm red that I prefer over cadmium red because of its

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08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 11 6/28/21 1:37 PM Creativity Workshop

On the island of Elbow Cay, in the Bahamas, my palette is inspired by the blooming bougainvillea, charming beach cottages and, of course, the brilliant blues of the sea.

12 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 12 6/28/21 1:37 PM ABOVE Pink Shed (watercolor on transparency. To extend my range, to the unique beauty of the places where I’ve been fortu- paper, 12x11) I’ll often add cobalt turquoise and nate to paint. Limiting my palette to a base triad with a helio cerulean (both by Schmincke), few extra colors has allowed me to harmonize my color OPPOSITE because they’re greenish blues that composition, paint faster—and travel lighter, too! WA By the Harbor (watercolor on harmonize well with the Prussian paper, 12x12) blue in my base triad. Susan Abbott earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute, By looking carefully before I put College of Art. Her artwork has been featured at the Corcoran brush to paper and selecting pig- Gallery of Art and other prestigious venues. To see more of the ments that refl ect the color artist’s watercolors and to subscribe to her Painting Notes blog, temperature and local color of an visit her website at susanabbott.com. You can also follow her environment, I’ve become more alive on Instagram (@sabbottart).

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08_WCA_Fall21_Creativity_Workshop.indd 13 6/28/21 1:37 PM Burning Question

Describe a time when you took your work, consciously or otherwise, in a new direction. What was the catalyst?

Jean Grastorf My typical paintings are done on full sheets, but I needed to make a change in scale for an exhibition that required the work to be sized at a quarter sheet or smaller. The necessity to create a small painting led to a new interest in “thinking small.” Solving the matters of composition, color and design are still paramount, and the materials and tools are great fun. Jean Grastorf depicts the enchantment of Times Square in Color Purple (top; watercolor on paper, 20x28), but she also captures the spirit in a smaller work, Times Square (above; watercolor on paper, 10x15).

14 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

14_WCA_Fall21_Burning Question.indd 14 6/28/21 1:38 PM Laurin McCracken When I fi rst started to paint, I chose fl owers as a subject to help me master the techniques for painting curves, shapes and shadows. My work was successful—gaining acceptance into competitive exhibitions and winning prizes. Then, one day, I woke up and realized that millions of artists painted fl owers, and if I was going to distinguish myself from the masses, I needed to find a subject that fewer people painted. About this time, I had access to some pieces of heritage silver and crystal that belonged to some friends. I determined that if I could paint silver and crystal in a style suggestive of my favorite still life artists—the Dutch and Flemish painters of the 16th and 17th centuries—I could develop my own personal style of painting. So that’s what I did.

Mark Mehaﬀ ey Years ago, I realized that painting is really Silver and Crystal (watercolor on paper, 20x25) by Laurin McCracken about what you, as the artist, care about. It’s not that I don’t care about beauty or the outside world. I live in a beautiful area of the country, in fact, so I enjoy painting the landscape, but I also like to paint the concepts of my internal landscape. One of my painting series features the unusual food that people eat, either out of necessity or regional availability. It seems that, as a planet, we’re reaching or surpassing the carrying capacity of our ecosystem. Too many people; too few resources. As a result, alternate sources of protein will become more common. To document this, I started a series of large (25x36) transparent watercolors. They haven’t been widely shown or entered in competitions. They were painted because I needed to paint them. At Waiting Ham Hocks (watercolor on paper, 25x36) by Mark Mehaffey this stage of my life, that’s reason enough.

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14_WCA_Fall21_Burning Question.indd 15 6/28/21 1:38 PM Burning Question Donna Zagotta I’ve always been a people-watcher and I’m especially intrigued with body language and how it tells a story. On trips to New York City, I found lots of opportunities to witness and photograph fascinating “stories”—people walking their dogs, going to and from work, spending time in Central Park, having lively conversations in restaurants, and more. Looking at those photos later, I found myself interpreting the body language through my own life experiences, which brought a personal element to the paintings, making them autobiographical, not illustra- tive. Thus began a whole new journey of personal and expressive figural work, and I continue to find the possibilities are endless. Wag (watercolor on paper, 10x10) by Donna Zagotta

Bev Jozwiak After taking a workshop with Charles Reid, I spent a solid year trying to get more varied color in my work. Laying down paint right on the paper—one color next to another—and letting them run into each other creates such beauty; I found I could no longer get by stirring colors together on the palette. R.I.P., Charles. You changed a lot of artist’s lives. Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow (watercolor on paper, 15x19) by Bev Jozwiak

16 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

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ADS_WCAFalls21.indd 17 6/29/21 11:29 AM An OPEN HEART Whether at home or traveling, EUDES CORREIA is constantly on the go, observing and appreciating the individuality of the people he meets and paints.

By Ani Kodjabasheva

LEFT Menina, Black Power Fun (watercolor on paper, 114⁄5x15¾ )

ABOVE Italian Guy (watercolor on paper, 15x22)

18 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 18 6/28/21 1:39 PM mong crowds fi lling Mediterranean painting life on the streets,” he says. public spaces, Brazilian-born Eudes “Lisbon is a very interesting place, so Correia fi nds unforgettable charac- I like to just roam around. Sometimes ters. “After a long time painting I fi nd my motivation for painting in people, I started liking them even the least expected places.” more,” he says. Th e artist has Correia collects candid shots and made a name for himself painting stories. “Every time I have the oppor- tourists in his adopted home- tunity, I like to reach out to people town of Lisbon, Portugal. His and learn their stories and get to lively renditions of passersby know them. I like to capture their in the city give the viewer natural movements, so I take pictures a sense of being on the when they don’t notice.” In the studio, scene, crossing paths and the photos turn into portraits that exchanging looks with “immortalize” people who, not long people of all kinds. ago, were strangers. Th e portraits convey an exuberant bonhomie—a sense of feeling comfortable with whoever happens along. Th e IN THE MOMENT Aartist—a part of the crowd himself—captures the No two encounters are alike. Some many brief encounters that make up city life. His subjects look outward, as if address- process entails wandering on foot or on a bicycle, ing the viewer directly. In Menina, “hunting for pictures” with his camera. “I love Black Power Fun, (opposite) a young

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18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 19 6/28/21 1:39 PM woman squints into the sunlight. Her Summer in Lisbon engage the viewer. Th ey’re absorbed expression is quizzical, lips parted (watercolor on in their own world, and we’re simply as if she’s caught in the split second paper, 114⁄5x15¾ ) present to witness them. A young of making up her mind about what couple sweeps by on a motorcycle, to say. Th e viewer is invited to guess which is cut off at the edge of the what might be her opening question, picture plane. A jogger runs past, not the introductions exchanged, the Summer in Lisbon (above) captures registering any spectators as he looks conversation that follows. a woman whose sunglasses catch the ahead. A smudge of paint across his In Italian Guy (page 19), a man in light as she turns, holding a cocktail, torso conveys his trajectory. A little a denim vest stops on his bicycle and to her invisible companion. Th at boy and his dog notice something on poses for the artist, one leg swung companion may be the viewer; the the ground and turn toward it. Th e over the frame. His hands rest by his woman’s outstretched arm comes boy’s right hand and foot signal the sides as he turns his torso and head out of the picture plane to invite change in direction. (See all three toward the viewer. His demeanor is us in. Only a splatter of bright, paintings, opposite.) A woman with relaxed and self-assured; his pose a saturated magenta balances the com- a mass of curly hair tilts her head kind of modern contrapposto. Correia position. Apart from it, the right side back as she observes something in picks out just a few details to build the of the picture remains blank. Th at the distance—perhaps a building character: the man’s rings and watch; burst of color seems to stand in for or a monument. An older tourist his neatly trimmed beard; the confi - the interaction between the woman in a New York Yankees cap browses dence of his open, full-chested stance and the unseen person. What might through photos on his camera screen. and tucked-in chin, as if he’s used to they be saying? A few loose brushstrokes convey the posing and being seen. It’s up to the In the majority of Correia’s por- tattoos on his arm, adding drama viewer’s imagination to fi ll in the rest. traits, however, the characters don’t to the character. Each person is an

20 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 20 6/28/21 1:40 PM TOP TO BOTTOM Filpinos on Motor (watercolor on paper, 19⅔ x27½ )

Aleta (watercolor on paper, 11x15)

Best Friends (watercolor on paper, 11x15)

“All I like painting is people. I have no preference over their jobs or their lifestyles. If they’re interesting, I’m going to paint them.” —EUDES CORREIA

island in the archipelago of the city. (See both paintings on page 22.) When the characters aren’t con- templating their surroundings, they’re engrossed in conversation or in each other’s presence. Two workers share a laugh during a break, their bodies locked in a diagonal composition (page 23). An elderly tourist couple sits quietly side by side, their backs curved with the softness of relaxation. Two men in South Asian attire turn their heads towards each other as they walk in lockstep out of the picture plane. (See both paintings on page 24.)

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18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 21 6/28/21 1:40 PM Often, when people sit or stand together, their gazes form perspective lines. Th e human fi gures generate the space in the paintings. “I don’t like backgrounds because they take the attention away from the main fi gure,” Correia says. Context is only suggested by sweeps and splatters of paint that extend the movements and colors of the fi gures themselves. Th ere’s hardly an architectural detail in sight. One exception, in a group portrait of female tourists, is a cast iron lamppost lightly registered in a gray wash (see Germany Girls, page 25). Apart from such sparse details, Correia’s Lisbon is literally made up of people and their diverse perspectives. EMBRACING TOP TO BOTTOM UNIQUENESS Bruna Sarga Correia is a participant in the urban (watercolor on scene, not just an observer. His paper, 11x15) images of tourists, in particular, are Marca–o (watercolor a product of mutual curiosity and on paper, 114⁄5x15¾ ) recognition. “Because I travel a lot,

22 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 22 6/28/21 1:40 PM I’ve always felt this kind of connec- Trabalhadores unnoticed by others,” he says. “When tion. All the backpacks and everything (watercolor on you actually stop to paint them, else about these people attract me,” paper, 22x30) when you meet them and you speak Correia says. He also notes that tour- to them, you realize there’s a whole ists are “always happy,” a refl ection of universe in and around each person. his own joie de vivre. Correia’s abiding interest in I like to pick people that others pass Correia’s interest goes far beyond strangers is rooted in his realization by without really noticing.” Art is travelers, however. “People always that each person is singular. From a way to start paying attention. ask me if I like painting tourists, but his childhood in a small town in When meeting someone, Correia all I like painting is people. I have no Brazil’s state of Pará to his current is aware that “there won’t be anybody preference over their jobs or their life in Portugal and travels around like them ever again.” His real subject lifestyles. If they’re interesting, I’m the world, Correia has met people of is the astounding diversity of human- going to paint them,” he says. Even if all walks of life. His experiences have ity, which can only be observed on he’s depicting a landscape or seascape, made him deeply attentive to their an individual scale. He encourages he adds human fi gures. “It seems that stories. “After I started traveling and aspiring artists to embrace their own there’s no meaning if there are no painting people, I began meeting very unique qualities in the same way that people in there,” he says. ordinary individuals who would pass he celebrates those of his subjects.

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18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 23 6/28/21 1:40 PM “Fifty percent of painting is technique. The other half of what you paint and how to paint, that’s on you. That’s feeling. There are no rules.” —EUDES CORREIA

or traveling. “I need to go out often because being outside is what inspires me,” he says. “Th ere are days when I leave my house with the sole pur- pose of taking pictures and gathering information.” Observing and sketching people has been his passion for decades, ever since he was working as an illustrator and graphic designer in Brazil. He savors the sense of unknown possibilities created by each encounter. Th at’s why he goes out with no route or destination in mind. “I prefer to be free,” he says. Later, in the studio, Correia likes to cultivate a festive environment—by listening to bossa nova, for example. With his art, he “transmits emotions,” and to do that, a proper work atmosphere is necessary. A self-taught artist, Correia distills his process into four steps: a light pencil sketch, a fuller sketch, an application of a light wash and, fi nally, a second layer of paint that adds shadow and volume. “It’s easy. Really “It doesn’t matter if you want to be TOP TO BOTTOM easy,” he insists. van Gogh, because van Gogh already Speechless He goes on to point out, “A lot existed, and you need to be yourself,” (watercolor on of artists complicate things instead paper, 114⁄5x15¾ ) he says. “You’ll only be recognized of simplifying them.” He relies on when people start identifying your Pakistan 5 a radical reduction method that he artwork with you. For that, you need (watercolor on learned through his work in illus- to have an identity and a personality paper, 15x22) tration and design. For his fi gural in your work. You can only fi nd it works, he isolates the main subjects if you’re yourself. Th ere are no two and then conveys their individuality people who are identical.” through distinct, well-chosen details. He deliberately leaves room for the PAINTING WITH viewer to fi ll in the blanks. As a result, his paintings often remind viewers of FEELING someone they know, and Correia says Correia’s days are split between time in that’s the main reason they’re drawn his studio and time outside in Lisbon to his work.

24 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 24 6/28/21 1:40 PM One challenge for him is the fact Germany Girls that watercolor is full of surprises: “It (watercolor on Meet the Artist works together with the artist. It’s as paper, 392⁄5x59) Hailing from Brazil and living in if it’s alive.” Th is lack of control has Lisbon, Portugal, Eudes Correia led him to scrap a lot of paintings. (correiawatercolor.carbonmade. Undaunted, he says, “I started learn- along: “Meu coração não se cansa …” com) is a self-taught artist who ing how to work with my mistakes. (“My heart can’t get enough …”). began his I use the mistakes in my favor.” “Fifty percent of painting is tech- career in A few years ago, Correia started nique,” says Correia—something he graphic design and doing live demonstrations with believes anyone can learn. But he also illustration. the goal of showing that painting points out, “Th e other half of what He now “isn’t as complicated as people seem you paint and how to paint—that’s on paints, to think it is.” At a demonstration you. Th at’s feeling. Th ere are no rules.” teaches fi lmed in 2019, in Fabriano, Italy, Accordingly, he approaches each workshops Correia whistles along with a live painting as he does his subjects in the and exhibits his work band as he works (view the video at street, alive to feelings and open to WA around the world, and he's bit.ly/correia-demo). At one point, any surprises. sponsored by Winsor & Newton the musicians start playing the song Global. Follow him at facebook. “Coração Vagabundo” (“Vagabond Ani Kodjabasheva (anikodjabasheva. com/eudescorreiawatercolor. Heart”). Th e lyrics describe hope and journoportfolio.com) is a fi ne-art and yearning in the face of unrequited education writer. love. “If you don’t like my painting, Special thanks to the artist’s son, Enzo Correia, this song is perfect,” Correia jokes 16, who provided live translation from with the audience. Later, he sings Portuguese during the interview.

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18_WCA_Fall21_Correia.indd 25 6/28/21 1:40 PM Saint Emilion (watercolor on paper, 11x15)

26 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 26 6/28/21 1:41 PM Seizing the Day

Tim Wilmot uses a direct technique and a speedy brush to explore byways that others ignore.

By John A. Parks

ritish artist Tim Wilmot paints with an energized directness, using a pure watercolor technique to render scenes as diverse as chilly English seasides and sun-drenched Spanish streets. Avoiding the spectacular and the traditionally picturesque, he seeks Bout views that some artists might fi nd mundane—a back alley in Spain, an English harbor at low tide, a shopping street in a small French town. “I’m not one to rave about somewhere like Venice,” he says. “I just like the ordinary. Most of us, if we step out to our front yard, will fi nd that within a hundred yards there will be something there to paint. If the lighting is right and you have a comfortable location, there will be things to paint.” Practical Matters Wilmot’s sharp eye and awareness of the atmosphere of a place allow him to fi nd strong and intriguing subjects in many curious corners and backwaters. Once he takes them on, he produces pictures that are remarkable for their effi - ciency and clarity, presenting richly satisfying accounts of light, space, texture and life—with an economic set of painterly tools. Th ese include well-judged values, simplifi - cation of shapes, speedy shorthand brushing for details and considerable compositional know-how. Th e artist sticks with convention for the most part, in terms of technique—with no surprise tactics. “I don’t use any of the so-called ‘tricks,’ like masking fl uid, or other techniques, like turning the paper upside down or exten- sively using body paint,” he says. “I rarely do any lifting out, so I have a very traditional approach.”

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26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 27 6/28/21 1:41 PM One of the advantages of this simple and direct water- photo-sharing service,” he says. ABOVE color technique is its speed. “My paintings are done in an “I usually fi nd that artists take good Porlock Weir, U.K. hour and a half to two hours,” he says. “I’m not a patient photos for painting. Most photos are (watercolor on paper, 11x15) artist. I know other painters who spend days on a piece, very diffi cult to use as a subject; the and I admire their patience, but I couldn’t do that. Besides, color, lighting or subject isn’t con- OPPOSITE with this direct technique, you can’t really stop and take a ducive. Artists are better at fi nding Lymouth Harbour, break because you have to keep working into wet areas, so paintable subjects.” Devon, U.K. (watercolor on I fi nish my paintings in one session.” Th e artist also allows paper, 11x15) that his busy life makes a fast technique more attractive. During the day he runs a small IT company, so his cher- Getting It Done ished painting time is often limited. Once Wilmot selects his subject, he Wilmot works both en plein air and from photography. fi rst creates a line drawing in pencil. “Having a daytime job can have its limitations when it “I always work standing up,” he says, comes to traveling to locations,” he says. “When I do travel “and I hold both pencils and brushes around, then, yes, of course, the local area is an inspiration. on the back end in order to get a fl uid I live in the South Cotswold area, and there are many pretty line.” His drawing is loose and fl exible, villages to be visited during good weather. More recently, quickly suggesting basic shapes and in the last year with the pandemic, I’ve had to rely on my proportions that are never stiff and bank of photos taken over the years. Generally, I try to use exacting. Even when drawing archi- my own photos because I have some sort of relationship to tecture, a subject that many artists the place and the occasion. A lot of my paintings are based might fuss over with precise verticals on my European trips because that’s where I’ve spent time.” and accurate perspective, he allows Occasionally Wilmot will work from another artist’s his line to fi nd its own energy. photograph—with the photographer’s permission. “I have Once he starts painting, Wilmot an arrangement on the website patreon.com with a little uses a limited set of brushes (see

28 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 28 6/28/21 1:41 PM Artists Toolkit, right). “Th ere are in the picture. Nearly all his paintings Artist’s Toolkit already enough variables involved contain fi gures, and he’s not averse to SURFACE in doing a painting, so you might inventing them to suit the needs of Saunders watercolor paper— not want to worry about too many the picture. “Without fi gures, painted usually a hand-torn quarter brushes,” he says. streets can look like Armageddon,” he (11x17) of a full sheet His fi rst paint applications are broad says. “Many artists are reluctant to put WATERCOLORS areas of wash—and he doesn’t erase in fi gures, but I try to include them • Winsor & Newton the pencil fi rst, preferring to leave it as much as possible.” His fi gures are • Daniel Smith on view as evidence of his working dashed in with a loose hand, so they process. Th e initial washes establish fold into the general fl ow of the paint- BRUSHES areas of shadow and the large areas ing. Th ey’re neither overly specifi c nor • Lebenzon of local color of buildings and streets. too generic, but rather, suggestive of • Raphael At this stage he might adjust the com- individuals, often with parts of their • Rosemary & Co position and light balance by applying bodies seemingly melting away into • Escoda more or less shadow, particularly in the air around them. “Your mind fi lls Sometimes Wilmot uses just the foreground. He’s not meticulous in the blanks,” says the artist. “If I one brush to make a paint- about establishing edges for things painted all the details and limbs of ing—a large mop brush made like buildings, often allowing the each fi gure, they would look too rigid by Lebenzon. “It’s made with a combination of synthetic and color of one to bleed into that of and have no movement. It would ruin goat hair,” he says. “It keeps another without a clear delineation. the freshness of the scene.” a good point, so you can use it He’s careful to build in color changes Wilmot’s willingness to manipulate to make small delicate marks or across the shadows—usually strong his subject matter extends more or to apply broad areas of paint.” warm-to-cool shifts—an approach that less to anything that he thinks would In other paintings Wilmot guarantees a feeling of depth and light. help the painting. A car might be limits himself to three brushes: Having established the major areas added to a street, a boat placed on his large mop, a small inexpen- and general sense of light, Wilmot a beach or a string of washing hung sive synthetic brush for details begins to build the smaller elements on a line. Meanwhile his ability to and a squirrel mop. “The squirrel mop is gentle,” he says. “You can create some lovely marks with it. I always use it to paint waves because it creates that elliptical soft shape that you so often ﬁ nd in water. It’s always a question of ﬁ nding the right brush for the right job but keeping a limited range of them.” Wilmot thinks a lot depends on how familiar you are with the brush. “You can give artists any old brush,” he says, “and once they learn how it works, they’ll adapt to it. They’ll know intuitively what brush mark it will make because they’ll be so in tune with it. Paper and paints are more important than brushes. So is the subject matter. In some paintings I use brushes that cost 50 pence [less than a dollar], which I like. When I’m painting foliage, I often want random effects, and sometimes an inexpensive brush produces a lovely mark. Some artists love sable and “MOST OF US, IF WE STEP OUT TO OUR FRONT spend 100 quid [100 pounds, or about $140] on a brush. I YARD, WILL FIND THAT WITHIN A HUNDRED YARDS don’t. I buy a few brushes that THERE WILL BE SOMETHING THERE TO PAINT.” I like and get to know them —TIM WILMOT really well.”

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26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 29 6/28/21 1:42 PM “YOU’VE GOT TO DRAW THE LINE; OTHERWISE, YOU CAN DEVOTE SO MUCH TIME TO YOUR WEB PRESENCE THAT YOU HAVE NO TIME FOR ART.” —TIM WILMOT

LEFT Tarragona Cathedral, Spain (watercolor on paper, 11x15)

OPPOSITE Weston-Super-Mare Sunset, U.K. (watercolor on paper, 11x15)

suggest rather than specify detail is on display in his han- foreground serve to dramatize the brilliant light striking dling of architecture. Renderings of windows, doors and the buildings, while various fi gures moving up and down stonework are achieved with speedy dashes and strokes the street convey a sense of scale. “Th is painting was done of paint, a shorthand that convinces without defi ning too with just one brush—my Lebenzon mop brush,” says the much. He’s careful to select which edges to make crisp and artist. “One brush makes you much freer once you know which to drop away in a blur of washes. how it works.” In this work the artist has deftly used the Late in the painting Wilmot reinforces the sense of brush’s point to make his shorthand marks for details while atmosphere with the addition of numerous small strokes using the brush broadly for big areas of light and shadow. and dashes, little skittering marks that seem to create Th e looseness of the drawing is in evidence in the lean- a sense of detail, texture and the movement of air. “I fi nd ing verticals of the buildings and the general fl uidity of myself doing that a lot in recent years,” he says. “Some line. Th e various colors of the diff erent buildings and the people don’t like it, but I love those little touches danc- street fl ow into each other while soft, transparent strokes ing around the painting. Th ere’s a point where the more suggest outlines. “Th ose strokes help connect things,” says marks you make, the more you’re in danger of overworking the artist. “You need to connect diff erent objects so you a painting, and I’ve gone close to overdoing it sometimes. don’t get one hard-edged element and then another. With I enjoy this fi nal part of the painting process. You‘re in the the light strokes, you can’t exactly tell where one building home stretch, and you create perhaps a little rubbish in the stops and the next starts.” street or a cracked paving slab. It’s one of the last stages.” Within the shadows, the color shifts from browns to blues, creating a sense of light and depth. “If I were to paint those shadows just one color, the picture would be Closer Looks very dead indeed,” says Wilmont. “A scene like this is Th e results of Wilmot’s approach can be seen in Tarragona particularly diffi cult because the light is right behind Cathedral, Spain (above) where we look up a set of steps the artist, and that aff ects the way the shadows fall. In toward the cathedral. Large shadows in the left and right this view, with strong refl ective light coming off the

30 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 30 6/28/21 1:42 PM buildings, there aren’t many opportunities for contrast. pier pilings hints at the limits of architectural ambitions Maybe I did just a little more with the foreground shad- for such structures. Against this, the moored boats are ows to draw the viewer in and compensate for the light described with some precision, each fl oating at a slightly being so fl attening.” diff erent angle in the bright water. If Wilmot’s view of Tarragona seems somewhat exotic, In another waterscape, Gran Canaria, Spain page 32), his painting Weston-Super-Mare Sunset, U.K. (below) is any- Wilmot shows the power of simplifi cation and brevity thing but. Th is view of the resort on the coast of England’s by creating dazzling contra jour light (a viewpoint facing Bristol Channel features a modern pier and a group of directly into the sun) with a minimum of means. Heavy rather ordinary small boats moored close to the beach. shadows of the boats in the foreground and solid painting While the subject matter seems decisively unromantic, the of the sand colors gives way to a view of the ocean in which painting is compelling because of the artist’s sensitivity in much of the paper is left white. A few thin marks create achieving the nuances of the view. In the foreground, an boats at anchor, almost swallowed by the power of the inventive series of overlaid strokes and values re-creates oncoming light. Numerous dashes and dabs in the fore- the fl ow of shallow water over sand. “Th is is done with a ground create a sense of air and movement while various squirrel mop brush,” says the artist. “Th ese marks would be fi gures bring life and human drama to the scene. impossible with a synthetic brush.” In the background, the Wilmot’s taste for scenes off the beaten track is appar- improbably modern building sitting on the thicket of the ent in his painting Lisbon (page 33), in which one fi nds

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26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 31 6/28/21 1:42 PM oneself looking at a secluded backstreet. A contained Managing Time space in the foreground leads us to an archway beyond Wilmot’s growing career as a painter which a fl ight of steps takes the eye into the city. Once is something of a surprise to him. again, this is a scene with the light coming from directly “I’ve always painted, and I’ve always behind the artist, illuminating broad walls of buildings. painted in watercolor,” he says, “but A large shadow in the foreground helps to create con- I studied other things in college, and trast and convey a sense of the light’s power. Th e artist’s my career has been in the computer dashing shorthand nimbly suggests the edges of tiled fi eld. I’ve always seen my painting as roofs, a vine hanging across the street and a line of a kind of relaxation as it’s so diff erent washing under a window. A fi gure is strategically placed from my daytime work.” half in and half out of the shadow while deep in the About a decade ago the artist began shadow on the right, a group of red dots invites us to giving a few closed online tutorials. OPPOSITE peer into the darkness. “Th ey were geraniums growing in “I recorded the sessions and decided Lisbon (watercolor a box,” says the artist. Meanwhile, up on the wall in the to put them up on YouTube,” he says. on paper, 11x15) sunshine, an old-fashioned wrought-iron lamp fi xture “I had no intention that anything BELOW holds a street lamp aloft. A scene that might have been would happen with them. Over the Gran Canaria, Spain dull explodes with light and energy, rich with interest years I saw these things called sub- (watercolor on and possibility. scriptions going up and comments paper, 11x15)

32 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 32 6/28/21 1:42 PM coming in. It spurred me on, in a way. I thought, Maybe As both a businessman and artist, Wilmot’s sensitivity I can share this a little bit more with the community out there.” to time management is obviously key to his ability to do Wilmot has gone on to teach many workshops and it all. In a way, so much of the fascination of his work is classes, both online and in person. He has also worked as recognizing what can be accomplished in a small amount a leader for painting groups visiting Europe. While he sees of time. Th e artist clearly experiences enormous pleasure his online presence as valuable, he’s careful to budget his in conjuring entire worlds of light, air, buildings, people, time when it comes to the internet. “Th e danger is that sea and sky with a few deft strokes of his brush. His gift to there are so many diff erent platforms,” he says. “You’ve got the rest of us is that we can share it too—a kind of instant to do just a few. I’m not into Facebook or Instagram, I just magic delivered joyfully onto the page, the spectacle of an do YouTube—and also Patreon, which is like a little club. artist seizing the day for us all. WA Th en I do my live streaming via Cloudcast. You’ve got to draw the line; otherwise, you can devote so much time to John A. Parks is a painter and writer and a member of the your web presence that you have no time for art.” faculty at the School of Visual Ats, in New York City.

Meet the Artist

Tim Wilmot (timwilmot.com), born in Bristol, in southwest England, was an avid painter in school and has continued painting in watercolor throughout his life. He’s largely self-taught, inspired by watercolorists ranging from John Sell Cotman and J.M.W. Turner to modern ﬁ gures like John Pike, John Yardley and Joseph Zbukvic. Wilmot’s daytime career is in the IT ﬁ eld, but in recent years he has developed a growing reputation as an artist and as an art instructor who gives online tutorials as well as in-person workshops. He has also led several painting groups on European trips. Wilmot continues to make his home in Bristol.

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26_WCA_Fall21_Wilmot.indd 33 6/28/21 1:42 PM GENIUS LOCI

James F. Williamson depicts Italian landscapes with the eye of an architect and an artist. by John Eischeid

34 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 34 6/28/21 1:43 PM ABOVE Parco della Rocca, Todi (watercolor on paper, 10x14)

OPPOSITE Tenuta di Canonica (watercolor on We’re always in two places at once. We live in a tangible Memphis (U of M). His appreciation paper, 8x10½ ) world of roads, parks, buildings, grasslands, fi elds and for the interaction of buildings and trees, but we also inhabit an intangible space of experience. the landscapes on which they rest Th ere’s the physical size of the fi eld, measured in units such far surpasses mere technicalities or even aesthetics. “Th e as feet, yards or meters, but there’s also the experience of genius loci cannot be measured,” says Williamson. “It must walking through it, as measured by feeling. Th is spirit of the be sensed.” place—its atmosphere, an intangible quality of its being— Th e artist explains the ways in which this sensibility has is often referred to as the genius loci, and it’s the focus of played out: “In my 40 years of professional practice, I’ve James F. Williamson’s watercolor renderings of Umbria and always begun a design project with a search for the sense other regions of Italy where the buildings share a kinship of place, and many of my building designs make reference Wwith the hills and have been there for centuries longer than to the same surrounding vernacular architecture toward the trees. Some architecture there can be traced as far back which I gravitated in my painting. In both the design of as ancient Etruscan and Roman times, with other buildings buildings and my painting, I begin with a study of the dis- dating back to Medieval and Renaissance periods. tinguishing characteristics of the place, whether it be in an urban or rural context.” After 12 years of full-time teaching at U of M, A Cross-Discipline Sensibility Williamson successfully applied for a sabbatical—a Williamson is best known as an architect, having served sojourn to the Umbrian region of Central Italy, from April as a principal at the prestigious fi rm Williamson Pounders through June of 2019, to visit and paint its landscapes Architects, P.C. and as a professor at the University of and structures. “Upon my return,” says Williamson, “I was

ArtistsNetwork.com 35

34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 35 6/28/21 1:43 PM “THE GENIUS LOCI CANNOT BE able to share my experiences with the students MEASURED. IT MUST BE SENSED.” and faculty.” He taught a new painting course and mentored students, drawing on personal — James F. Williamson examples from his experience and stressing the relevance of drawing and painting to their future careers in architecture. One doesn’t have to be a student of integrating the lessons of the past into my own architec- of architecture, however, to appreciate Williamson’s water- ture. As a colleague of Venturi’s, I learned that there was an color interpretations of the region’s beauty and character. exciting alternative to orthodox Modern architecture, much of which had become formulaic and rather boring.” Kahn became known in the 1950s for his weighty Roman Inﬂ uence buildings that have been described as “monumental” or Williamson’s interest in Italy might well have originated “monolithic”—characteristics inspired by his trip to Rome. under the infl uence of two architects and mentors—Louis Venturi, a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, took Kahn, under whom Williamson studied, and Robert an approach to design that drew on architectural history Venturi, in whose fi rm Williamson once worked. Both of and on a building’s context within its environment. these men loved Rome. “I suppose I was preconditioned to have a positive “As a graduate student in Kahn’s class at the University of reaction,” says Williamson, speaking of the infl uence of his Pennsylvania,” says Williamson, “I learned the importance mentors on his own feelings about Rome and central Italy.

36 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 36 6/28/21 1:43 PM ABOVE Umbria, the Green Heart of Italy (watercolor on paper, 10x14)

RIGHT Place of the Dead, Todi (watercolor on paper, 10x14)

OPPOSITE Rooftops, Palazzo del Popolo, Todi (watercolor on paper, 10x14)

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34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 37 6/28/21 1:43 PM ABOVE The structure “I had been to Rome twice before my sabbatical, and loved the pearl in the oyster. It accounts for depicted in Temple the light, especially in the fall. I was interested in experi- the magic of a region, and without it, of Neptune, encing the sense of place so strongly expressed in Kahn’s an acute sense of place dissipates into Paestum (watercolor sketches and Piranesi’s etchings,” he adds, referring to a vague and lazy feeling of nowhere.” on paper, 10x14) the work of the 18th-century architect and artist whose One such pearl lies in Williamson’s dates back to 460– 450 B.C. and is of images of Roman structures inspired widespread interest Tenuta di Canonica (page 34), a paint- Greek rather than in these ancient edifi ces. ing of a medieval watchtower in the Roman origin. heart of Umbria that has withstood the test of time so well that it still OPPOSITE TOP Spirit Captures Street in Gubbio operates as a hotel. In this piece, the (watercolor on “In such places as Rome,” says Williamson, “the vernacular distinction between the landscape and paper, 14x10) architecture—the traditional, indigenous buildings the building dissolves, one seeming to designed without architects—seems to have sprung have been there as long as the other. OPPOSITE BOTTOM directly from the place. Th e architecture that resonates Th e shadows on the building stand Sunset, April—Todi (watercolor on most deeply with us often owes its power to its ability to upright, forming a line of vertical paper, 8x12) capture the genius loci, the spirit of a place.” Underlining movements with two trees. Th e tops this point, Williamson quotes psychotherapist Th omas of these trees and the fl uid edges of Moore: ‘Th is spirit we sense in each locality would once the more diff usely painted foliage on have been described as the scintilla, or spark, of its soul, the left bleed into the sky. Soft-edged

“THE SENSE OF A PLACE, THE EMOTION IT EVOKES, IS BEST CAPTURED BY THE EMPATHETIC EYE OF THE ARTIST.” — James F. Williamson

38 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 38 6/28/21 1:43 PM patches of color in the foreground suggest a fi eld of wild grasses, with just a few blades sharply delineated, and the walls of the structure are of the same hue and a similar texture to the browning grass. Detailing of the building is mostly restricted to the windows, which appear as openings in a curtain woven from both the walls and the grasses. If eyes are the gateway to the soul, those windows are the eyes, peering onto the landscape that lies before it like a hushed audience. In another painting, Sunset, April—Todi (below), the buildings punctuate the hillside like an uneven staircase. Th ese structures and a few interspersed trees rise in a mutual crescendo shared by the cathedral campanile and the branches of a distant tree. In the artist’s statement regarding his sabbatical in Umbria, Williamson describes the buildings as “prototypes having evolved over time as a response to the particular climate, topography, geology, locally available building materials and methods of con- struction, as well as to cultural factors such as history, means of subsistence, religion and economy.” His painting Hadrian’s Villa V (page 40) conveys a more somber feeling. Williamson was attracted to what he

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34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 39 6/28/21 1:43 PM describes as “the strong shade and shadows created by the Contrast and Color famous light of the Mediterranean, which evoke a certain Hadrian’s Villa V demonstrates Williamson’s practice of romantic melancholia that has a deep appeal for me.” In preserving the white of certain areas of the paper. “Th ese the painting, a stone wall dominates the frame. Th e light, areas provide the lightest possible value, against which the coming from behind this wall, creates a shadow that adds other values can be contrasted,” he says. “Such ‘incomplete’ an ominous weight, which is punctuated by light pouring areas of negative space can also allow the eye of the viewer through an archway. “I was concerned with suggesting to complete the composition, involving that person in the materiality, a sense of the texture, weight and mass that creation of a gestalt—unlike a photograph that records result from building in stone,” says the artist. Within the complete information about the subject.” arch, the light is balanced by the dark shape and shadow In another depiction of the same place, Hadrian’s Villa II of a tree. Th e structure of the piece is like a picture (bottom), shadows bathe the stone structures, but again, within a picture, and while those pictures are individually the focus lies on a bright patch of light seen through the balanced, they also balance each other. arch. In this case, the artist achieved the contrast in the sunlit area by preserving a portion of the thinnest of washes. Obviously, lighting and its associated value contrasts play important roles in the artist’s work. He enhances these eff ects with his choice and layering of colors. “In most of my paintings, I hope to create a certain mood or atmosphere,” says Williamson, “which is part of the sense of place. At Hadrian’s Villa, I felt a strong sense of being in a haunted place with an atmosphere that felt somber and melancholy. I tried to convey this with an initial overall wash of blue-gray, followed by a cool, limited palette of secondary colors ranging from red-violet to blue-violet.” He goes on to explain, “If the mood is to be sunny and cheer- ful, as in Abandoned Farmhouse, Fiore (opposite), I may begin by applying an overall wash of ochre. In this case, it was followed by a warm, limited palette of secondary colors ranging from yellow-orange to red-orange, with a few touches of complementary greens and blues to add drama.” Th e ochre in the painting of the farmhouse serves to pull together the individual elements. Th e warm red tones of the roof complement the cool greens and blues. On the other hand, in Hadrian’s Villa II, the cooler color seems to shade the piece, like a shift to a minor key. All the notes of color work in concert, like the harmony and melody in music.

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34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 40 6/28/21 1:43 PM Meet the Artist

Architect, author and artist James F. Williamson earned two Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied under Louis Kahn. After graduation he worked for the Philadelphia architectural firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and eventually established his own firm in Memphis, Tenn., where he garnered more than 30 design awards ABOVE over 30 years. In 2005, Abandoned the American Institute of Farmhouse, Fiore Architects elected him to (watercolor on its College of Fellows. From paper, 10x10) The Melding of Artist and Architect 2008 to 2020, Williamson Just as the buildings and the landscape blend together into taught as a professor OPPOSITE TOP a singular whole, so do Williamson’s chosen disciplines of art of Architecture at the Hadrian’s Villa V and architecture. “Meaning in architecture should never be University of Memphis, (watercolor on taking a sabbatical in paper, 10x14) limited to an understanding of the architectonic aspects,” says 2019 to travel and paint in Williamson. “Architecture can be distinguished from the mere Umbria, Italy. Williamson OPPOSITE BOTTOM making of buildings in part by its ability or inability to evoke has written numerous Hadrian’s Villa II an emotional response in those who experience it. Th e sense articles on architecture (watercolor on as well as the book Kahn paper, 10x14) of a place, the emotion it evokes, is best captured by the empathetic eye of the artist.” at Penn: Transformative Pointing out the historical evidence of this principle, he Teacher of Architecture (Routledge, 2015). says, “Th e greatest architects have always been those who could communicate their intent through drawings and paintings that conveyed not only the objective appearance of the buildings they proposed but also the special spirit.” Not every landscape artist is an architect, of course, but the importance of capturing the feeling a scene inspires—the genius loci—still holds. “I believe a painter should attempt to express his subjective experience of the subject, not just record it,” says Williamson. “In the best cases, the completed painting can then resonate with the viewer, who may be enabled to share some of the artist’s experience, participating in a creative process in which the painting becomes a gestalt invested with meaning.” WA

John Eischeid is a freelance writer based in New York City.

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34_WCA_Fall21_Williamson.indd 41 6/28/21 1:43 PM Sketchbook Lessons Four sketching enthusiasts—STEPHANIE BOWER, UMA KELKAR, JAMES RICHARDS and BRENDA SWENSON—share a few of their proven approaches and techniques for advancing and enhancing a sketching practice. EDITED BY ANNE HEVENER

42 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 42 6/28/21 1:45 PM A sketchbook can be many things. For some, it’s an essential tool used to capture one’s impressions and ideas; for others, it’s a place MEET THE ARTISTS to test-drive new techniques and artistic Seattle-based artist Stephanie directions. For still others, a sketchbook Bower (drawingperspectives. becomes a visual journal—a place to record com) is an architectural illustrator who combines her memories of exciting travels or simply the background as an architect, small pleasures of everyday life. For many, teacher and artist to offer instruction in drawing and it’s all of these things and more. Whatever painting in workshops, both role it plays, a sketchbook is always a place locally and internationally. Bower is a blog correspondent for Urban Sketchers and to rediscover your love of art. a Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor The following pages are packed with art Society. She’s also the author of several books, and insights from artists for whom sketch- including The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective and The Urban Sketching ing is central. Their creative strategies are Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips. certain to inspire you with fresh excitement Uma Kelkar (umakelkar.com), of for your own sketching adventures. San Jose, Calif., is both an artist and an engineer—two professions in which she finds plenty of crossover synergy. She’s the primary author of The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing With a Tablet (Quarry Books, 2020), and a contributing author to many other urban-sketching titles. The award-winning artist, who works in watercolor, gouache, oil, ink, charcoal and digital sketching, shares her creative knowledge as a workshop instructor and demonstrator, as well as in lectures and podcasts.

The on-location sketches and watercolors of artist James Richards (jamesrichards sketchbook.com) have been widely published and shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions. A former professor of design and drawing, Richards serves as an advisory board member, blog correspondent and instructor for Urban Sketchers. His award-winning book, Freehand Drawing and Discovery, is a text used in design schools worldwide. The artist is a frequent visiting artist at universities, a regular speaker at conferences and symposia, and a teacher who offers workshop instruction around the world.

Artist Brenda Swenson (swensonsart.net) is the author of two books, Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook and Steps to Success in Watercolor. Her artwork has been featured in several volumes of Splash: The Best of Watercolor and in numerous other art publications. She’s a Signature Artist in Watercolor West (WW), the Northwest Watercolor Society, San Diego Watercolor Society and California Watercolor Association, and has served on the board of directors for the National Watercolor Society and WW. Swenson participates as an arts juror and demonstrator, and offers workshops both nationally and abroad. Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy (ink, watercolor, gouache and pencil, 12x22) by James Richards, is a studio painting based on an on-site sketch. ArtistsNetwork.com 43

42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 43 6/28/21 1:45 PM STEPHANIE BOWER Think Like an Architect

With a background as an architect, to look so closely at a subject, it TO BUILD A SKETCH I especially enjoy sketching while becomes part of my DNA. Through The trick to thinking like an architect traveling as a way to learn more sketching, I learn more and remem- is to ignore all the detail and reduce about the places I go and the ber better. The sights, sounds, feel of what you see to a few big, simple architecture I see. I’ve found that the air are all captured on the pages shapes. To start a sketch, I find the act of sketching imprints the of my sketchbook, which becomes a large square or rectangle in the experience better than the click of a visual diary of my adventures— scene, and this is the first shape a camera. To make a sketch, I have rendered in pencil and watercolor. I draw on my paper, using very light

For my sketch, DenHaag, Binnenhof, RidderzaaI (graphite and watercolor, 8x16), I found a square and triangle in the Gothic Ridderzaal. I used these shapes to help me size the rest of this complex of buildings in the city center of The Hague, Netherlands. This sketch brings back nice memories of sitting on a bench and laughing with a friend while we both sketched. I can feel the sun and hear the people walking by. It all becomes imprinted on my mind as I draw and paint. Sketching is powerful.

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 44 6/28/21 1:45 PM TOOLKIT To keep things light and portable, I use a lapboard made of corrugated plastic (available at craft stores). I cut a hole in it to hold a plastic medicine bottle for water, and clip my sketchbook and palette to this board.

PALETTE I use the small Winsor & Newton Sketchers Pocket Box but replace the paints with artist-grade Winsor & For my sketch, Dubrovnik Clock Tower (graphite and watercolor, 8x16), I began with the Newton (French ultramarine, burnt square shape (shown above) that I found in the building facade. I could then relate the other structures in the scene in relation to the measurements of that one large shape. sienna and yellow ochre) and Daniel I made this sketch on a sunny day while sitting near a restaurant in this city in southern Smith’s quinacridone burnt orange (my Croatia. I love the interactions I have with people who stop to take a look at what I’m doing. secret weapon for glowing shade). They’re always nice and encouraging. On this day, a waiter eventually came over and nodded his approval, but suggested I change the mountains because they looked like BRUSHES there was snow on them. The Escoda travel brushes are my favorite. I love the Perla No. 12 and the Kolinsky sable Reserva size 10.

pencil lines. I sit positioned in such view, so that I know within the SKETCHBOOK a way that I’m looking straight ahead first few minutes that the entire I enjoy working on Winsor & Newton at that big shape, not at an angle, scene will fit on the page. 140-lb., cold-pressed watercolor paper and then use my pencil to measure Next, I add the vanishing cut to 8x16. I also love Pentalic’s Aqua the proportions of that shape—the point (where parallel lines con- Journal sketchbooks. height relative to the width. verge in the distance) and note I’ll spend some time sizing the big my eye-level line. With those MISCELLANEOUS shape correctly on my paper and three initial steps, I have every- I also carry a .5mm mechanical pencil then add the other big shapes in my thing I need to create the sketch. with a soft 2B lead.

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 45 6/28/21 1:45 PM UMA KELKAR Use a Sketchbook for Practice and Play

Sketching provides an easy entry Use a sketchbook for point for making art. I’m a busy studies of new entrepreneur, engineer, community pigments. In fact, you could even make builder, painter and parent. a pigment book as a Without this tool, I might paint reference for once in two weeks, which trans- yourself. These lates to 13 days of not engaging in studies can go my craft. That much downtime beyond making color swatches. You can erodes muscle memory and makes test how a pigment it harder to re-engage in my art works in real-life where I left off. A sketchbook tides situations: in washes, me over between more extensive wet-on-wet, dry-on- wet. Try them all out. painting sessions—and provides a space for practice and play. I’ve found it extremely useful to have at hand a “catalog” of my experiments and studies to inform my future practice. Among the many benefits of a sketchbook practice are three ways of using them that I find particularly valuable: SMART SYSTEM A smart system is one which has the shortest feedback loop. In simple terms, the sooner you know about a slip-up, the better, and the easier it is to recover. Working through issues in a sketchbook, such as pigment studies (right), can reveal unresolved problems on a small scale, before they grow into big ones. REPORT CARD I often use my sketchbook to As artists, we’re visual learners, and we Even when you haven’t reached the make value studies as I develop can gain a lot of information by flip- goal of an experiment, seeing the a composition. The philosophy of ping through multiple pages—serially, incremental changes can be motivat- notan sketches, which are value in a sketchbook—to observe subtle ing, encouraging a sustained practice. studies, often done in pencil, can be choices and evolutions. Imagine an An artist has the twofold job of being extended to watermedia. So, I often artist in bed, attempting to flip the creator and the objective evalua- make these studies using only through large sheets of watercolor tor. Your sketchbook is not unlike a watercolor and ArtGraf, a type of paper, trying to see how her practice report card. Look through it every water-soluble charcoal. changed over the prior month. How few days or weeks, with fresh eyes, to You might also devote a sketch- awkward! Now imagine the artist, see what you’ve learned. book to a single topic that you’re comfortably ﬂ ipping through a sketch- hoping to strengthen. I have entire book, as if reading a ﬁ eld report. Your CREATIVE PLAYGROUND “sky sketchbooks,” for example, that sketchbook is not only easy to carry Although I consider a sketchbook catalog my sky studies. but also easy to consult and store. a form of fine art—a finished work of

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 46 6/28/21 1:45 PM Here, in a quick side-by-side comparison, I was able to check the effectiveness of a method I used for capturing light as applied to a day scene and a night scene.

Some pages simply reﬂ ect the pleasure of play a sketchbook affords. I smile when I remember places I’ve visited and painted, like the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, in California.

art in and of itself—it also can be liberating to remove that pressure and let the sketchbook be a place for TOOLKIT experimentation. This permission to play can lead artists to ﬁ nd “diamonds My basic plein air sketching • a rag on which to in the rough” or solutions to future setup includes: dab brushes problems. This sort of joy in the pro- • a hardy palette • a stool and easel (if cess also feeds a cycle of practice. • a sketchbook I want to get fancy) Especially when an experiment fails, • two round brushes, one At the bare minimum, I record what worked well. This helps small and one large I carry a Pentel brush pen me continue working at the edge of • 6 pigments in the palette with me at all times—for my current skill set—moving fluidly • water (one container for spontaneous sketching. between student mode and friend mixing and another to I’ve been known to draw mode with watercolor or any medium. carry back dirty water) on paper menus.

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 47 6/28/21 1:45 PM JAMES RICHARDS Add Life to Sketches

I approach my work more as an artist-reporter or explorer, than as a studio artist. Though I do some studio work, I make most of my art on location. For me, sketching is a tool for discovery, a way to drill down—through observation—to understand the spirit of a place. As more and more of the world begins to look somewhat the same, I’m trying to document what’s unique and authentic to a location’s landscape, architecture and culture. In this way, I view a sketch or a completed sketchbook as a finished product rather than a preliminary study for something more finished. Indeed, the informal, on-the-spot nature of my work is what gives it a sense of life and immediacy. The best reward is when a local says, “You’ve made me see this place with fresh eyes.” Everyone I’ve drawn in Hoi An Street Market (watercolor and ink, 7½ x10½ ) is busy doing something, offering a glimpse into local culture. I added the surroundings almost like a backdrop POWER TO THE PEOPLE for a stage set. I worked quickly with strong, slashing lines and lots of restatements. A line sketch usually takes just a few minutes, so I focus on getting an overall impression rather than a pain- My favorite sketching subject is a staking recording of details. lively urban space filled with people. Because I want to convey the energy of the scene in the sketch, I usually begin by including people in motion— each individual adding to the general sense of a street bustling with life.

I’ve learned that high contrast lends life to my sketches. When adding color, I start by washing all the buildings and vegetation with a light undercoat of Naples yellow. As I add more semi-transparent glazes, that yellow “color of life and energy” shines through. In my double-page sketch, Westminster Abbey (7½ x20), you can see this in the area adjacent to the dark, diagonal shadows cast from across the street. I ﬁ nish with the most saturated colors for clothing and details, always taking care to leave plenty of white space.

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 48 6/28/21 1:45 PM TOOLKIT I love to work in ink and wash, using these basic supplies:

PENS In a small pouch with a neck strap, I carry: • fine-line pen with permanent ink, such as a Micron • Sailer Fude de Mannen nib fountain pen filled with waterproof ink for a wide range of expression in line • gray brush pen for shade and shadow • white gel pen

PALETTE In a shoulder bag, I carry a metal travel palette with 16 watercolors by Daniel Smith and Winsor & Newton: Prussian blue, cobalt teal blue, alizarin crimson, Naples yellow, ultramarine blue, viridian, spring green, azo yellow, cobalt blue, deep sap green, Mayan My very quick, left-handed strokes often result in architecture that leans to the right. I used to orange, cadmium yellow deep, worry about it, but I now recognize it as an important part of bringing life to my sketches. Imagine neutral tint, burnt umber, burnt if the building in Amsterdam Street Life (watercolor and ink, 12x10) were to be straightened. The sienna light and carbazole violet life would just ooze right out of the sketch. I’ll often give the sky its own interesting shape—rather than an edge-to-edge graded wash—to complement my funky linework and leaning buildings. BRUSHES A set of six Escoda travel brushes (in a handy leather wallet)

SKETCHBOOK For years I worked in Moleskine A4 watercolor albums, which are beautiful hardbound books of watercolor paper with a relatively smooth finish. I like them for ink work. When filled, the book itself is the artifact, packed with large sketches and small details, notes and found objects. Lately, though, I’ve transitioned to spiral-bound sketchbooks, such as the Stillman & Birn Beta series, because they offer the flexibility of removable pages, in case I want to sell a sketch or show it in an exhibition.

MISCELLANEOUS • a rag and a collapsible container for water

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 49 6/28/21 1:45 PM BRENDA SWENSON Tell a Story With Multiple Images

Have you ever visited some place and known right away that a single sketch wouldn’t be enough to do it justice? Whenever one image isn’t enough to tell the full story of a subject, I like to create a “sketch collage.” Not to be confused with traditional collage techniques that involve an assortment of papers assembled and affixed to a page, a sketch collage uses multiple sketches on a page to tell a bigger story. Sometimes I complete a page in a single sitting. Other times, I add images to the same collage over the course of a trip. Regardless of the approach I take, I’ve found this to be an effective way to capture the spirit and character of a place more fully. MAKING ARRANGEMENTS The primary challenge for a sketch collage is determining how to arrange the elements in a way that creates a page with balance and flow. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you consider the layout of your page: • Don’t worry about keeping objects true to size in relation to one another. • Use elements with a variety of shapes and sizes. • Keep elements, such as people, signs and pathways, pointing into the page. • Plan for some of the objects to overlap one another. A scene containing multiple objects that are similar in color and value presents a unique challenge. • Consider using a border or boxes For my sketch collage, Oppede, France (watercolor and ink, 11x10), I framed three of the main to tie images together. elements in boxes. This brought attention to each and also created a diagonal design. Half-way Keep in mind that these are tips, into my sketch, the town’s resident dog came to visit. When he laid down to take a long nap at our feet, I added him to the sketch. When a nearby cherry tree caught my eye, I knew it was just what not rules. Let your own experience was needed for the bottom of the page. The burst of red added a vibrant touch of color. To create and feelings about the place guide balance, I used the same color to add the name of the town. the way. WA

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 50 6/28/21 1:45 PM TOOLKIT

PALETTE I use a Heritage folding palette with 18 wells. I add and subtract paint colors from time to time, but primarily use: • Daniel Smith: green gold, Hansa yellow medium, quinacridone gold, permanent yellow deep, anthraquinoid scarlet, permanent alizarin crimson, quinacridone rose, imperial purple, French ultramarine, cobalt teal blue, manganese blue hue, phthalo green (blue shade), quinacridone burnt orange and lunar black • Winsor & Newton: raw sienna and burnt sienna • Holbein: cobalt blue and marine blue • I keep lavender and buff titanium (which are opaque) and a white gouache on the side or in the tube Without a doubt, spring is my favorite time of year to visit the old Spanish mission in San Juan BRUSHES Capistrano, Calif. Before I began sketching, • Rounds: Nos. 6 to 14 I walked around and explored, looking for • Flats: Da Vinci, 5080 subjects that spoke uniquely about the place. series, size 20mm On this particular day, the weather was warm and sunny. The fl owers were blooming, and SKETCHBOOK butterfl ies were fl itting about. For my sketch collage, San Juan My favorite sketchbooks Capistrano (11x10), I worked on 140-lb. cold- include: pressed Bockingford watercolor paper. I • a 10x11-inch version that started by drawing the most important I make by hand using element fi rst—the building. Once I’d established its size and placement, I added the other an assortment of 140-lb. elements. To make adjustments easier, I cold-pressed watercolor usually start with the biggest shapes and work papers toward the smallest. As you can see, I take • Stillman & Birn: Beta plenty of liberties with size and placement, softcover, sizes 8x10 or such as the poppies in the sky. Once elements were in place, I started 5½ x8½ to tweak the design to enhance the fl ow. I extended the building rooftop beyond the MISCELLANEOUS hollyhocks on the left, drew a box around the I also took reference photos of my inspirations on site. • pencil and eraser butterfl y and extended the archway behind it. • Faber-Castell Pitt artist I also used color to support fl ow and unity, pen, with brown or such as the strategic placement of blue and orange throughout. In addition, notice how black ink the white of the paper leads the eye from the • broad-tip fountain pens edges of the surface into the sketch. with brown ink

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42_WCA_Fall21_Sketchbook_Lessons.indd 51 6/28/21 1:45 PM Marriage of Nur-Al-Din, from the Arabian Nights series (1930; watercolor, 10½ x9½ )

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 52 6/28/21 1:48 PM THE FIRST WATERCOLORIST OF MODERN INDIA

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Abanindranath Tagore, a watercolor artist whose work was transformational in the evolution of art in modern India.

By Sagnik Biswas

o understand the story of art in modern India, Abanindranath way, that city had become a melting you must fi rst consider the impact of the Tagore sitting on the pot of cultures—a place where you country’s social and political past. Going back south veranda of might fi nd a Chinese carpenter, an Jorasanko Mansion, to the 18th century, when the British East his family’s ancestral Italian painter and an Afghan trader, India Company had political dominion over home, in Calcutta, all mingling freely with artists and T India, a newly industrialized culture began in 1944. intellectuals of Indian origin. In this to replace local religion, art and social practices. Th e situa- cultural hodgepodge, native Indian art tion led to tensions between more orthodox Indians, who began to expand its identity, setting clung fast to anything traditional, and modern-leaning the stage for a cultural reawakening in Indians, who wanted to give way to all things British. India—with Calcutta as its epicenter. At the same time, the decline of the royal courts in Th is period, which began in the 19th Northern India had led to an exodus of traders, artists and century and continued through the educators, who began moving eastward, to Calcutta, which early 20th century, became known as was already a well-established port of commerce. In this the “Bengal Renaissance.” Th ese years

ALL IMAGES OF PAINTINGS ARE COURTESY OF PAINTINGS OF TAGORE TAGORE BY R. SIVA KUMAR, PUBLISHED BY PRATIKSHAN (USED WITH PERMISSION). ArtistsNetwork.com 53

52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 53 6/28/21 1:48 PM RIGHT brought signifi cant socio-cultural reforms in Indian art and The ancestral home of the literature, music and the sciences. Within the sphere of art, Tagore family is currently part of the Rabindra watercolorist and writer Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951) Bharati University was among the stalwarts of this revivalist movement. campus, in Calcutta. It serves as a museum about the inﬂ uential EARLY LIFE family, which includes Rabindranath Tagore, Tagore was born into a highly infl uential and enlightened Abanindranath’s uncle, family that contributed, in diff erent ways, to the Bengal who was a poet and the Renaissance and even to India’s eventual independence. He ﬁ rst non-European was a shy but inquisitive child with a noted talent for art. Nobel Laureate. He found endless creative inspiration from the many char- BELOW acters of the Tagore household and from the family’s Nau-vihar, from the travels into many parts of India. Krishna-Lila series (1897; As was the custom of the time, Tagore received his for- watercolor, 8½ x5) mal art training from European masters, working with Olindo Ghilardi (Italian) to study pastel and with Charles Palmer (English) to learn oil painting. Later, during a boat journey to Monghyr, Tagore tried watercolor—which was fairly uncommon at the time—and realized it as his true calling. He returned to Palmer for further training in 1894 and 1895, but this time his focus was in watercolor. Tagore’s supplies were mostly imported from England— Whatman paper, Winsor & Newton paints and sable brushes—but he also used some Japanese brushes for washes. Sometimes, he and his pupils would make hand- made brushes using the twigs of date trees, screwpine, banyan and cane. One end of these branchlets was fi rst soaked in boiling water and then very lightly hammered to spread the fi bers into the form of a brush. Tagore eventually settled into a studio in his childhood home, in the neighborhood of Jorasanko, Calcutta. Th ere, he embarked on his journey as India’s fi rst modern watercolor painter. GROWING INDIVIDUALISM From 1897 to 1898, Tagore worked on the Krishna-Lila series of paintings, which is considered his fi rst major work in watercolor. (See “Krishna” in Th e Reference Guide, opposite, for further explanation of this and other cultural terms.) His painting, Nau-Vihar (left), is one example from the series. In spite of the suggestion of the series’ title, Tagore didn’t intend to depict the religious aspects of the Vaishnava scriptures in this work. He was deeply infl u- enced by the miniature paintings in the traditional Mughal and Rajput styles. Th e fi gures in the miniatures, however, are devoid of any expression, so at the advice of his uncle, the illustrious poet, composer and painter Rabindranath Tagore, the younger Tagore chose to explore ways of infus- ing bhava (emotions) into his art. Th is secular aestheticism is evident in the eclectic mix of artistic elements: A Hindu mythology is presented in the format of a Mughal miniature, and Vaishnava texts are written in a Persian font, but the fi gures are heavily infl u- enced by his training in European realism. Other techniques

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 54 6/28/21 1:48 PM A Reference Guide Listed in the order of reference in the article:

Krishna—a major deity of Hinduism who’s believed to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu

lila—playful activity of God

Vaishnava—the largest Hindu denomination, which believes Vishnu is the supreme lord Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám—the title that Edward Fitzgerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of selected quatrains attributed to 10th- century poet Omar Khayyam, dubbed “the Astronomer-Poet of Persia”

kokoromochi—the Japanese aesthetic ideal of associating feeling and suggestion Arabian Nights—also referred to as One Thousand and One Nights, is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age (800–1258 A.D.)

Krishnamangal and Kavikankan Chandi— texts written by the poet Dvija Madhab in the 16th century. Both works are important examples of medieval Bengali literature eulogizing Puranic gods and goddesses, such as Krishna and Chandi.

Bharatmata (1905; watercolor, 10½ x6)

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 55 6/28/21 1:48 PM that enrich the work include inscriptions of Irish poems, ABOVE LEFT aesthetic sensibility. Unlike the the use of multiple borders and the application of gold leaf. Rubáiyát of Omar Japanese artists, he dipped his Th e artist’s willingness to mix old and new was signifi cant Khayyám, Verse II paintings in water after each suc- (1907–1909; in the development of a modernist attitude, as it opened up watercolor, 9¼ x6⅓ ) cessive layer of color, which fused a new cultural space that allowed for diff erent possibilities. the colors and created a unique, ABOVE RIGHT dreamlike atmosphere. In some of The Lover, from the his paintings, he used as many as EASTERN INFLUENCE Bengal Actors series (1912; watercolor, 30 such washes. Th e individualism found in the Krishna-Lila paintings contin- 11x7) Th ese experiments culminated ued in Tagore’s later endeavors, in which he began to drift in the painting, Bharatmata (page away steadily from his Western infl uences and toward the OPPOSITE LEFT 55), the fi rst piece to employ his creation of a new form of modern, indigenous art. In this Shahjadpur new wash technique successfully. Landscape (1927; eff ort, he soon joined forces with a man who became his watercolor, 10½ x14½ ) Th e painting was done in response greatest collaborator and guru—Ernest Binfi eld Havell, the to the announcement of the parti- principal of the Calcutta Art School. Both men were converts OPPOSITE RIGHT tion of Bengal, in 1905, by the to the cause of indigenous art and were equally committed Debendranath Viceroy and Governor-General of Tagore as to developing a new, but distinct Indian style of painting. Raghupati Mask India, Lord George Curzon. Serving Also signifi cant during this period were Tagore’s encoun- (1929; watercolor, as testimony to Tagore’s national- ters with a trio of Japanese artists: Okakuro Kakuzo 11½ x9) ist thinking and vision for an (1863–1913), Taikan Yokayama (1868–1958) and Hishida independent India, the painting Sunso (1874–1911), three artists who are credited with became an image of the Swadeshi introducing the wash technique that would be used by the movement (for independence) that traditional Bengal School of Watercolors. started in Calcutta. After observing and practicing the Japanese wash tech- Th e fi gure of Bharatmata was nique, Tagore began to adapt the method to suit his own looked upon as a nationalist

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 56 6/28/21 1:48 PM mother goddess, bestowing the blessings of food, clothing, of lectures, which came to be called the “Vageshwari learning and spiritual strength on her children. Lectures.” Th ese talks conveyed the artist’s vision of art and its associated spirituality, all presented in his inimita- ble style of a storyteller. Tagore’s gifts for storytelling THE STORYTELLER would fi nd further expression in the timeless classics the Th e most mature of Tagore’s watercolors during this period artist wrote for children. were part of a series based on the Rubáiyát of Omar Among the many important and signifi cant paintings Khayyám, a 10th-century text, translated into English by created during this time, Tagore also produced a number of Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. Like Fitzgerald’s translation, satirical watercolors, such as Th e Lover (opposite, right), as these paintings followed the inherent sense and mood of a series called Bengal Actors that depicted the pompous life the original composition. Rather than merely illustrating of Bengal’s gentry. the text, however, these paintings exist more as parallel stories told through images. A painting of the second verse (opposite, left), for example, shows two sleeping fi gures in OTHER GENRES the foreground but includes references from several verses, Tagore’s style continued to evolve and fl ourish with a pri- and all of it is presented in the context of contemporary mary focus in storytelling, portraiture and landscape. In Indian domestic life. Tagore was primarily drawn to Th e landscape, the artist’s unique expression mixed symbolism Rubáiyát for its connection to the Eastern world, but the with a Far Eastern approach to representation. While land- storytelling proved to be the vehicle that allowed him to scape painters typically use light as the principal element travel into the aesthetic space of symbolism. to depict scenery, Tagore reveled in the use of space to rep- In the following years, Tagore participated in scholarly resent the natural world. Th e watercolors he made during a discourses with two intellectual contemporaries—Ananda journey to Puri, in eastern India, bear testimony to this Coomaraswamy (Sri Lankan, 1877–1947) and Sister unusual treatment. Nivedita (Irish, 1867–1911). Th eir lectures focused on the Not unlike Turner or Whistler, and other Romantic revival of ancient Indian art by trying to break free from painters of the West, Tagore strongly believed that his what they felt were rigid conventions and incoherent landscapes should express what he felt and not merely Western infl uences. In many ways, these discussions set refl ect what he saw. His aesthetic ideal of kokoromochi— the stage for the concept of “contextual modernism,” which the dual association of feeling and suggestion—was done would later inform the aesthetic eclecticism of the in a style that involved a hazy, coloristic treatment. Some Shantiniketan art movement practiced mainly in the 1930s of the fi nest examples of the artist’s watercolor land- and 1940s. scapes, such as Shahjadpur Landscape (below, left), appear From 1921 to 1929, Tagore was also a frequent guest in his Shahjadpur series, which the artist painted between speaker at Calcutta University, where he delivered a series 1925 and 1927.

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 57 6/28/21 1:48 PM Th e artist’s portraits were meant to celebrate individuality and the inherent character of a subject. Much like THE CHEF D’OEUVRE Toulouse-Lautrec or Picasso, Tagore wanted to unlink the In 1930, Tagore reached the pinnacle of his artistic matu- recording of a likeness from artistic expression. rity, creating 45 watercolors in a single year, all part of Th ese ideas culminated in a 1929 series, Masks, which rep- a series called Th e Arabian Nights, and each one is consid- resented the persona and not the person. Rather than being ered a masterpiece. Sitting in an oversized chair on the a disguise, Tagore considered the mask to reveal the “real” veranda of Jorasanko, his beautiful ancestral home, he truth of a face. When viewed in this way, his mask paint- was like a fl aneur, taking in a kaleidoscopic view of society, ings—such as Debendranath Tagore as Raghupati Mask (page his family and his past, that unfolded before him almost 57)—were portraits of the real people they represented. like a staged drama.

58 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 58 6/28/21 1:48 PM To capture these impressions, he with the street vendors who inhabited the narrow lanes of took inspiration from a literary text, Chitpur, not far from where the artist was staying at the a practice that also inspired van Gogh, time. His Sheherazade could be the sharp-witted daughter Chagall and many artists throughout of the tailor who worked next door. Th e subject in Sindbad history. What sets Tagore’s eff orts the Sailor (opposite)—who’s both a sailor and holy man— apart as a unique work in Indian art is could very well have been inspired by the artist himself, a the fact that the watercolors are nei- man gifted with the power of narration who enjoys the ther illustration nor are they symbolic rapt attention of a cross-cultural audience. representations of contemporary Stylistically, some of these paintings evoke the graphic scenes around the artist. Rather, they elegance of Quattrocento paintings. Some feature the rich become a visual interweave of two dif- colors seen in the Akbari miniatures, but the combination ferent realities: A scene from Th e of color, spatial organization and technical virtuosity set Arabian Nights becomes informed by apart these 45 paintings as a distinct and original body of the actualities of the Calcutta street. work created by the imagination of a master artist. In Marriage of Nur-Al-Din (page 52), OPPOSITE for example, we see, beneath the Sindbad the Sailor, scene of the colorful wedding proces- from the Arabian DEATH & LEGACY Nights series (1930; sion, a bare-chested servant working watercolor, 11½ x9) Toward the end of his career, Tagore became more inter- in a dark kitchen, and in the lower ested in writing folk plays and making wooden sculptures, right, we see some domed-shaped BELOW called kutum-katam. He did, however, paint a few new windows—all sights taken from Slaying the Tornado series, including Krishnamangal and Kavikankan Chandi, Demon, from the modern-day Calcutta. Krishnamangal which were inspired by folk art. As evident in the piece, In the same manner, Tagore’s series (1938; Slaying the Tornado Demon (left), these paintings—in sharp depiction of Aladdin shares an affi nity watercolor; 11x8) contrast to the fi nesse found in earlier works—feature a more loose and carefree style. Although his artistry was recognized in Western countries, Tagore’s main objective as an artist was to counter the supremacy of European infl uence and to infuse Indian art with its own unique expression. With this in mind, he established Th e Indian Society of Oriental Art, in 1907, to provide a platform for the various artistic practices that fl ourished in India. He also became a mentor to some of the most signifi cant artists of the day, including the pio- neering Modernist painters Nandalal Bose (1882–1966), Asit Halder (1890–1964), Kshitindranath Majumdar (1891–1975) and Jamini Roy (1887–1972). As a result of his work and infl uence, India saw the rise of the Bengal School of Art, which incorporated various native and nationalist elements into what could be called an “Indian” style of painting. Most indicative perhaps of the school’s success is the fact that British art institutions began to expand their rigid models of instruction to allow for new models of teaching that included the Bengal School of Art. WA

Sagnik Biswas (paintpaperbrush.com) is a watercolor artist living in Mumbai, India. His work has been featured in juried international exhibitions with the National Watercolor Society and the Bombay Art Society, among other associations. Biswas would like to acknowledge Professor R. Siva Kumar, in the Department of Arts, at Visva-Bharati University, in India, the author of Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore (Pratikshan, 2013) for his assistance with this article.

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52_WCA_Fall21_India.indd 59 6/28/21 1:48 PM Bright Ideas

LEFT Wheelbarrow in Gouache (gouache on paper, 10x8½ )

OPPOSITE Wednesday Wheelbarrow (watercolor on paper, 13x9)

s a Montreal artist, I’m used to the way our often bit- terly cold winters can isolate me for days, and I have A plenty of sketches and paintings of snowy views Windows of from my windows to prove it. But this past year was a little diff erent—okay, very diff erent. Given pandemic-related lockdowns, closures and personal safety measures, we all probably painted more at home than we normally would. Opportunity Like many others, I began thinking about the very idea of a window and its metaphors as both a window of oppor- When a door closes, you can still enjoy tunity and an eye on the world. Both the object and the metaphors defi nitely fi gured more in my work than they (and paint) the view. had in previous winters; I relied on windows for subjects, visual sustenance and visual relief. Here are some of the By Shari Blaukopf many ways windows have inspired me.

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60_WCA_Fall21_BrightIdeas-Blaukopf.indd 60 6/28/21 1:50 PM SAME SUBJECT, DIFFERENT SEASONS Even though the wheelbarrow in my backyard has a busted axle and fl at tire, rendering it useless, I keep it. As a sketching subject, it’s an old friend. It leans against an large oak tree, which gives me a perfect view of its familiar shape from my kitchen window. I sketch it often in the autumn, when it’s framed by masses of yellowing shrubs and rests on a carpet of leaves (see Wheelbarrow in Gouache, opposite). But my wheelbarrow is at its best on a sunny winter’s day when it’s partially buried in the snow, and long shadows rake across its rusty tub (see Wednesday Wheelbarrow, above left). SAME SUBJECT, DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY When I fi nd myself painting the same subject multiple times, I rely on the shifting light at diff erent hours of the day to feed my inspiration. Th e view of a neighbor’s house from my front window is a case in point. I especially love painting it in the morning because the sun rises just over the house’s rooftop (see Sunrise, above right). Th e scene TOP TO BOTTOM is also beautiful in the overcast light immediately after Sunrise a snowfall. A big maple partially blocks my view, but for (watercolor on Tree House Car (lower right), I decided to embrace the tree paper, 8x8) and use it as a strong compositional element. Keep your Tree House Car sketching materials readily available, and you’ll be able to (watercolor on capture fl eeting views like these. paper, 14x10)

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LIGHT FROM THE WINDOW I like to place objects on a window shelf to observe how light transforms them hour by hour. A particular shelf in my basement studio is crowded with stuff I’ve collected over the years as potential sketching subjects—oddly shaped glass containers, exotic pack- ages and colorful tins. Th e jumble of shapes, some of them glowing at dusk (this window faces west), makes for an intriguing composition and a great way to examine relative values, since everything is backlit. Th ese objects and lighting inspired me to paint Window Sill (above). Other subjects that work well in front of a window, besides glass, include fl owers and fruit. INSIDE/OUTSIDE VIEWS Sometimes a window itself can be a subject when you paint both the interior space and the view through the glass. On a snowy afternoon, I used a brush and a chunk of I was able to contrast the darker TOP TO BOTTOM water-soluble graphite to sketch my values of the room with the lighter Window Sill living room couch and, directly behind values of the exterior. Working in (watercolor in sketchbook, 14x17) it, a view of my snowy street, result- monochrome is a great way to observe Red Pillow ing in Red Pillow (above right). By lights and darks and the way window (water-soluble graphite in glazing with many layers of graphite, light falls on and defi nes objects. sketchbook, 8x11)

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60_WCA_Fall21_BrightIdeas-Blaukopf.indd 62 6/28/21 1:50 PM Tips for Window Sketching • Have your sketching materials easily accessible. • Look for shifts in light and shadow at different times of the day. • Observe how seasonal changes affect your window view. • Use window views to push your sketching boundaries and strengthen your observational skills, especially when it comes to depicting values. • Occasionally change pigments or materials; try something unfamiliar or try sketching in monochrome.

In Window-Swap, once you select a view you want to sketch, the uploaded video plays on a loop, so you might glimpse passing cars, strolling people and the occasional pet. You might even see a fl y crawling across the window screen, as I have. Getting used to the fact that your view could change halfway through your drawing does take some time, but don’t worry—the video always loops back to where you started. I’ve found that sketching these views can become addictive. I like to use these image sharing sites as a way to strengthen my sketching skills. In Fred and Maryse’s Window (top left), which, coincidentally, is in my own city of Montreal, I contrasted the deep hues of the window and indoor plants with the almost monochromatic TOP TO BOTTOM VIEWS FROM FARAWAY WINDOWS snow-covered tree outside. In Goran’s Fred and Maryse’s Montreal winters can be brutally long, and even the best Window (lower left), a bird’s-eye view Window views from my windows eventually become monotonous. of Porto, Portugal, I used a limited (watercolor in sketchbook, 8x11) Also, as much as I love sketching winter scenes, some- palette of warm and cool colors to times I long for a visual escape. Th is year, some sketching capture the view of sun-washed roofs Goran’s Window colleagues introduced me to several free online video and and sky. WA (watercolor in image-sharing platforms. Th ey include Window-Swap.com, sketchbook, 8x11) where users upload videos taken from their windows, and In addition to keeping up a practice of MapCrunch.com, which generates random street views daily sketching, watercolor artist Shari captured by Google. Blaukopf (blaukopfwatercolours.com) teaches international workshops as well as online classes. She’s the author of Th e “I relied on windows for subjects, Urban Sketching Handbook: Working With Color and the blog Shari Blaukopf’s visual sustenance and visual relief.” Sketchbook (shariblaukopf.com).

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Composing From the Director’s Chair As with a big-screen production, creative direction is pivotal to the success of a painting.

By Mario Robinson

64 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

64_WCA_Fall21_Essentials.indd 64 6/28/21 1:51 PM fi lm director, by coordinating I can either use lights and darks to with the cast and crew in an counterbalance one another or fl ood Aeff ort to bring each scene to the scene in sunlight for a washed-out life, is largely responsible for the way eff ect. Watercolor is the quintessential a story is presented to an audience. medium for exploring the use of light When the plot plays out on the screen, in a painting executed outdoors. the director’s impact is felt—even in his or her absence. I suggest that SPOTLIGHT THE STAR a painter wears a similar hat; the Another question I ask myself is What’s visual impact of a painting rests the appropriate balance for the story squarely on the artist’s shoulders. I want to tell? Because my work is auto- We’re living in a unique time in his- biographical, the people and places in tory when our attention is constantly my paintings hold a signifi cant place in courted by our digital devices. Th ere my heart. Often both the person and must be a fervent eff ort put forth by the place have important roles in the an artist to meet the ever-changing story—but not equally so. It’s my job demands of art enthusiasts. I believe to decide how to shine a spotlight on composing a scene in an interesting the star while still bringing attention, way can arrest the viewer and initiate though more subtly, to the costar. a dialogue. While there are a multi- I used this method in the watercolor, tude of contributing factors to the American Dream (left). Th e asymmetry ABOVE overall allure of a great work of art, its of the composition shifts the attention American Dream (watercolor on paper, composition serves as the foundation toward the fi gure, which seemingly 16x20) on which it stands. slides out of the left side of the frame. I was grappling with the concept of the ABOVE RIGHT SELECT THE LIGHTING American Dream in light of the societal Mansion (watercolor on Composition is loosely defi ned as the challenges we’re currently facing. I’d paper, 22x30) arrangement of elements in a work been musing on a number of diff erent of art. I typically begin with several topics—the pride and weight of home questions as I consider a new work. ownership, the question of what it One question I ask is How do I use the truly means to be an American and light to my advantage? Th e lion’s share the pleasure of being a baseball fan of my paintings are set outdoors, (Go Yankees!). I took all these feelings therefore contrast comes into play. and made a big, hearty pot of gumbo.

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Pixie (watercolor on paper, 60x40)

Watermark (watercolor on paper, 16x20)

Point (watercolor on paper, 12x16)

FEEL THE STORY As I seek to create a fi nished work, emotional intelligence as well. For I could imagine the fear a young I fi nd it useful to document my instance, when composing the water- African-American girl might feel emotions. I jot down notes before color Mansion (page 65), my goal as she stood in repose below those considering the visual manifestation was to juxtapose the monumental windows. I fi nd that level of tension of the initial idea. Once I select the presence of the plantation owner’s enticing, as it undergirds a painting model, I may move on to small pencil Mississippi mansion with the young with a substantive presence. sketches. If I’m feeling more confi - girl’s small stature. I chose the model dent about a particular scene, I’ll go one day prior to the session. I walked FINESSE THE SETTING directly into the painting stage. around the property an hour before Growing up on the Jersey Shore For me, there’s no silver bullet the girl and her grandmother arrived. instilled in me a love for the Atlantic when it comes to creating a successful I ran through a few scenarios on the Ocean and the culture that surrounds composition. While I’m mindful of porch and beside a tree before posing it. Th e salty air, seagulls, sound of the rules, I believe in implementing the model at the side of the house. crashing waves and crowded boardwalk

66 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

64_WCA_Fall21_Essentials.indd 66 6/28/21 1:52 PM during the high season combine to produce a magical environment. Th e ocean is expansive and possesses a looming presence. Th roughout the years, I’ve worked to include the sea in my fi gural paintings without letting it dominate the composition. In the watercolors Pixie (opposite), Watermark (above) and Point (left), the ocean plays along with other objects and the fi gure. In these cases, the ocean is there to provide context without distracting the viewer from the star of the show—the fi gure. WA

Mario Robinson is an Exhibiting Artist Member of the National Arts Club, an Artist Member of the Salmagundi Club and the author of Lessons in Realistic Watercolor (Monacelli Press).

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64_WCA_Fall21_Essentials.indd 67 6/28/21 1:52 PM Sun & Shade by Jansen Chow 7LúGEWI=øV8EPIRX[Mý 'óTIXMXMôW

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The Mighty Pen Yuki Hall (yukihallfineart.com) created this sketch at a lakeside resort in northern Wisconsin using a pen-and-wash technique. “Pen and wash is, by far, my favorite method for sketching,” she says. “Because lines become major parts of the painting, there’s very little work left to do with brushes, reducing the risk of overworking.” When doing the pen work, Hall tries to avoid drawing with rigid lines, which lacks character. “I believe the beauty of pen and wash is most evident when executed with expressive lines that reveal personality,” she says.

72 Watercolor artist | FALL 2021

72_WCA_Fall21_OpenBook.indd 72 6/28/21 1:53 PM ADS_WCAFalls21.indd C3 6/29/21 11:48 AM SINCE 1264 Watercolor masters paint on Fabriano Artistico paper

Procida Fishermen By Keiko Tanabe Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico Rough For a FREE sample of Fabriano Artistico Rough paper visit SavoirFaire.com/promo @ArtSavoirFaire

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