Water colors _2020 Oct

SINCE

1264

Watercolor masters paint on Fabriano Artistico paper

Once Upon a Time

By Matthew Bird Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico Cold Press

For a FREE sample of Fabriano Artistico cold press visit SavoirFaire.com/promo @ArtSavoirFaire

A Master’s Tips for Using the Power of Contrast ARTISTSNETWORK.COM

Fire Up Your

Creativity 6

STRATEGIES TO NOURISH YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Bring the Outdoors In

Empower Your Studio Practice With a Plein Air Attitude

POWER OF PLACE

Finding Inspiration in New Views

DECEMBER 2020

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two new books from award-winning artist

Painter’s Guide to Color

Casein Painting With Stephen Quiller

The premier guide to understanding color for the painter

Casein secrets revealed in the ultimate definitive guide

Painter’s Guide to Color will help you to train your eye to see and use color in exciting ways. This book has everything a painter needs to gain confidence in color theory and expression.

Explore the possibilities and the beautiful milk-based water medium of casein, as Stephen Quiller takes you through his painting processes. Learn about:

• •

•

•

• • •

Use the newly updated Quiller Color Wheel Learn how to create any color imaginable with his 12-color palette and the Quiller Wheel system of mixing colors Gain a better understanding of color through six valueintensity charts of the primary, secondary and intermediate colors Explore various fundamental color theory concepts and how to maximize color expression Learn about the emotional use of color and how to evoke emotions in subjects using color families See how master painters have used color in inspiring ways

Although Painter’s Guide to Color was written foremost with the painter in mind, weavers, textile designers, interior decorators and commercial artists have all benefited from award-winning artist Stephen Quiller’s innovative and accessible color theory techniques.

• • • • •

Color harmony and color relationships referred to in the Quiller Casein Color Wheel Quiller’s spectral palette and how to create incredible, exciting and personal color relationships Different paint applications in both water media and traditional easel painting approaches The best surface materials for casein, ways to use surface supports when painting and how to display casein paintings Ideal subjects for painting with casein Combining casein with other water media so each combination is used to its best advantage, compatibility and archival nature

Lastly, the artist author displays an archival gallery of paintings spanning 50 years alongside various quotes from his journals.

This is the first definitive guide to the subject of casein and is a must for every artist’s library.

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Contents

DECEMBER 2020

Features

18

PAINTING THE MOMENT Rachael Grimm sees the magic in the seemingly mundane moments and then brings them to life with her brush.

BY MICHAEL CHESLEY JOHNSON

26

NEW WORLD; CLEAR EYES The Baroness Hyde de Neuville captured the life and landscape of early America in her amazing travel diaries.

BY C.J. KENT

34

SOJOURN TO ITALY The beauty of Italy has cast its spell on on many artists. See how these four—Peter Carey, David R. Smith, Anne McCartney and Tim Wilmot— responded to the inspiration.

BY COURTNEY B. JORDAN

46

46

CLARITY IN THE ABSTRACT

34

54

MASTER OF THE MOMENT

Nick Runge creates with an abstract mindset, fostering a willingness to experiment that distinguishes his portrait work.

The 20th-century painter Merrill A. Bailey used his distinct style to catch the beauty and unique charm of small town America.

BY MICHAEL WOODSON

BY DANIEL K. TENNANT

ArtistsNetwork.com

1

DECEMBER 2020 Columns 4 EDITOR’S NOTE The secret to being and staying creative.

5 HAPPENINGS An artist makes watercolor paper her primary medium.

BY MCKENZIE GRAHAM

10 ANATOMY OF A PAINTING Robert Frederick Blum depicts daily life in Japan.

BY JERRY N. WEISS

12

CREATIVITY WORKSHOP Try these tactics to keep your creativity primed.

BY JEAN HAINES

42 BRIGHT IDEAS Take a plein air approach to your indoor painting.

BY SAGNIK BISWAS

62 WATERCOLOR ESSENTIALS

42 62

Eight strategies for adding interest with contrast.

BY JOHN SALMINEN

72 OPEN BOOK An artist captures a garden’s glowing greens.

BY MAJORIE GLICK

Get Social

ON THE COVER A Master’s Tips for Using the Power of Contrast 62 Fire Up Your Creativity 12 Bring the Outdoors In 42 Power of Place 26, 34, 54 After School Snack (detail; watercolor on paper, 18x12) by Rachael Grimm

@ARTISTSNETWORK Watercolor Artist (ISSN 1941-5451) is published six times a year in February, April, June, August, October and December 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 28, No. 6. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH, and additional mailing offices. 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 | DECEMBER 2020

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Available through the website www.riverflowsbook.com Trade edition also available STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (required by Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code). 1. Watercolor Artist 2. (ISSN: 1941-5451) 3. Filing date: 10/1/20. 4. Issue frequency: Bi-monthly. 5. Number of issues published annually: 6. 6. The annual subscription price is $21.97. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Peak Media Properties., 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242. Contact person: Kolin Rankin 8.

Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: Peak Media Properties., 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor. Publisher, Greg Osberg, 4868 Innovation Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525, Editor, Anne Hevener, 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242 , Managing Editor, Holly Davis, 9912 Carver Road, Blue Ash, OH 45242. 10. Owner: Peak Media Properties; Gregory J. Osberg, CEO, 4868 Innovation Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. 11. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent of more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12. Tax status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months. 13. Publisher title: Watercolor Artist. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: AUGUST 2020. 15. The extent and nature of circulation: A. Total number of copies printed (Net press run). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 48,238. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 42,904. B. Paid circulation. 1. Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 29,789. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 32,153.

2. Mailed in-county paid subscriptions. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date:0. 3. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 3,896. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 1,625. 4. Paid distribution through other classes mailed through the USPS. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 1,128. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 1,104. C. Total paid distribution. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 34,814. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date; 34,882. D. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside mail). 1. Free or nominal Outside-County. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 119. Number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 205. 2. Free or nominal rate in-county copies. Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: 0. Number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. 3.

Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other Classes through the USPS. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. 4. Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 524. Number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 527. E. Total free or nominal rate distribution. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 642. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 732. F. Total free distribution (sum of 15c and 15e). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 35,458. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 35,614. G. Copies not Distributed. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 12,779. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 7,290. H. Total (sum of 15f and 15g). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 48,238. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing: 42,904. I. Percent paid. Average percent of copies paid for the preceding 12 months: 98.2% Actual percent of copies paid for the preceding 12 months: 97.9% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation: A. Paid Electronic Copies. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 1,659.

Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 1,778. B. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 36,474. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 36,660. C. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 37,117. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 37,392. D. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x 100). Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 98.3%. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 98.0%. I certify that 50% of all distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above nominal price: Yes. Report circulation on PS Form 3526-X worksheet 17. Publication of statement of ownership will be printed in the December 2020 issue of the publication. 18. Signature and title of editor, publisher, business manager, or owner: Greg Osberg, Publisher. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanction and civil actions.

Watercolor in Motion with Birgit O’Connor ) ^IZQM\a WN WVTQVM TM[[WV[ KW]Z[M[ \W Å\ aW]Z _I\MZKWTWZ TQNM[\aTM 7‍ٺ‏MZ WV ITT NWK][ML KW]Z[M[ 8MZNMK\ PWTQLIa OQN\ NWZ \PM _I\MZKWTWZQ[\ QV aW]Z TQNM =[M +WLM" 0741,)A +PMKS W]\ Ua _MJ[Q\M \W ^QM_ ITT W‍ٺ‏MZQVO[ LM[QOVML \W PMTX J]QTL aW]Z _I\MZKWTWZ [SQTT[ ___ JQZOQ\WKWVVWZ KWU

ArtistsNetwork.com

3

Editor’s Note

W

hen we think about what’s behind artistic “greatness,” we tend to focus first on matters of craft and technique, but skill alone doesn’t guarantee excellence—at least not long term—if it isn’t also paired with a rich supply of creativity. Unfortunately, creative thinking isn’t a skill that you can pick up in a burst of hard work and determination, and then use indefinitely; it must be steadily nourished. The trick is figuring out what activities do the most to motivate your art practice, fuel your imagination and set the stage for ongoing inspiration and ideas.

In this issue, you’ll meet a number of artists who’ve developed habits that feed the creative spirit. For Nick Runge (page 46), bringing an “experimental mentality” to his practice removes some of the fear. He keeps the focus on process rather than outcome, which allows him to take risks that can lead to innovation. Artist Rachael Grimm (page 18) finds that tending a garden complements her art-making. Gardening, not unlike a painting, requires

Watercolor ARTISTSNETWORK.COM

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4

Watercolor artist | DECEMBER 2020

PHOTO BY CARA HUMMEL.

compositional decisions. It also serves as an outlet to vent her occasional creative frustration. On page 34, you’ll meet four artists who have found travel to be a dependable pathway to inspiration. In this case, the specific source of nourishment is Italy—from the vibrant streets of its ancient cities to the sun-drenched countryside. In addition, on page 12, you’ll find a whole list of tactics that artist Jean Haines recommends for holding on to motivation.

Of course, one of the truly foolproof ways to generate excitement for your art practice is to surround yourself as much as you can, whenever you can, with inspiring art.

Viewing art—whether in person, online or in print—that you find gripping and soul-stirring is like creative kindling.

We think you’ll find plenty of examples in the following pages to fan the flames. WA

Happenings

/ MAKING A SPLASH /

Polly Verity Watercolor paper moves beyond its obvious use in the skillful hands of sculptor Polly Verity, whose delicate paper forms don’t have an ounce of added pigment. It’s light and shadow that describe her portraits as the twists and folds combine, the final product often presenting as intimate and sensual.

“I’ve folded geometric designs into paper for the past 15 years,” says Verity. “I’m drawn to the limitations of manipulating a sheet of paper without cutting and to the quality of the paper itself—the intriguing mathematics of a curved fold and watching the resulting improbable topology appear before my eyes. The figurative realm is a new departure for me, and the wet-folding technique is new to me too—luscious for its immediacy, instantaneous form and quick result.”

The artist uses Arches watercolor paper for its craftsmanship and quality, but also because it has added gelatin, which allows her to work the paper when it’s wet.

Once it has dried, the gelatin sets, creating a stiff permanency. “I begin by folding a simple curve into the dampened sheet of paper,” she explains. “As I work, suggestions of form open up to me and I coax these hints further into being by shaping, using my hands.” The resulting composition might show a couple kissing, a figure smoking or a mouth opening, as if to speak.

In recognition of this power to speak, the artist has used her art as a way to voice support for the recent protest movements against racial injustice. “I wanted to do something,” she says. “My social media feed suddenly

seemed so white.” Her response was to introduce new shades of paper into her work. Her sculptures in shades of black and brown have been well received, and Verity plans to donate half the proceeds to a organization involved with the movement.”

As for the future, the artist says she’s open to her meditative process as it typically guides her way. “Most of the time,” she says, “I’m an observer.” (polyscene.com)

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Paper Kiss (wet-folded watercolor paper) Person With Straw (wet-folded watercolor paper) Paper Portrait (wet-folded drawing paper)

ArtistsNetwork.com

5

Happenings

NEW TO A VIEW The YouTube painting tutorials of watermedia artist Alan Owen have attracted a following of 40,000 subscribers to his channel. The U.K. artist’s videos, recorded in real time as he paints, offer thoughtful instruction on topics such as painting loose and using hake brushes. Owen attended formal art school in the late 1940s and had a 70-year career in fine art before retiring and starting his YouTube channel. The prolific artist posts videos multiple times per week. Find them at youtube.com/c/alanowen/videos. WA

ORDER Your FREE 2020 CATALOGUE Today!

6

Watercolor artist | DECEMBER 2020

The two watercolor landscapes, above, are examples of work Alan Owen demonstrates on his popular YouTube channel.

New + Notable / STUDIO STAPLES /

/ ON THE SHELVES / Magnum Artists: Great Photographers Meet Great Artists [$55] In this new hardback by Laurence King Publishing, you’ll find 215 illustrations—photographs of famous artists taken by renowned photographers, exploring the unique relationship that exists between artists of different media. The book includes photos of Matisse and Picasso taken

by Robert Capa, Takashi Murakami’s portrait by Olivia Arthur and pictures of Warhol and de Kooning by Thomas Hoepker.

Monogrammed Palette and Paint Water Cup [$72] Made with lead-free glazes and stoneware clay, this handbuilt, hand-stamped set is the perfect 2020 treat-yourself gift. The cup is 4-inches tall and holds 14 ounces of liquid.

The palette is 6½x4½ and includes a paintbrush rest by the monogram. etsy.com/shop/jeanettezeis

Schmincke Aqua Drop [$18] Available in 24 colors with the highest lightfastness ratings, these water-soluble liquid pigments come in 30-ml. bottles with a pipette to use to fill the Aqua Drop Liner tool. Use the ink for painting, urban sketching, calligraphy, handlettering and airbrushing.

Ralph Steadman: A Life in Ink [$60] In this book reflecting on his 50-year career, Steadman explores his lifelong legacy in political satire, the counterculture of the 1970s, numerous collaborations with American writer Hunter S. Thompson, children’s book illustrations and more—all in his signature ink-splattered style.

ArtistsNetwork.com

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Happenings / WATERCOLOR WORLD /

Zoom to the Rescue

ABOVE Afternoon Light, Sentinel, Yosemite (casein with acrylic underwash, 17x11) LEFT Flight, View from the Air (casein with acrylic underwash, 28x28)

In response to the flood of cancellations of in-person workshops and classes due to the pandemic, artists around the world have started to take their teaching online. Stephen Quiller is one such instructor.

Quiller, known for his engaging and joyful workshops, has always been in high demand. The disappointment, from both instructor and student, has been real, as each workshop has had to be postponed or permanently canceled because of the coronavirus. Thankfully, Quiller’s daughter is a professional videographer. She helped her father reconfigure his studio setup to better

8

Watercolor artist | DECEMBER 2020

accommodate online learning—using two cameras and filming angles, one for the painting demonstration and one for the artist.

Quiller, who’s used to a regular schedule of travel for his teaching, can point to a few benefits of the new approach: Materials are accessible in my studio, and I can sleep in my own bed,” he says. “Still, not being able to travel to a city like Philadelphia to view its art museums and interact with students one-on-one is disappointing.” The artist and his students would typically develop a personal relationship over class dinners and activities. Instead, Quiller will take

the time to view each student’s home setup and paintings online and to offer help, tips and advice.

His tips for using casein are now available to any artist, as Quiller has recently published Casein Painting with Stephen Quiller—a compendium of 50-year’s worth of knowledge and one of very few books available on the unique medium. “The book is an in-depth guide to the use of casein in watermedia, as well as easel-painting approaches,” he says. “The last chapter is a gallery of my work, alongside excerpts from my journals.” The book is available on the artist’s website. (quillergallery.com)

New From Dynasty® Brush...

What’s Online

DECEMBER IN PARIS BY JOHN SALMINEN, WATERCOLOR, 24½x31

“Water Lily” by P. Anthony Visco

Discover more art, instruction and inspiration at ArtistsNetwork.com.

JOHN SALMINEN SHARES HARD-WON WISDOM If you appreciated his art and advice (page 62), don’t miss this exclusive interview with a master of contemporary watercolor. artistsnetwork.com/go/salminen-wisdom

BUST THROUGH ARTIST BLOCK

MAN WITH RED DRAPERY BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT, WATERCOLOR, 14⅜x21⅛

Try this brain-boosting exercise if you’re experiencing a creative slump. artistsnetwork.com/go/bust-artist-block

5 TECHNIQUES FROM FAMOUS WATERCOLOR ARTISTS From composition to focal point, learn the ways of Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, John Singer Sargent and more. artistsnetwork.com/go/famous-watercolor-techniques

A Brush For Every Style 11 Shapes and 55 Items Water Lily, made by the fine people at FM Brush Company, is a cruelty-free synthetic, lightweight glare free ferrule and soft shimmer coral handle watercolor brush series.

These brushes are soft and thirsty. The proprietary blend of material has spring and snap.

The rounds bounce and the flats chisel. www.dynastybrush.com • @dynastybrush info@dynastybrush.com • 718-821-5939

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Anatomy of a Painting

“The Most Glorious Experience” In the early 1890s, ROBERT FREDERICK BLUM spent three years in Japan, capturing glimpes of everyday life.

By Jerry N. Weiss

R

obert Frederick Blum (1857– 1903) was an artist and illustrator whose gifts were evident in multiple media. With his friend William Merritt Chase (1849–1916) he cofounded the Society of Painters in Pastels; Blum was a member of the American Watercolor Society and was elected a National Academician on the strength of his oil painting. By the time his life was cut short by pneumonia, he’d become one of the finest American artists of his generation.

Blum was born in Cincinnati, where he studied with Frank Duveneck (1848–1919). Lifelong themes were confirmed early: Blum showed interest in Japanese art and was influenced by the light palette and flashing brushwork of Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny (1879–1949). After a year of study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he moved to New York City and was employed as an illustrator for Scribner’s Magazine.

He traveled widely. In 1879, Blum went to Venice, where he met Chase and reconnected with Duveneck. He returned to this city frequently over the next few years, practicing pastel under the guidance of James Whistler (1834–1903). Trips to Spain and the Netherlands followed.

Street Scene in Ikao, Japan (watercolor, gouache and graphite on off-white wove paper; 10⅜x12⅝) by Robert Frederick Blum

No other place intrigued Blum as Japan did. He visited in 1890 and stayed for three years, producing a series of drawings and paintings that were among the first by an American artist chronicling Japanese culture. It was, he said, “the most glorious experience I have ever had.” In an article for Scribner’s, published in 1893, Blum singled out the town of Ikao, built 2,500 feet up the side of a mountain.

“Humble little Ikao,” he wrote, “was so very appealing in its familiar, everyday worldliness, that we all fell in love with it at once.” Street Scene in Ikao, Japan, has a documentary quality that suggests what Blum found appealing: a village, inaccessible to tourist traffic, its inhabitants going about their lives in unselfconscious fashion. WA Jerry N. Weiss is a contributing writer for fine art magazines. He teaches at the Art Students League of New York.

“Humble little Ikao was so very appealing in its familiar, every-day worldliness, that we all fell in love with it at once.” —ROBERT FREDERICK BLUM 10 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

Blum took part in a new wave of American watercolor painting that valued freer and more spontaneous application. Critical reception of his watercolors was mercurial. Reviews published in the 1880s alternated between unqualified enthusiasm and accusations that the artist was imitating Whistler too closely.

At any rate, paintings like Street Scene in Ikao, Japan were a departure from the ephemeral, soft-edged scenery of Venice.

The painting’s subdued coloring is enlivened by several spots of blue, including a wisp of smoke at the center that was painted with gouache over transparent watercolor. Buildings and hanging fabrics, bleached by sunlight, are drawn with particular finesse.

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY; GIFT OF WILLIAM J. BAER, 1904

Street Scene in Ikao, Japan shows a diagonal passageway between ramshackle buildings with shops open on both sides of the path.

One vendor sits cross-legged beside his wares while prospective buyers stroll through. A woman with a baby on her back is a feature in several of Blum’s Ikao watercolors. The scene’s real activity, however, is provided by the geometry of overlapping architecture and the interplay of sharp light and shadow shapes.

Seemingly trivial elements turn out to be indispensable. Remove the ornamental lamp at upper right or the dark accents of the strolling chickens, and the painting loses some of its vitality.

Ikao was Blum’s last stop in Japan before returning to New York.

Situated on the slope of a dormant volcano, Ikao was not easily reached. Blum was impressed by the character of its people.

He wrote that the village’s “somewhat tedious inaccessibility has preserved in the inhabitants an old-time charm of manners and character unexpectedly new and pleasant.”

ArtistsNetwork.com 11

Creativity Workshop

Enthuse Your Muse A Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your groove as an artist?

These tips can help you get it back—and keep it.

By Jean Haines

12 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

rtists love painting. It’s in our souls. An ever-present hunger to create drives us with a sense of urgency to express ourselves in our chosen medium. But what happens when our motivation starts to fade or disappears entirely? It’s a real possibility. I’ve met many longtime artists who no longer enjoy painting as they once did, even though they had successful art careers. Is it possible to use up creativity?

I’m often asked how I keep motivated and stay inspired in my own art practice. I think I’ve been fortunate because I had the opportunity to study multiple forms of art. I began my career as a botanical artist and eventually developed my own painting style, which has continued to evolve over the years. This distinctive style and my general enthusiasm for the watercolor medium have led to a busy schedule of workshop teaching.

Despite my hectic and exhausting schedule, however, I stay motivated by recognizing, then prioritizing and balancing my creative and personal needs.

BE REALISTIC As artists we put so much pressure on ourselves to create.

There’s a huge amount of stress involved in having to meet deadlines for art societies, exhibitions, art galleries, even writing or teaching. While a heavy workload can be a good problem to have, it can also be overwhelming— affecting your very will to pick up a brush. If painting becomes a chore rather than a way to feed your passion,

ABOVE LEFT Racing Ahead (watercolor on paper, 11x23) ABOVE RIGHT Monet’s Garden (watercolor on paper, 23x15)

ArtistsNetwork.com 13

Creativity Workshop the results will be reflected in your work—and not in a good way. Don’t take on too much at one time or commit to deadlines that you know will add unecessary stress and pressure to your life. Approach painting, and your art career, in a way that suits your lifestyle. Be honest with yourself about what you can (and can’t) do. Set realistic goals and prioritize.

TRY SOMETHING NEW Take a break from your regular routine and paint something completely different every now and then. For me, this usually means creating abstracts, trying out products I haven’t worked with before or intentionally selecting colors I would normally avoid. This element of adventure always takes me right back to the beginning of my art career when everything was new and

14 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

exciting. The heady feeling of not knowing what might happen stays with me when I return to more familiar ways of working, and I often gain knowledge that can be applied to my new compositions.

BE SELFISH Set a period of time during which you slow down and paint something for yourself, just because you want to. It doesn’t matter what the subject is or which medium you use—just as long as it’s something you look forward to painting.

Make yourself finish the piece within a predetermined time limit. That way you’ll feel like you’ve achieved something, even if you only painted for 30 minutes. After all, any time spent painting to get your motivation back is better than not painting at all.

STAY CONNECTED Even if you genuinely don’t feel like painting, that doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying art. There are so many ways to stay connected with your craft, whether looking at artrelated sites online or visiting art galleries and museums.

Take some time to study the Old Masters, or explore what’s

OPPOSITE Hypnotic (watercolor on paper, 15x11) BELOW LEFT Water Lilies (watercolor on paper, 15x11) BELOW RIGHT Whispering Wisteria (watercolor on paper, 23x15)

new in the art world. Learn how other artists create and let their passion reignite your own. You’ll begin to feel frustrated again, not about a lack of motivation but about not having enough time to paint.

GO EASY ON YOURSELF So many of us are guilty of putting everyone and everything else in front of our own needs. It took me years to realize that I have choices. If I’m too busy or too tired to create, there’s only one person responsible— myself. Never feel guilty about how or when you pick up your brush, but try to find a way to paint so that each creative session is quality time spent achieving results you can feel proud of. I emphasize the word “you” for a reason. Your time matters. Your well-being matters. You matter. WA See more of Jean Haines’ work at jeanhaines.com or visit her online art school at watercolourinspiration.com.

Try this at home WRITE AN ADVICE COLUMN FOR OTHER ARTISTS. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change my career in any way, shape or form. I love what I do and am so passionate about painting that I wake each day eager to start creating in my studio.

I try to follow my own advice and keep my enthusiasm high, always. This positive attitude has flowed into every aspect of my life. It even prompted me to write two books on the subject: Paint Yourself Calm (Search Press, 2016) and Paint Yourself Positive (Search Press, 2019). Those projects were a huge leap of faith for me, but they’ve found their way to many readers.

Now imagine that you have to write a column offering other artists tips on how to stay motivated. What would your most valuable advice be? Then listen to yourself and follow your own advice.

Jean Haines Online Art School

watercolourinspiration.com International Best Selling Author and Artist, Jean Haines’ unique way of teaching has seen her successful International Workshops and Tours consistently sell out well in advance. Now you too can learn from one of the worlds’ most sought after art teachers. Be amazed at the original artwork you can create as a result of her fascinating tutorials, in this dynamic online learning center.

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Monthly: $19.99 $17.99 ) (code WATERCOLOR-ARTIST Annual: $199.99 $179.99 -M) (code WATERCOLOR-ARTIST Jean’s motivational books are available through Search Press, from leading art stores, book stores and Amazon.com

Follow Jean’s exhibitions and art events on her website

www.jeanhaines.com ArtistsNetwork.com 15

Painting the Moment THE ESSENCE OF RACHAEL GRIMM’S WORK LIES IN CAPTURING PASSING MOMENTS.

by Michael Chesley Johnson 18 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

achael Grimm grew up in a village outside of Liverpool, in England. She lost her mother when she was 12. Her father, despite having to raise the family on his own, made time to support her artistic interests by providing her with an abundance of art materials. An avid drawer, young Rachael enjoyed copying illustrations from books and creating imagined portraits of the characters. Today, as a mother of three, she continues the tradition with her youngest daughter.

Despite her early leaning toward art, Grimm chose to study English literature and art history when she attended the University of Glasgow. At the time, she felt an academic degree would be more useful but hoped to paint in her spare time.

One year, she became an exchange student at the University of Toronto, where she met her future husband, Stephen, who is American. During her final year at Glasgow, the couple became engaged and, after graduation, moved to New York.

Eager to to get back to making art, she enrolled in figure classes at the Art Students League of New York, where she finally realized she wanted to be a professional artist. But a series of life events, including raising a family and a move to Indiana so her husband could work on his doctorate, put those ambitions on hold for a while. It wasn’t until they moved to Providence, R.I., where Grimm took her first watercolor class at the Rhode Island School of Design, that she found her path back to art. Although she thought the medium difficult, she fell in love with it. “I liked the way it felt, and I knew I would come to grips with it one day.”

In 2008 the family moved back to New York, to a beachside town in Westchester County. With her youngest daughter in kindergarten, Grimm suddenly found herself with a lot more free time. She converted a spare bedroom into a studio and started enjoying the benefits of the local art community.

Since then, she has been showing, selling and winning awards with organizations such as the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society and Allied Artists of America. As an adjunct instuctor at Fordham University, she teaches a course on watercolor techniques, where she’s also preparing to teach the class online. “My studio has become a space for recording video demos and Zoom sessions. I’ve learned some very useful skills, and it has helped me to be more articulate about the skills I teach,” Grimm says.

R

A Comfortable Studio Bridge Street, City Island, The Bronx (watercolor, 15x18½)

Grimm’s studio occupies the middle story of her three-story house. “In this room I can be as tidy or messy as I like. When I’m there, I immediately go into an artist’s frame of mind. With three teenagers in the house, I often have my ‘mom hat’ on, but in my studio, I can just be an artist.”

Windows placed south and east bathe the studio in sunshine all day. So much light, though, can ArtistsNetwork.com 19

be a detriment. “Sometimes it’s too bright for me to see color accurately,” she says, but good paper blinds filter out the bright light as needed.

“I always paint during the daytime, usually in the morning, so I never need artificial light.” If she’s painting a portrait or a still life, she closes blinds on all but the east window for a more dramatic, less diffused light.

Tools: Paper, Brushes and More Grimm’s main work surface is a drawing board that rests on a John

Boos work table, which has a butcher-block surface, plus a shelf beneath for storage. Besides the drawing board, the table hosts a John Pyke palette with a large, rectangular mixing area edged by a number of wells for color, a roll of watercolor brushes and other miscellaneous tools. For portraits or still lifes, she prefers a large, upright studio easel, and for painting outdoors, a Winsor & Newton aluminum watercolor field easel.

Like many watercolorists, Grimm is a fan of Arches paper, noting that it can take a beating and is a pleasure to work on. “When I’m teaching, I use student-grade paper because of the expense. As a result, I appreciate the better paper even more when I get back to using it for my own work,” she says. She tells students that if they become serious about watercolor, they should use the best quality

OPPOSITE At the Breakfast Table (watercolor, 19x13) BELOW Homework on the Porch (watercolor, 16x23)

“WHEN I’M FOLLOWING MY OWN RULES AND TRYING TO BE AS THOUGHTFUL AS I CAN WITH MY BRUSHSTROKES, THINGS JUST SEEM TO FALL INTO PLACE.” – R AC H A E L G R I M M

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CULTIVATING CREATIVITY Since moving to Larchmont, NY, Grimm has become interested in gardening.

Daydreaming in the winter about what she will plant in the spring is, to her, akin to painting.

“Creating a garden is a lot like composing a painting in that you have to think about structure, color and variety. Tending to it and helping it thrive is also a great complement to my time spent painting in the studio—just when I’m getting frustrated with a tricky painting, I can walk out into my back yard and lose myself in flowers,” says the artist. It’s a welcome change, and a welcome enrichment for her art, as well.

paper they can afford. “Using good paper takes a lot of the frustration out of watercolor painting, and the finished painting is always better.”

Although Grimm may experiment with unusual formats, she usually starts off with 22x30 sheets of 140- or 300-lb.

Arches bright white paper, or 18x24, 140-lb. paper blocks.

(She prefers cold-pressed paper.) She has a large roll of 156-lb. Arches paper for larger paintings, but she’s reluctant to use it because it must be stretched beforehand.

While she prefers professional-grade Winsor & Newton watercolors, Grimm uses other brands as well. “But I find Winsor & Newton paints are reliable. It’s important to know that my paintings will look the same years from now, and I know this paint will hold up,” says the artist.

Grimm considers brushes to be some of her most important tools.

Her inventory includes two Isabey Siberian blue squirrel quill mop brushes (Nos. 12 and 8) that have held up for years. She has a 1¾-inch Ron Ranson goat hair hake brush from Pro Arte that she finds useful for large washes.

Recently, she has fallen in love with inexpensive, long-handled Chinese calligraphy brushes. “They hold lots of paint, and they keep their points. I put these to use more often than my sable brushes,” Grimm says. The most fun brush she owns is also one of the least expensive, a synthetic sword liner by Pro Arte. “My students love to play around with it, and it’s my secret weapon for painting trees,” she says.

Letting Watercolor Do Its Thing Grimm finds inspiration in simple, everyday things and the mood of a passing moment. Beach houses, hydrangeas and village streets are all subjects that occupy her paintings— as do people. “I love to paint my family going about their daily lives and places that I know well,” Grimm says. “The years are flying by so quickly.”

She often paints landscapes from reference photos, at times pasting several together to get the right effect.

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She prints the photos in black-and-white and, before starting a painting, often makes a color study based on these and notes from her sketches. Her still lifes start from life, but if she can’t finish a painting in a few hours, she’ll take a photo and work from that.

Even before putting brush to paper, Grimm spends a great deal of time exploring ideas in a series of thumbnail sketches, often while resting on her studio couch. “If the composition isn’t right, no amount of good painting will make the piece work,” she says. Still, she doesn’t shy away from changing horses in mid-stream. “If I’m in the middle of painting and something doesn’t look right, I’ll use a viewfinder to play around with cropping.” She did this with her painting King’s Parade, Cambridge (left), which was originally twice as wide.

Grimm considers color and tonal values to be just as important as design. “Beyond subject matter, capturing the quality of light is a powerful way to express the mood of a passing moment,” she says. Particularly poignant to her is the mood evoked by twilight, which she depicts in her painting The Beach is Closed (opposite), a piece inspired by an evening with her children at the beach. To create these expressive effects, she often starts a painting with loose washes of paint, letting watercolor “do its thing.” These first layers, which contain only a tiny amount of pigment, are either flat or graded washes.

She often covers the whole sheet with these first washes so that Grimm used a viewfinder as an aid to adjust the they’ll shine through later layers, cropping in King’s unifying the whole.

Parade, Cambridge Preferring not to use masking (18x6½), which was fluid, Grimm avoids areas she originally twice as large. wants to keep as her lightest value. If they’re small areas, like highlights on leaves, she scribbles over them with a wax resist crayon to preserve them. “I’ve tried to do this with masking fluid, but have found that wax resist works best for my purposes,” she says. The wax stays on the paper, becoming part of the painting. Also, though she tends to work in layers from light to dark, sometimes she has a feature that needs to be established early on, such as figures.

Once these washes dry, she lightly sketches in shapes with a Derwent 2B pencil. But rather than form a detailed drawing, the lines serve as boundaries. “They’re there to let me know where the paint can and can’t go.” Then she dives in happily with big brushes, swirling around color, developing a sense of movement. Generally, she puts warm tones in the light areas and cool tones in shadows, pushing the contrast to convey mood. Sometimes, she drops paint right into the wet wash, as in the area of grasses in Early Evening, Block Island (page 24).

As she moves to darker layers, the painting starts to resemble her original vision. She then adds more detail, as necessary, with smaller brushes. Finally, she runs a dry brush with just a touch of paint over areas to enhance the feeling of texture.

Like many artists, Grimm struggles to remember to stop when she’s ahead. “I’ve ruined more paintings than I care to admit through overworking them,” she says. “When I’m

“IF THE FULL RANGE OF VALUES IS THERE, ALL IT TAKES ARE A FEW FINISHING TOUCHES, AND THEN I CAN PUT DOWN MY BRUSH.” – R AC H A E L G R I M M

ABOVE The Beach is Closed (watercolor, 18x25) LEFT Late Afternoon at the Beach (watercolor, 18x25)

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following my own rules and trying to be as thoughtful as I can with my brushstrokes, things just seem to fall into place. If the full range of values is there, all it takes are a few finishing touches, and then I can put down my brush.

This is easier said than done. The good news, however, is that I do learn from these experiences, and I do my best paintings—often quite quickly—after I have spent hours laboring over a bad one.”

An Alternate Medium Besides watercolor, Grimm also works in charcoal. She finds it therapeutic to switch between the two. “For everything to go right for me in a watercolor painting, I really have to be

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focused. Even after years of practice, I still sometimes feel frustrated,” she says. For a break, she turns to more easily controlled charcoal. “I can just keep erasing and adjusting until it’s right.” She notes that one medium informs the other. In charcoal, she works from light to dark, with her lightest lights being the white of the paper, and just as she does in watercolor, she uses the full range of tonal values. “The first stages of a charcoal piece are similar to my initial washes

OPPOSITE TOP Winter Flowers (charcoal, 15x23) OPPOSITE BOTTOM Winter Flowers (watercolor, 17x21) BELOW Early Evening, Block Island (watercolor, 15½x18)

Meet the Artist

Rachael Grimm (rachaelgrimm.com) is an award-winning watercolor artist who grew up in the northwest of England and moved to the U.S. in 1996.

She trained at the Art Students League in New York from 1996–2000, specializing in figure painting in oil.

In addition to watercolor, Rachael loves to use charcoal. Sketching from life has always been an important part of her art practice. She attends life-drawing sessions at the Spring Street Studio in New York and sketches and paints outdoors regularly.

Her paintings are in numerous private collections both in the U.S. and overseas, and one of her portraits is permanently installed in the main library at Fordham University.

in watercolor. Instead of paint, though, I grind up charcoal to a fine powder, spread it over my paper and rub it in until it’s the correct value,” she says. Then, using willow sticks of different widths, she builds up layers of charcoal, using the tips for details and the sides for broad areas.

As to which medium to choose for a particular subject, Grimm uses charcoal if she’s interested in structure but watercolor if she’s interested in light and color. “I’ve only done a painting and charcoal drawing of the same subject once (see Winter Flowers, above), but the things I chose to highlight in each piece were quite different. I happened to have a jar of old hydrangeas sitting on a table underneath

a window. The way the flowers and glass jar caught the sun made me want to paint them in watercolor. After I finished, I was still interested in the structure of the papery flowers and thought charcoal would be a great way to explore this. So my intention with the charcoal was more about wanting to do a detailed drawing than capturing the effects of light.” WA Michael Chesley Johnson is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society, the Pastel Society of America and the Pastel Society of New Mexico. He’s a long-time contributor to Pastel Journal and Artist’s Magazine.

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NEW WORLD; CLEAR EYES

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DECEMBER 2020

BARONESS HYDE DE NEUVILLE RECORDED THE LANDSCAPE AND INHABITANTS OF THE EARLY 1800s HUDSON RIVER VALLEY WITH AN EQUALLY SHARP EYE AND SOCIAL CONSCIENCE. by C.J. Kent

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s Napoleon’s armies came searching for resisters who sought to reinstate the Bourbon monarchy, Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny; the Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) escaped with her husband on a ferry.

Standing along the deck of the boat slowly moving upstream from her husband’s familial home, La Charité sur Loire, she painted. The watercolor and ink drawing of the lost estate implies a resilience that would hold her in good stead over the years to come. In due course, her husband was arrested for conspiring with enemies of the emperor. When her attempts to disprove the charges failed, in 1805 she pursued the French armies amid raging battles across Germany and Austria, accompanied only by her chambermaid, seeking an audience with Napoleon himself. She pleaded her husband’s cause to whomever would listen, painting as she traveled.

She so impressed Napoleon that he permitted the couple to live exiled in

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TOP TO BOTTOM Studies of Fruit-Bearing Plants: Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina); Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium); Thornapple or Hawthorn (Crataegus species), Genesee, New York 1807–14; watercolor, graphite, black chalk, and brown and black ink on paper; 7¼x13 Studies of Rice (Oryza glaberrima or sativa) and Leaves of the Sessile Bellwort (Uvularia sessiliforlia) 1807–14; watercolor, brown ink, black chalk and graphite on paper; 5¾x8

OPPOSITE Distant View of Albany From the Hudson River, New York 1807; watercolor, brown ink, black chalk and graphite with touches of gouache on paper PREVIOUS SPREAD Break’s Bridge, Palatine, New York 1808; watercolor and graphite with touches of white gouache, black ink and black chalk on paper

“The Baron’s diaries indicate that the couple believed the United States to be a truly classless society, and perhaps that belief dispelled the influence of their aristocratic upbringing and allowed Neuville to see clearly the people she faced.”

the United States. In 1807, the two arrived in New York.

The Baroness’s watercolors provide thoughtful, honest depictions of the new world.

VIEWS OF THE VALLEY Neuville would have used a wooden, hinged-lid pochade box that provided porcelain dishes, paint pots and a drawer to keep brushes and supplies. The quantity of her watercolor paintings indicates she almost always had the box with her.

Drawing with pencil and watercolor was one of the arts instilled in young women of the 18th century, but Neuville seems to have dedicated herself to painting throughout her life, finding time for her avocation in spite of other demands.

The Neuvilles traveled to Niagara Falls during their first year in New York. Admiring the lush landscape of the Hudson River Valley, the Baroness made careful watercolors

long before William Guy Wall made the practice popular among artists with his Hudson River Portfolio, featuring hand-colored aquatints, the plates of which were produced from 1821 to 1825. Educated with the Enlightenment’s deference to the natural world, Neuville’s botanicals are beautiful studies of the new varieties of flora that she encountered (see the botanical studies on the opposite page). She valued fruit-bearing plants as much as simple geranium flowers or the trunk of a fallen tree. Her landscapes are reminders of the densely vegetated land dotted with distantly spaced towns that made up the Eastern seaboard at the time (see Distant View of Albany from the Hudson River, New York; below).

Impressed by the engineering feats of the Hudson River Valley’s settlers, Neuville also painted bridges, fences and buildings (see Break’s Bridge, Palatine, New York; pages 26–27). The American wilderness was daunting, and

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the drive to establish trade, commerce and Old World ways of life demanded industriousness. European visitors were often intrigued with the ways people found to overcome wild rivers and mountain chasms.

DIVERSITY PORTRAYED While traveling, Neuville encountered individuals from various tribes and countries, including other émigrés from France. The Baron’s diaries indicate that the couple believed the United States to be a truly classless society, and perhaps that belief dispelled the influence of their aristocratic upbringing and allowed Neuville to see clearly the people she faced. Her watercolors are some of the first

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ethnographically correct images of the Native peoples, many of whom agreed to sit for her. She met representatives of the Oneida, Mohawk and Seneca tribes, and always identified her sitters by name and title. For example, the name of the painting Peter of Buffalo, Tonawanda, New York (below) identifies a site on the Seneca Reservation. Peter was likely a Seneca tribesman, as evidenced by his lengthened earlobes and earrings, and recognizing his home was a sign of respect. His clothing and accessories,

Peter of Buffalo, Tonawanda, New York 1807; watercolor, graphite, black chalk and brown and black ink with touches of gouache on paper

Martha Church, Cook in “Ordinary” Costume 1808–10; watercolor, graphite, black chalk, brown and black ink and touches of white gouache on paper

however, indicate a life partly influenced by the settlers. His undershirt and gartered leggings are European, but his fur and tools—a trade ax known as a “halberd tomahawk,” a knife, a powder horn and a string of wampum—are attributes of his tribe’s way of life.

Neuville’s works include formal portraits as well as depictions of people working, sitting, reading, writing and painting. A portrait of artist Louis Simond (1767–1831), with a palette to denote his vocation, honors her mentor; however, the artist was respectful of all her subjects, regardless of their social or vocational standing. There’s a sense of stillness about these portraits, yet Neuville captured her sitter’s attitude and personality. Her painting Martha Church, Cook in “Ordinary” Costume (left), depicts a woman wearing her workaday clothes and looking as if she’s ready to return to her duties in the kitchen. There’s a similar sense of restlessness in Young Girl in Full or Fancy Dress, (page 32).

Neuville’s interest in people was indefatigable, and her watercolors, delicate and sincere, suggest that she was a woman who, unlike many of her day, felt comfortable in all company and knew how to make others feel comfortable, too.

“Neuville’s interest in people was indefatigable, and her watercolors ... suggest that she was a woman who, unlike many of her day, felt comfortable in all company and knew how to make others feel comfortable, too.”

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SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND ACUTE CURIOSITY “Neuville’s works offer a poignant reminder of watercolor’s important role before the invention of photography.”

After the Hudson tour, the Neuvilles settled in New York City, where they found an active French community.

The artist’s watercolors of the city during that period provide a vivid sense of the street life, the nature of the neighborhoods and the diversity of the population. She became actively involved in the Economical School, an organization founded to provide basic lessons to fugitives from the West Indies and other French emigrants. Drawing was part of the curriculum as it advanced one’s observation of the world. The school was also a place that cared for poverty-stricken children, both boys and girls. In fact, Neuville was an avid proponent for gender equality, even expressing her desire to see “an American Lady elected President” in 1818, when she was in the country’s new capital of Washington, D.C. In 1814, with the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, Neuville and her husband returned to France but traveled again to the United States in June 1816. They endured a 29-day stormy crossing so that the Baron could assume diplomatic duties in Washington, D.C. as minister plenipotentiary. Neuville’s watercolors aboard the Amigo Protector reveal her fascination with nature and utter lack of squeamishness. Her painting Study of Two Sea Creatures (Aboard the “Amigo Protector”), opposite, of two organisms crawling over one another reveals an open curiosity. Once in D.C., her husband’s duties required that Neuville turn much of her attention to the hosting of political dinner parties and gatherings, but she still found time to paint the growing town and its visitors.

INVALUABLE RESOURCE

Young Girl in Full or Fancy Dress 1809–15; watercolor, graphite and black chalk with touches of brown and black ink and red gouache on paper

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Neuville’s works offer a poignant reminder of watercolor’s important role before the invention of photography. This was the medium used to capture daily life. Watercolors offered the speed that allowed busy people to agree to sit for a portrait, but it’s in the care of the strokes that the

Learn More This article is based on works presented in the New-York Historical Society’s 2019–2020 exhibition Artist in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville.

Learn more at bit.ly/ neuville-exhibition.

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Study of Two Sea Creatures (Aboard the “Amigo Protector”) watercolor, black chalk, brown ink and graphite with a touch of gouache on paper; 5⅜x7⅛

painter’s attitude toward her subject becomes evident. Neuville, for all her wealth and bearing, shows an equal interest in the lives of all men and women that asks us to reconsider our historical imagination. She used paint with a fair and equalizing eye to celebrate who and what she encountered in her life. These simple images, many of which are in the collection of the New-York Historical Society, invite artists today to reconsider the advantages of watercolor painting. If a Baroness could do it aboard ships on stormy seas and as a dignified political guest in a foreign nation, what new insights might a watercolor artist bring to the world today? WA C.J. Kent is a freelance writer and editor, as well as a professor at Montclair State University. She also founded Script and Type (scriptandtype.com), which helps people express themselves effectively in writing and in person.

Self-Portrait 1800–10; black chalk, black ink and wash, graphite and Conté crayon on paper

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SOJOURN TO

ITALY Four watercolorists heed the call to a country beloved by artists—and each has a unique creative response.

BY COURTNEY JORDAN The scenic beauty and rich culture of Italy have called to artists for centuries. The country’s historic cities and idyllic countryside, its famed architecture and museums, its hidden side streets—each of these features is alluring in its own way. Each overflows with inspiration for visiting artists.

Here we feature four watercolor painters who have found an artistic connection to Italy.

They take the country’s sights as their muse, although each artist interprets those sights in a different way. Peter Carey opts for a variety of styles in his depictions of the Italian cityscape; David R. Smith spends much of his time gathering the bellissima of Italian cities through his camera lens; Anne McCartney embraces a new interpretation of the country every time she visits; and Tim Wilmot celebrates the plein air paradise of Italy while keeping his paintings grounded in reality.

Though you may not be booking international travel at present, the visual interpretation and storytelling that this quartet of artists share is armchair traveling at its best—a virtual holiday for the present and inspiration for future visits.

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PETER CAREY AN ARTIST ’S WONDERLAND ITALY’S CITIES and all the history they contain call to Peter

Carey (petercareypaintings.com) most of all. “The churches and monuments, galleries, cafés and city lifestyle are what appeal to me,” says Carey. “You can turn a corner in Rome and see something built 2,000 years ago. Likewise, in Florence, you can see buildings that the Medici commissioned. To me, as a photographer and painter, Italian cities are my Disneyland.”

But bombast and magical whimsy don’t drive the artist’s work. Carey’s art is quite factual and unsentimental, slices of life that he presents ‘as is.’ “That’s an extension of my personality,” he says. “I had eight years of English private schools, and they purged sentimentality out of me. I fell into a style of painting that worked for me, and it happened to be a factual or realistic style. All my paintings have meaning or sentiment for me. I just hope that others can connect. Sometimes that’s just luck.”

Carey’s depictions of the plaza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica (see St. Peters Square, above) and the nearly 450-yearold Gallery of Maps (see Gallery of Maps, opposite) are

a refreshing change from the postcard or souvenir images of these famous cultural landmarks in Vatican City. The process to arrive at these deliberately unromanticized works is not one that happens on site. When in Italy, Carey paints from a small, portable watercolor set, but usually in hotel rooms from photos, as he’s not primarily a plein air painter. Most often, though, he takes what he has seen in Italy back to his home studio in California to be worked into watercolor creations.

For Gallery of Maps, Carey started with a reference photo he’d shot that captures a quiet moment at the Vatican museum. “Early morning is the only time of day when the site isn’t guaranteed to be flooded with crowds,” he says. He combined several references: photos he took coupled with images he sourced from the internet of the ceiling paintings. The two priests in the painting aren’t in any of the reference images of the Vatican. “I took that

photo in Santa Maria del Popolo and dropped the priests into the Gallery of Maps,” says Carey. “Artistic license!”

Carey goes on to note, “It took me several months and hundreds of hours to paint Gallery of Maps, but the colors were so saturated, I didn’t get bored. The yellow of the ceiling comes from the artificial light, and the blue light on the floor comes from the natural light of the windows.”

St. Peter’s Square is the result of a photo taken after a walk to the top of the dome of St. Peter’s—something few people know they can do. “My wife and I have climbed to the top several times,” says the Carey. “Often you can’t see the hills in the distance, but one day the air was beautifully clear. Most of the landmarks are in the right places.

I may have moved some apartment buildings around. The wonderful thing is that now I appreciate this part of Rome much more for having painted it.”

ABOVE LEFT Saint Peter’s Square (watercolor on illustration board, 12x20) ABOVE RIGHT Gallery of Maps (watercolor on illustration board, 22x14)

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DAVID R. SMITH DEFINITELY NOT MINNESOTA

THIRTY YEARS AGO David R. Smith (dsmithfineart.com)

and his brother were treated by their grandmother to a tour of Italy organized through a local art guild. “It was a two-week whirlwind of ancient architecture and art to be enjoyed along with the busy cities and beautiful hill towns,” says Smith. “The experience inspired me artistically and fueled my desire to explore more of Italy and the world; however, what struck me most on my first trip was that Italians didn’t have screens on their windows! If I did that in Minnesota, the mosquitos would fly in and carry me off.”

In 2012, Smith decided to take his watercolor painting more seriously and embarked on a nine-week European

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trek—passing through Italy three times. This experience set the tone for how he would approach all the visits he would make to Italy thereafter: with camera to eye, ready to capture all the paint-worthy scenes that came into view.

“I was after the countless subjects that could be turned into attractive watercolors—ancient Roman ruins decorated with timeworn statues, vistas of couples walking through narrow alleyways, ports with colorful boats against a backdrop of majestic mountains. My trigger finger became numb from the almost nonstop clicking of the camera shutter.”

The result was a treasure trove of photos and inspirational memories for the artist. Using those photos, Smith

Lamentation (watercolor on paper, 22x30)

ABOVE Lights of Florence (watercolor on paper, 22x30) OPPOSITE Shower of Light (watercolor on paper, 22x30)

has painted more scenes of Italy than of any other country, but he looks forward to capturing those scenes in person as well. “I do feel a little intimidated by the long list of exceptional artists who have painted there before me,” he says, “however, I’m definitely in Italy to view and interpret the country on my own terms.”

As Smith explores with his camera, he’s constantly on the lookout for compositional elements that will allow him to develop a striking painting. Among these he cites “strong shapes with interesting action lines, such as those of ancient cathedrals with spires adorned with statues; the different moods created by light and shadow, with light streaming through high windows or cast across a dramatic sculpture; and the interesting juxtaposition of tourists and taxis against ancient architecture.”

What Smith doesn’t mention, perhaps because it’s intrinsic to his process, is color, yet color holds much visual power in his work. Paintings like Shower of Light (opposite) feature architecture that seems to be built not of marble and stone but of prismatic color. The statuary in Lamentation (above) is bathed in stained-glass color.

When I commented to Smith on his use of color, he said, “This reminds me of other comments I’ve heard: ‘Is that a watercolor? I didn’t know watercolor could have such strong color.’ As one of my first watercolor instructors, Gordon MacKenzie, said, ‘To have professional results, you need to use lots of pigment and a big brush.’ I also attribute the clean colors to my letting them mix on the paper.”

Smith showcases several styles in his Italian paintings. Some works, such as Lights of Florence (left), are full of high drama; others show more of a slice-oflife. “Working watercolor wet-into-wet, one finds it has a life of its own and rewards the artist with unique textures and an intermingling of colors,” says Smith. “One reason for my variety in style and subject is that I paint, in part, to learn more about this versatile medium and what I’m capable of producing. The more I learn, the more I can share. In my pursuit of becoming the best artist and teacher I can be, I stay open to the journey of discovery.”

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ANNE McCARTNEY LAND OF MEMORABLE MOMENTS ANNE MCCARTNEY (mccartneyartworks.com) possesses

a relationship with Italy built on the power of fond memories and observed moments accumulated over the course of a lifetime. Having visited Italy as a child, a student and a parent with her own children, McCartney’s connection to the places and people of Italy are born anew with every trip. “My visits were far apart, and I was at different stages of my life each time,” she says. “I experienced it for the first time, each time.”

A general sense of wonder and joy underlies most of McCartney’s recollections of Italy, although she says that

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most of the memories are mere “snatches of moments— seeing Michelangelo’s David for the first time, the awe of the Sistine Chapel, the deliciousness of gelato …” That sense of the momentary extends to her work as a visual artist.

“When I paint people, I want them to be relatable, to have a narrative. In Italy, people enjoy being in the streets, in the cafés and just out in the piazza visiting with friends and catching up,” says McCartney. She showcases that social spirit in her painting Problem Solving (opposite).

“People walk to their destinations, so there are many more people out and about. It makes it easy to capture moments of ordinary people going about their lives and then create paintings from those moments.”

The painting An Admirer (left) was developed in just such a way. McCartney, visiting the antiquities in the Vatican Museum, spotted another sightseer taking advantage of a rare moment in a quiet and empty gallery hall to closely observe marble sculptures along the wall.

“I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking as he contemplated these works of art,” she says. “I thought that his admiration and contemplation would make a wonderful narrative. I liked the idea of creating a new piece of art from someone appreLEFT ciating something ancient An Admirer and historic.” (watercolor on When McCartney elects paper, 29x22) to paint architecture, she OPPOSITE comes at it differently, Problem Solving sidelining the human ele(watercolor on ment so it doesn’t become paper, 22x15) the focal point. “I paint figures without faces and abstract the body so that it becomes secondary to the building,” she says. In that way the architecture of the Italian cityscape—the “old souls,” as McCartney calls them—can claim the lion’s share of a viewer’s attention. The results are uniquely still moments around a city’s celebrated architectural features that usually brim over with sightseers and visitors. “Italy is very much about the hustle and bustle of tourism,” says McCartney, “but there are opportunities for serenity, moments when you can find yourself alone and able to contemplate the beauty around you. To be intimate with your surroundings is very much a luxury.”

TIM WILMOT

Washing Line, Livorno (watercolor on paper, 103⁄5x15

BACK ROAD GETAWAYS ITALY IS REVERED for its countryside and its cityscapes,

but one of those prospects calls to artist Tim Wilmot (timwilmot.com) more: “The countryside. Definitely,” says Wilmot. “Although a lot of my paintings are street scenes slightly off the beaten track, it’s getting away from the city centers along ordinary streets that I’m attracted to—authentic, ordinary backstreets, little coastal scenes, harbors. There’s a real charm to them.” His preference for these off-the-beaten-path places dates back to his first experience in Italy some 35 years ago during a summer conference in Sorrento, near Naples. He took time to roam the less popular areas of the city, exploring on his own.

As a plein air painter, Wilmot describes the opportunity to work outside in Italy as “a brilliant experience—the ultimate for painting.” He explains, “I love being outdoors and I love painting. Italy offers a great combination of the two. The climate definitely helps. Living in the U.K., we often think of places like Italy as nice to go to in the summer for a little bit of sun and a different climate.”

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Whether painting outdoors or in the studio, Wilmot sticks to the same palette of warm colors for his Italy-based body of work, often featuring reds against cool blue skies, strong sunlight and cypress or palm trees. “The ochres are very important,” he says. “I don’t have a wide palette. I stick to nine or 10 main colors: burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cobalt green, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, a light red, a bright red, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow—a combination of those is everything I need.”

During his visits to Italy, made roughly once a year, Wilmot has found a living culture of support for artists, as opposed to solely historic interests. “Painting is highly regarded in Italy, a creative pastime worth following. I’ve recently given workshops online with attendees from Italy numbering as many as 60 to 70 people.”

When asked what impact Italian art history has on his own work, Wilmot replies emphatically, “None whatsoever.

I live for the now.” As a result, the artist doesn’t put Italy on a pedestal. Paintings such as Washing Line (above),

TOP TO BOTTOM Livorno Canal Corner (watercolor on paper, 103⁄5x15) Fivizzano No. 1 (watercolor on paper, 103⁄5x15)

Livorno Canal Corner (left) and Fivizzano No. 1 (below) show unglamorous street scenes and humble dwellings, anonymous corners of everyday places. Nevertheless, the main characters of Wilmot’s Italian works aren’t the street signs, lamp posts and clotheslines he often depicts. “It’s the shadows.” says Willmot. “Ordinary objects casting interesting shadows across buildings.”

He goes on to explain, “The attraction to me is finding something that’s ordinary and trying to make a statement about it, to find something artistic about it. Definitely, the ordinary is my key thing, but the scenes are romantic to me—I love them all.” WA Courtney Jordan is a freelance fine arts writer who makes her home in New York City.

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Bright Ideas

Bring the Essence N of Plein Air Indoors Recreating elements of plein air while painting at home or in the studio can lead to some unexpected and exciting places along the artistic journey.

By Sagnik Biswas

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othing beats the fun and excitement of painting en plein air.

The feeling of warm sunlight on your shoulders, a cool breeze brushing your face or the real-life drama unfolding right before you can all make for useful and unforgettable learning experiences along your art journey.

There are also times, however, when factors such as inclement weather or health issues may force you into the conďŹ nes of your home or studio. At those times, rather than feeling like you’re missing out on the adventure of the great outdoors, you can try to make those indoor sessions just as exciting. After all, there can be just as

for successful watercolors—becomes mandatory. Use three values at the most—light, mid and dark. Do the big shapes first and add the details later, if at all.

UNPREDICTABILITY Most outside subjects are fleeting.

They change faster than you can blink, forcing artists to make a quick mind sketch to get the basic shapes, values and perspective right. You can try that same thing at home. Don’t prop up a photo at the corner of your easel and paint from it. Instead, remove it and try to paint from your impression of the subject. Feel free to invoke your artistic license. That way you can paint your ideas and not just what’s in front of you. In any case, for painting in a loose impressionistic style, it’s seldom a good idea to paint directly from a photograph or to compare your finished painting with one.

If the painting conveys your feelings to your audience, you have a reason to celebrate.

PALETTE

Larger and more detailed paintings like Parallel Lives (opposite, 16x22) or Are You in the Queue? (above, 18x14) are typical studio pieces that require several days of planning and execution.

many challenges and surprises to deal with when you’re painting inside.

When I paint indoors, away from prying eyes, criticism and other distractions, I’m able to immerse myself in the search for meaningful expression. I come to a better understanding of my inner psyche and I indulge in experiments of all kinds.

Mistakes and misadventures take on different meanings and become important lessons as I paint, not for an outside audience but for myself.

When I find myself unable to do plein air work, I like to borrow the most important elements of a plein air experience and bring it inside.

TIME At the outset, you can set a time to finish the painting, pushing yourself into “speed painting.” This is something you’re naturally forced to do when painting outside, where a leisurely pace—due to changing light and conditions—is rarely an option.

Painting in this time-limited manner provides good practice with capturing the essentials of a subject quickly.

Simplification—an important quality

Over the years, you may have built up your palette with so many paints that it has become too heavy to lug around. In that case you’ve probably developed a substantially lighter “pocket palette” with just a few musthave pigments and brushes that can be easily carried around for plein air work. Why not use it indoors every once in a while? It provides excellent practice in trying out a limited palette. You’ll also get experience mixing various grays, achieving color harmony will become easier, and your paintings will look bright and fresh.

PAPER When doing plein air work, most artists gravitate toward an A5 sketchbook or smaller watercolor blocks while the half-sheets and full-sheets are typically kept aside for studio work. Trying out a smaller size of paper when working at home will help to bring that “plein air” feel into your work. It will automatically require you to cut out a lot of clutter from your work, leaving only the essentials to deal with—the main substance of your painting.

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Bright Ideas

Plein Air-Like Sketches Plein air-like sketches are those that capture the essentials of a subject quickly but are created indoors. Such fast and impressionistic sketches will always have their own charm and identity. None of the examples shown here, along with source photography, took more than 30 minutes to complete.

LEFT TO RIGHT Lunchtime, 5x8 Mountain Hut, 8x10 Narrow Street, 8x5

SPACE Most artists have a place to paint at home—a “favorite corner.” Be it the studio overlooking the garden or that quiet niche under the staircase—it’s the place where you feel your creativity starts flowing. Now let’s challenge that concept. While painting outside, you don’t mind sitting on the pavement or propping your easel on a light post. Try this at home, too—move out of that cozy corner and find a different place to paint. In doing so, change your usual painting posture, too. Those most comfortable painting while sitting should try a standing pose, or vice versa. And don’t use the easel; try something else to prop up that block or sketch pad. This whole exercise is a lot like braving the unknown; you’ll be forced to ignore the other elements

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and focus all of your energy and concentration on the job at hand—the watercolor. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the result.

SUBJECTS Finally, try painting something you’re not familiar with. After all, while outdoors, you don’t always have an option of picking the perfect subject.

So chuck that portrait in favor of a landscape, or ditch that marine scene for a floral. That carefully arranged still life can easily wait a day or two.

Diversifying the subjects you paint will enrich your artistic vocabulary and boost your confidence.

As with outdoor painting, there are potential subjects in every nook and corner of your home just waiting to be

Forgo your cozy corner at home and imagine you’re standing on a street corner or in an open field. Make yourself uncomfortable. Try to make do with whatever you have available and focus only on the painting.

My limited toolkit: Ideally, you should be able to carry your entire toolkit in your hands and still be able to paint.

explored. And like painting en plein air, taking on a new challenge can help us hone our skills. So make the most of the next rainy day and try some indoor painting—the plein air way. WA Sagnik Biswas (paintpaperbrush.com) is almost entirely self-taught. The Mumbai artist’s style can be best described as representational, sometimes bordering on impressionism and sometimes borrowing from realistic abstraction. His paintings are like visual travelogues telling stories of the people and places he has been inspired to paint. Biswas’ work has been part of exhibitions with the National Watercolor Society and the Bombay Art Society, and his painting, Bell Tower, Dubrovnik, was published in Splash 20: The Best of Watercolor (North Light, 2019).

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Self, 2016 (watercolor on paper, 12x9)

CLARITY IN THE ABSTRACT For years Nick Runge helped other artists tell their stories.

Now, he’s telling his own.

By Michael Woodson 46 Watercolor artist |

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o some extent, it might seem that Nick Runge was fated to be an artist. The impulse runs rather heavily in the family gene pool. “I grew up in a creative family,” he says, speaking from his studio in Glendale, Calif., located just a short stroll from his apartment. “My dad is an artist and painter who taught college art for many years when I was growing up. My mom is a graphic designer, and my brother is also a painter. It’s kind of hard to escape that pull to art.”

Throughout his upbringing and especially over the last 17 years, Runge’s exposure to the art world has been diverse, and his experiences occasionally formidable but ultimately fulfilling. The path eventually led him to watercolor—a medium that challenges and satisfies him—and to a style that suggests something that goes well beyond the brushstrokes.

T

FINDING HIS VOICE

Runge grew up in Fort Collins, Colo., and, in 2003, he was prepared to follow in the footsteps of his creative parents.

“I was going to go to college and pursue the same thing my parents did,” he says. All of that changed, however, when a working comic book writer moved to town and left his business card at a gallery where Runge was showing his art.

“He was working in comics and was really famous,” Runge says. “I’d always read and loved comic books and wanted to be a comic book artist,” Runge says. “The writer was really blunt. He said things like, ‘This is how fast it has to be done; this is the level at which it has to be done. Do you want to try it out?’ And naively I was like, ‘Yes, of course!’ ” The next five years were a trial by fire for Runge. He traveled to San Diego to attend Comic-Con, meeting other writers and artists, walking the floor and dropping off his portfolio at table after table. The hustle had him working consistently on projects, most of which were comic book covers rather than the inside panels. The work offered Runge practical training in creating illustrations, building structure, meeting deadlines, satisfying clients and telling a story. “The thing about illustration that I still find really fun and amazing is that you get to take someone’s idea and bring joy to it, and that’s where I got the joy, too,” he says.

At some point, though, the artist began to feel the gap between fulfilling someone else’s creative vision and satisfying his own. “I wanted to have more of my own voice as an artist,” he says. It was about this time that Runge started talking to his family about the artists who inspired them. “It was BELOW LEFT kind of a rebirth,” he says, “talking to my Alive (watercolor on paper, 12x9) dad and my brother and my mom, and really thinking about what art means to BELOW RIGHT me personally.”

Music (watercolor on paper, 10x8)

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These conversations opened the door to considering other forms of artistic expression, but it was Runge’s love of film that ended up building the bridge to the next leg of his art journey. “With film, it’s about telling a story,” he says. “But for the cinematographer, the focus is on the subtle color palettes and the subconscious. If you take a still frame of a movie, it might not tell you any story; you might just see it like a photograph.” In this way, Runge came to understand that his favorite films were favorites not so much because of the overall story or plot line but because of individual scenes. “There will be a moment in the film that speaks to me so powerfully—one

that, by itself, may have nothing to do with the larger story,” he explains. This insight redirected the artist’s creative interest from illustration toward more of a fine art sensibility.

WATERCOLOR HIS WAY

The idea of the “momentary” is the conceptual driver in Runge’s watercolor portraits. Whereas his illustrations helped tell a complete story, his portrait work captures a single moment in time. There’s an emotional quality that may grow out of something as simple as the way in which a shadow curves over a person’s nose or the place where the sitter’s eyes happen to land in the room. These small, intimate scenes often inspire a more abstract response—and Runge isn’t inclined to put everything down on the paper as it is in reality. “If you know how to tell the whole story, then you also know how to leave bits of it out,” he says.

“This is what I try to do with my portraits—paint something realistic by taking an abstract avenue to get there.”

The artist’s time as as a comic book artist helped him master technical skills, which in turn has helped him know where to put his attention.

“Sometimes I might focus on one part of the face and leave the rest out, but you have to know how to paint the whole face first,” he says. “I brought those skills to my fine art.”

“Being ‘experimental” isn’t something I really plan for; it happens quite spontaneously,” he says. “At first, it may be a technical thing. I’ll think, ‘Okay, I have four hours to work on this.’ And that will determine whether I’m going to do more of a finished look or an unfinished look. From there, the first four or five brushstrokes will tell the artist whether he likes where the piece is heading. “If I do, maybe I’ll just do a couple more things to it, and that’s fine,” he says.

Runge is quick to add that this approach doesn’t always end in success. “I’ve certainly made the mistake of continuing a painting and then, because I took pictures of it along the way, being tortured by photos that show what it could have been if I had only stopped,” he says, laughing.

Man on the Street (watercolor on paper, 12x9)

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Watcher (watercolor on paper, 10x8)

No Fear Watercolor Runge keeps his portrait work in the realm of representational; his paintings clearly bearing a likeness to an actual person. Nevertheless, he tries to avoid letting the work become overly detailed and labored. This leads to a fair amount of experimentation in his process.

Sometimes it’s driven by something conceptual; other times it’s just pure improvisation. When you enter into a painting with an experimental mentality, it removes much of the fear, because the outcome is not the focus—the creative process is.

“Other times, you need to bring more finish to the work.”

In other words, there’s always an element of risk. “Every day I feel like I’m walking a tightrope,” he says.

Runge says there’s a misunderstanding that a less-ismore approach to painting implies easier work. “But that,” he says, “is an illusion. The ability to complete a full idea in fewer brushstrokes takes years and years of practice, experience putting in tons of details and work in many different media.”

STARTING IN THE MIDDLE

With watercolor, Runge blends traditional technique with his own process. To start, he typically uses cold-pressed paper that he doesn’t wet. “I like to have a combination of drybrush effects and texture right off the bat,” he says.

“I do a tight pencil drawing on the dry paper, rendering the full face—the nose, mouth, eyes and the structure— but then, when I go to paint it, I try to focus on one element at a time, the eye, for example, or even just the cavity of the eye.”

Whereas most watercolorists work light to dark, Runge prefers to begin somewhere in the middle. “I’ll start with a medium tone, instead of working light to dark,” he says.

“I’ll pick a medium-range tone, such as a scarlet red— something you might not typically use until later—and I’ll put it down as a little anchor point or a little dot or line, because I know I’m going to disturb that later. I then use that pigment as a point around which to spread a ghostly area of water.”

Runge began Faces in Time (watercolor on paper, 12x10), for example, not with a concept but as a pure experiment in mixing two faces.

“What parts to leave out? What parts to render fully? Those questions stayed in my head during the entire painting process,” Runge says. “They were only answered by the mix of chance and choice with my colors and brushstrokes.”

Runge drew both faces completely, overlapping each other, in pencil. Then he picked a starting point and began to render. “Since I approached the painting as an experiment, I wasn’t worried about the subject matter representing anything,” he says. “I had no firm idea or narrative in mind, so the light didn’t have to make sense 100 percent. The shadows could be left open and the direction of light sources could collide. My goal with these kinds of experiments is to create something abstract, but with enough reality to feel grounded. Something that’s, hopefully, visually intriguing.”

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LEFT The Doctor (watercolor on paper, 10x8) OPPOSITE TOP Flashback (watercolor on paper, 10x8) BELOW The Road Back (watercolor on paper, 9x12)

Runge attributes these deviations to his striving for personal voice and his love of experimentation. “My dad is a really good watercolor painter,” he says. “I think some of the techniques I used when I started I’d learned from him.” But several years ago, Runge realized he wanted to try something else. “I started taking an approach that was just the opposite, very simplified and different, because I really just wanted to have my own voice,” he says.

There’s more risk to this way of working, and traditional painters will often question him, but Runge maintains that his approach is just another option. “It’s a bit like martial arts,” he says. “Once you’ve learned one of the basic forms, you can start learning a more technical or ‘crazy’ one—something that might be a little more dangerous.”

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For many, experimenting with a medium that’s famously difficult to work with may seem daunting. Runge’s advice?

“Fail, and then fail again. Continue to be afraid, but try it anyway,” he says. For beginners, it just takes getting past those first few paintings. “When I started, I did three or four watercolor portraits in one day that I absolutely hated, and then the next day I tried again, thinking ‘Oh, this is not going to work at all.’ But it did work. It took the pressure away.”

For artists who’ve been painting in the medium longer, there’s a fear in taking risks, in trying something that may not succeed, but there’s a danger in holding on too tightly to what we know. “Don’t be afraid to get rid of stuff,” Runge says. “I remember a time when I was young and I had these four or five drawings. They were the only drawings that I’d carry around. After a while, they became so precious that I became afraid to do another one. It’s getting rid of that precious quality that will actually make the work even better and, in the end, more precious.”

Michael Woodson is a freelance writer and editor in Cincinnati, Ohio, and works for the non-profit organization the Blue Manatee Literacy Project. Visit him online at michaelwoodson.com.

Turn the page for a demo

Meet the Artist Nick Runge was born in 1985 and grew up in Colorado surrounded by a creative family. After a decade of work as a full-time illustrator, the artist shifted focus to fine art, painting primarily portrait and figurative work in oil and watercolor.

Runge, who describes his artistic style as “abstracted realism,” seeks to break down shapes while still expressing the beauty of the human form and shape. For more information about the artist and his workshop schedule, visit nickrungeart.com.

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demo

Self-Portrait, Study Nick Runge demonstrates his creative process, beginning with the initial pencil drawing and moving through each transparent layer of paint.

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Step 1 To start, I establish the overall basic shapes of the head: an oval shape for the skull and a mask shape for the face. I draw and erase as I build a likeness from my reference. I spend the time to achieve a tight pencil drawing so that I have structure underneath the abstract washes of color to come.

Step 2 Next, I erase most of the pencil, leaving just a light hint of the lines. Then I start with a medium or dark tone of paint, usually scarlet red or burnt sienna. These areas are my guide for the level of darkness to which I’ll be building, so I don’t go overboard with the color washes too quickly. It provides a base for the middle values.

Step 3 I put down the first washes of color to define some of the areas of the face that I’ll be establishing in more detail. I don’t always “finish” a portrait—sometimes leaving out the eyes or mouth—but for this piece, I’m keeping the level of detail fairly even across the face.

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Step 4 I start to define the hairline and larger shapes of the head, which helps me determine how I’ll approach the background. Leaving the background blank can enhance the feeling of dimensionality, as if the head is floating in space.

Although adding a dark background can sometimes flatten the portrait, in this case, I felt that some background shapes would actually help give the portrait some “pop.”

Final Step 4

I finished Self Portrait, Study (12x9) by adding larger washes over all of the underlying color areas to harmonize the hues and make the lighting seem more believable. This adds to the lifelike appearance while still retaining an abstract quality in the rendering. WA

Artist’s Toolkit SURFACE

Arches 140-lb. cold-pressed paper PAINTS

• Daniel Smith: deep scarlet, Prussian blue, opera pink, cerulean blue chromium, permanent orange and pyrrole red • Winsor & Newton: burnt sienna and yellow ochre BRUSHES

• Trekell Protégé synthetic No. 4 round for precision and details; No. 14 round and ¾-inch wash

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MASTER of the MOMENT INSPIRED BY THE PICTURESQUE SCENERY OF HIS OWN HOME TOWN, MERRILL A. BAILEY PAINTED WATERCOLORS THAT CAPTURED THE BEAUTY AND CHARM OF MID-CENTURY AMERICA— AND THE ATTENTION OF NEW YORK CITY ART DEALERS.

By Daniel K. Tennant

Wispy tree branches featuring drybrushed foliage, like those in Below the Dam (watercolor on paper, 12x24), were a signature Bailey touch. Note how the trees on the right are semi-transparent.

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MERRILL A. BAILEY (1909–1981) is an example of a highly regarded artist who achieved a large degree of success in his lifetime, but whom you’ve probably never heard of. As a painter who not only left a legacy of hundreds of works of art, but also a lot of practical advice about painting in watercolor, it’s time to raise the artist’s profile.

EARLY SUCCESS Bailey was born in 1909 in Cazenovia, New York, a picturesque village where—with the exception of a few years in college—he lived and painted his entire life. As far back as he could remember, Bailey loved to paint. As a teenager, he was the captain of his school’s baseball, football and basketball teams. Although he was offered a baseball scholarship, he turned it down, choosing instead to study art at Pratt Institute and later at Syracuse University.

After graduating, Bailey took a position as an art instructor at a junior college, launching a 38-year-long career teaching art. During all those years, the artist was

honing his skills. His big break came in 1936 when New York art dealer Robert Macbeth saw his watercolors at a regional art show in Syracuse and invited Bailey, only 27 years old, to join the stable of artists at the prestigious Macbeth Gallery on East 57th Street in New York City. Among the other artists showing at the gallery was a 20-year-old prodigy by the name of Andrew Wyeth.

Norman Kent, an editor of the magazine, American Artist, wrote of Bailey in 1941: “For a young painter, Merrill Bailey has achieved a brilliant beginning to a career that has brought his work to the attention and marked appreciation of critics, collectors and museums throughout the country.”

Bailey went on to exhibit at venues such as the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute,

ABOVE The Day Before Christmas (watercolor on paper, 16x20), painted in 1943, features the main street in Cazenovia, New York. Bailey’s wet-on-wet technique adds to the scene’s charm.

LEFT Merrill A. Bailey in 1964 at the age of 55.

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RECORDING IDEAS Brooklyn Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1942 he was honored with active membership in the American Watercolor Society, a distinction that meant enough to him that he arranged for the initials “AWS” to be inscribed on his headstone. In 1950 he was commissioned to paint the cover for the March issue of Reader’s Digest, where his work was seen by millions.

Sadly, when the Macbeth Gallery closed, in 1953, it was the end of an era for the artist, who wasn’t able to secure gallery representation in New York City again.

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Early on, Bailey took an original approach to his art-making. He kept a supply of small pieces of tagboard cut to the size of postcards and used them to sketch out ideas. He kept hundreds of them on file as starters for potential paintings. “The inspiration for a sketch may have come months previously, at which time a quick shorthand in pencil recorded the mood essentials,

Bailey used small pieces of tagboard to paint “postcard sketches,” which measured 3x6 or 3½x6½. He drew these to remember locations that interested him and had hundreds of them on file.

The trees in Holiday Sport (watercolor on paper, 16x20) act as a device, moving the viewer’s eye throughout the painting’s circular design. When people were featured in a scene, Bailey never obsessed over the figures.

the time of day, lighting and color,” Bailey said.

The artist also used a 6x9-inch watercolor sketchbook to record ideas. Often he’d sketch his subject in pencil and on the next page paint a watercolor study to remember the colors. He enjoyed slow, meandering drives around the countryside to look for scenes to paint, especially during the winter, when he could study the structure of trees. He loved the contrast of snow against the woods and buildings—themes that regularly appear in his work.

Anna Wetherhill Olmstead, a director of the Syracuse Museum of Art, which has since become the Everson Museum of Art, said of his winter scenes: “One is impressed by the singleness of purpose and highly personal style of painting evinced by this talented young artist. ...Winter months spent in the beautiful Cazenovia countryside account for the artist’s favorite snow scenes, which he paints with a sensitive and poetic brush, but with never a trace of mawkishness or sentimentality.”

CAPTURING THE MOMENT Bailey was always after the fleeting impression—the moment—and was never a slave to detail. Whenever

Merrill A. Bailey On Art and Art-Making “Some of my best watercolors have been my most rapid. Most of my paintings are completed in 30 to 60 minutes.”

“Impressions carried in the mind for a long time have a wonderful way of eliminating the unessential.”

“To accomplish a work of art is of course to be inspired above and beyond any thought of technique. It just happens in the excitement of the moment and, when you finish, if it’s successful, you wonder how you did it.”

“I don’t believe there’s any place in the painting field where the mind has to be keener, the hand more skilled and the attack more forceful than in the first 20 minutes of a transparent watercolor. It’s during this time that important hard and soft edges are saved and lost.”

“Look at your work upside down; it reveals it in a new way.”

“Selling a painting is like finding money on the street.”

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Bailey sketched this quaint 6x9-inch farm scene and then painted a color study on the next page. The artist decided to lessen the importance of the distant road by placing a tree over it. In the pencil sketch, the tree is farther to the right.

possible, he used the largest brush he could to cover the paper quickly. He found it essential to work fast in order to capture the ever-changing light. In this way, he used an economy of brushstrokes to create the impression of detail.

The artist was particularly successful in capturing the feeling of wind in his paintings. One of his hallmark techniques was to paint spare foliage on winter trees, using a drybrush technique, which added a sense of movement. He kept himself open to the happy accident—not really knowing what would happen on the paper until he took the leap and started to paint. His work was interpretive and his painting style continued to get looser as he matured.

Although Bailey did some oil paintings in the early 1940s that were well received, he never felt comfortable with the medium. With watercolor, his painting skills were on full display. Not surprisingly, he found inspiration in the work of other watermedia artists, such as Winslow Homer (1836–1910), Charles Burchfield (1893–1967) and Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009).

PAINTING ON LOCATION Bailey would return to locations that caught his eye, sitting in his car’s backseat to paint on location. Like many plein air enthusiasts, he maintained that photographs couldn’t replace real life observation for capturing the essence of a subject.

In his quick 6x9-inch watercolor sketches (this one done in the 1940s), Bailey tried not to get bogged down with, as he called it, the “unessential information.”

58 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

Toolkit PAPER:

• Arches 140- and 300-lb. papers • Whatman 15x22-inch pads of 120lb. paper • Bailey preferred a cold-pressed watercolor paper. When dragging a semi-dry brush across the surface, only the high points of the paper’s texture receive paint. This drybrush technique, part of the artist’s signature style, is especially apparent in the foliage on his winter trees.

PALETTE:

Winsor & Newton: • Winsor green • Winsor blue • cobalt blue • cadmium yellow • cadmium lemon • cadmium yellow medium • cadmium yellow light • yellow ochre • cadmium orange • cadmium red light • cadmium red medium • alizarin crimson • Van Dyck brown • Hooker’s green dark • phthalocyanine blue • phthalocyanine green • burnt sienna • burnt umber • Payne’s gray • ivory black BRUSHES:

His setup included an original design: a wooden board that attached to the front seat of the car and had one leg on the back to steady it. The board featured a well for his water container, and he placed his brushes on a towel—all of which provided him the freedom to move about. A lit pipe and thermos of coffee were constant companions when he painted in the winter months. During especially bitter days, he’d heat up a soapstone, wrap it in layers of newspaper and sit on it while painting. Bailey said it worked as well as the car’s heater but didn’t steam up the windows.

The artist frequently painted on half sheets of watercolor paper and maintained that many large-scale watercolors lacked the quality they might have had if contained in a more moderate size.

Many times, Bailey wouldn’t finish a painting on location.

In these cases, he’d use his color notes and sketches to finish the work in the comfort of his studio, which was located in an old railroad-station building attached to his house.

Bailey would create a delicate pencil study and follow it up with a watercolor study in a 6x9-inch sketchbook. He worked out both composition and colors this way before painting a larger work.

• Winsor & Newton’s Series 7 • large squirrel-hair brush • oil bristle brushes • ¾- and 2-inch flat-edged lacquer brushes MISCELLANEOUS:

• sponges • razor blades • scrub brushes • masking tape • Millard Sheets enamel tray palette.

Bailey said he never washed it clean as some of the richest colors were from years of mixing on it.

He squirted out paint and, when it dried, would re-activate it with water. This kept him from having to stop painting in order to remove the caps of paint tubes when every second mattered in “the heat of battle.”

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60 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

ABOVE Bailey painted Christmas Eve (watercolor on paper, 15x24) at the age of 70. Note how he captured the church, reflected in the wet pavement, and the dog’s excitement with just a few brushstrokes.

OPPOSITE TOP A Snow Day (watercolor on paper, 14x24), which Bailey painted in the 1960s, captures the feeling of joy after a snowfall.

The trees, which appear more curvy than angular, are distinctive to the artist.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM Painted in 1941, Bailey’s more stylized painting, Holiday in the Country (watercolor on paper, 16x20) is one of his early landscapes.

Notice how the background hill repeats the shape surrounding the trees.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS To prevent buckling, Bailey stretched his paper by soaking it in a bathtub and then attaching it to a piece of heavy plywood with paper tape. His techniques were fairly conventional.

He began with a light, basic pencil drawing on the paper. Next, he’d tackle the sky, preferring to work on a wet surface and allowing colors to bleed. He used the largest brushes possible for this application. Next, he’d paint the background. When that was dry, he’d paint the objects in the foreground.

Bailey liked to work from light to dark colors, placing a dark color early on, which he could then use to gauge the values in the rest of the painting.

For winter scenes, he left the white of the paper untouched in the snow areas. It was the brightest white he could achieve. “I always make the white paper work for me,” Bailey said, who painted most of his work according to the traditions of the English School of watercolor painting without using any opaques.

Whenever he sensed the painting was done, Bailey would place it in a mat. This enabled him to visualize how the painting would look framed. His paintings were often completed in 30 to 60 minutes. On occasion, he’d put a piece away in cold storage, pulling it out again after a few days or weeks to view it with fresh eyes. Not one to give up, Bailey would sometimes finish work that he’d set aside many years before.

TO CAPTURE A TIME AND PLACE Bailey was a man deeply committed to his art. He began painting in watercolor and remained dedicated to the medium for 50 years. Although his work is still widely collected and admired, the artist is particularly appreciated in Cazenovia, where he has become something of a local legend. Given that many of the subjects depicted in his landscapes have long since vanished, Bailey’s paintings exist as a five-decade visual history of this area of Central New York. WA Daniel K. Tennant (danielktennant.com) was the 2019 Gold Medallion recipient at the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, in Old Forge, N.Y. His paintings can be found in two permanent museum collections as well as many private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

His work has appeared in books, calendars, limited edition prints and many magazine articles. He authored the book, Realistic Painting (Walter Foster Publishing) in 1996.

ArtistsNetwork.com 61

Watercolor Essentials

Opposites Attract Engage viewers of your artwork with the help of eight types of contrast.

By John Salminen 62 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

A

n interesting life is ďŹ lled with contrast. We try to balance physical and intellectual activity with relaxation and calm. We share our feelings and beliefs with other people, and we listen to their thoughts and learn from them. Likewise, as visual artists, we employ contrast to add interest to a composition, to reference a common experience and to enhance communication with the viewer.

VALUE We have a variety of tools we can use to create visual contrast. My ďŹ rst choice is the application of value. What could be more important than light and shadow to share our perception of the world? High contrast (our darkest

COMPLEMENTARY COLOR

ABOVE Oranges and yellows strengthen and enhance the complementary purples and blues in Morning in Napoli (transparent watercolor on paper, 25x37)

While value is probably the most obvious way to create contrast, there are many others. Color can contribute a great deal to the emotion an image generates. Chances are, you’re familiar with the way complementary colors— those opposite each other on the color wheel—can strengthen each other. In Morning in Napoli (above), the massive grouping of buildings on the right is largely made up of cool blues and purples while the opposite sunlit wall is dependent upon warm, complementary oranges and yellows. I was careful to keep one color group dominant, in this case the warm tones, to avoid the pitfall of symmetry. This keeps the color contrast interesting and moves the viewer’s eye through the painting.

RIGHT In Bethesda Arcade II (transparent watercolor on paper, 24x24), warm and cool color temperatures imply a difference between the heat of the daylit stairs and the cool, shadowed area beneath the Central Park arcade.

OPPOSITE In West 110th St., NYC (transparent watercolor on paper, 25x25), a stark, light-to-dark value change where the stairs meet the sky tells the story.

TEMPERATURE values juxtaposed with our lightest values) demands attention and is one of the best techniques for defining a center of interest. This dramatic contrast can attract and hold the viewer’s eye. In my painting West 110th St., NYC (opposite), I designed a strong edge, using silhouettes of a figure, lamp posts and signs to tell the story. Because I treated the stairs and walled structure as passages of soft, closely related middle values, the stark edge gives itself visual strength and credibility.

It has been said that you can never fully appreciate the shade unless you’ve worked in the sun. In Bethesda Arcade II (above left), I relied on temperature to define and differentiate between the interior of the arcade and the sunny steps leading to the Central Park Mall. The arches form a visual transition by mixing both warm and cool temperatures.

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Watercolor Essentials TOP TO BOTTOM The sharp, crisp lines of the cast shadows and the lettering on the awning offer a contrast to the soft, diffused depiction of the shop window in North End Boston (transparent watercolor on paper, 25x21½).

In Savannah Shadows (transparent watercolor on paper, 24x24), tree branches step up in high definition while their cast shadows shift and blur.

REFINED SHIFTS We often read contrast as “high contrast” but while lacking bold impact, subtle shifts in value, color or focus can also lend richness to a painting.

The windows of the restaurant in North End, Boston (left) radiate soft warm interior light and serve as the perfect foil for the sharp, hard edges of the cast shadows of the employee preparing for a new day. I added calligraphy to this painting in the form of the lettering on the awning. The hard-edged angularity of the letters enlivens the area, and when combined with the strong red awning, provides a flat graphic contrast to the soft luminosity of the windows.

EDGE QUALITY Edges are important in Savannah Shadows (left). My technical challenge was to clearly distinguish between the cast shadows and the objects responsible for their existence. I chose soft, closely-related values to define the shadows, blurring the edges by whisking the nearly dry paint with a dry hake brush. The suggested soft, subtle motion of the shadows contrasts with the dark, hard-edged treatment of the branches and tree trunks to make the distinction clear. The railing and window grill echo the solidity of the branches and complement the shadows.

CONTENT While value, color, temperature and edge quality can all satisfy the need for contrast, content can do the same.

In Kent, West Texas (opposite), the deserted buildings of this nearly abandoned town are battling the incursions of nature. Orderly man-made angular

64 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

forms intermingle with natural organic forms in this hostile takeover.

Because West Texas is very dry, this natural reclamation is slow. The battle continues—organic forms pitted against angular predictability.

Content can provide contrast.

In the case of Kent, West Texas (transparent watercolor on paper, 36x 36), nature relentlessly reclaims humankind’s imprint.

ArtistsNetwork.com 65

Watercolor Essentials

66 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

LEFT TO RIGHT Horizontal light is nature’s dramatic gift to painters, as evidenced in the contrast it provides in S. 5th St., Minneapolis (transparent watercolor on paper, 30x30).

An atmospheric background against the bold solidity of the buildings on the right adds drama to Parisian Glow (transparent watercolor on paper, 29x21).

but facile. It was the addition of the solid dark mass of buildings and figures that provided context.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS

LIGHTING Several months ago I spent a few days in Minneapolis looking for inspiration and images. The magical lighting of late afternoon and the strong backlighting effect placed an elevated walkway into the spotlight, providing a luminous center of interest for S. 5th Street, Minneapolis (left).

I de-emphasized the surrounding facades, allowing a few areas to pop just enough to maintain interest without becoming competitive with the walkway.

ATMOSPHERE I enjoy traveling to some of my favorite places by re-experiencing them as I paint. In Parisian Glow (above), my goal was to infuse the scene with light and atmosphere.

Light high-key values fading into the distant haze re-created the mood and emotion of a Parisian evening; however, the light value alone appeared watered down and weak—pretty

Contrast is key to how we tell our stories in painted images. Artist Ed Whitney says that when you make your first mark on the page, you’ve made your first design choice. That same mark becomes your first use of the concept of contrast. In all of its variations, we employ contrast to engage the viewer and share our take on life.

Contrast embodies how we perceive our world of light, shadow and color, and we can consciously use it to strengthen our ability to speak to our viewers. WA Among other prestigious positions and memberships, John Salminen (johnsalminen.com) is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society (Dolphin Fellowship), a Distinguished Master of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and President of the International Masters of Watercolour Association, centered in Shanghai, China.

He’s known worldwide for his workshops, presentations and award-winning art.

ArtistsNetwork.com 67

Sun & Shade

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Open Book

Lights On! Marjorie Glick (marjorieglick.com) was fortunate to have an opportunity to paint and teach on site in Monet’s garden in Giverny. This watercolor was inspired while she sat on the artist’s porch in the early evening.

The garden, which had become mostly backlit, was suddenly infused with glowing light. “I was struck by the light shining through this vine and the profusion of foliage and color that’s ever present in Giverny,” Glick says. “To capture the glow, I enlivened the greens with accents of yellow and blue.”

72 Watercolor artist |

DECEMBER 2020

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Selected artwork above from The Best Of Watercolor (from top left): Some Cups and Polka Dots by Lana Privitera, Early Morning, NYC by Thomas Valenti, Autumn Light by Kathleen Alexander, Happiness by Patricia Guzman, Madrones by Lynn Slade and background Image Yuen Long by Rainbow Tse.

We would like to extend a special thanks to our competition sponsor, BLICK Art Materials for their ongoing support for artists!