Rachel Rubin Wolf - Splash 11: New Directions

COASTAL FOREST IN SUN AND FOG | Marjorie Glick

Watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) Arches | 30 40 (76cm 102cm)

While on a painting trip to coastal Maine, I found the forest enveloped in thick fog. Suddenly the fog began to lift to reveal the forest. This experience inspired me to focus my work on moments of transition that transform a scene into something completely new. It is at this edge where I now find what I want to paint. To create the contrast between the fog and the sunny foreground, I used semiopaque watercolors for the fog and transparent staining ones for the foreground.

RED COSMOS | Dani Tupper

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches | 10 14 (25cm 36cm)

In a workshop with Jean Grastorf, I fell in love with the transparency and beautiful blending you get when you pour on the paint. While I still paint and teach many different watercolor techniques, pouring has become one of my favorites. I started Red Cosmos by masking the flowers and stems. Then I poured the background using only the three primary colors. After removing the masking fluid, I painted the cosmos.

A TANGLED PLACE | Robin Purcell

Watercolor on Arches | 14 14 (36cm 36cm)

I like to find a balance between realism and abstraction. Usually I paint panoramas and avoid foregrounds because I find them difficult to simplify. I decided to challenge myself and compose a series of paintings with the foreground as the main part of the painting. My goal with A Tangled Place was to have one's eye meander up the tightly controlled values of the stylized meadow to the mass of three trees dancing at the top.

To grow as an artist, you must get out of your comfort zone.

Be adventurous.

DANI TUPPER

NORTH RIM | Karen Benco

Watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches | 13 30 (33cm 76cm)

Old photos of two different views of the Grand Canyon's North Rim inspired this painting. I mostly paint flowers and previously felt that the Grand Canyon was too difficult to paint. But there were certain competitions I wanted to enter, so I needed to take on more challenging subjects like this. After finishing this painting, I now take on different subjects and ideas with a new attitude. What is holding you back from completing the painting you think you can't paint?

WALK TO THE WHITE HOUSE | Robert Highsmith

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) Arches | 30 22 (76cm 56cm)

The inspiration for this painting came from a visit to one of my favorite national parks, Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona. The new directions theme is very fitting because I recently moved back to New Mexico, where I grew up. For more than thirty-five years I had been painting on the East Coast in the U.S. Connecticut, Maine, South Carolina and Florida. The regions are all so different, but I believe a painter brings his entire life with him in all he paints. I've had lots of struggles in the transition from countryside to canyons, but I am enjoying the challenge.