Rachel Rubin Wolf - Splash 13: Alternative Approaches

Splash 13

The Best of Watercolor

Alternative Approaches

edited by RACHEL RUBIN WOLF

Contents

SUMMER SOCIAL | ELISE MEREDITH BEATTIE

Poured watercolor topped with acrylics on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed Arches

13 22 (33cm 56cm)

To find an alternative approach, I paint with my minds eye, imagining that my painting is a circus and I am the ring leader whose job is to transform the pandemonium of my mind and coordinate artistic visions of the world I witness.

A student of humanity, I hunt for photographic inspiration. My goal is to capture the spirit of a moment in order to begin my visual story. My style originated while I was recuperating from surgery and watched a show about Parisian graffiti artists. The artists use of posterization showed me how I could fuse abstraction and realism. My process begins by liquefying my watercolors. Pouring paint allows me the ultimate freedom. I dip my fingers into the puddles and push the mingling hues around. The changing triads and subsequent pours create a cloak of intensifying value and mystery. Later, using a variety of tools, I dribble, splatter or stroke my watercolors and acrylics to create a pattern-driven image.

ANDREWS SLOW SURPRISE | TED NUTTALL

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) hot-pressed Arches

15 20 (38cm 51cm)

My reference here was a vintage photograph given to me by a friend. The little boy was one of two figures in the picture, and I was intrigued by his expression of surprise and curious as to what his story might have been. Perhaps because of the period clothing and drama of the moment, I was inclined to be adventurous and lean toward a darker and more muted palette than was my habit. Capturing the light already present in the photograph lent additional drama to the moment.

A NEW YORK MINUTE | TED NUTTALL

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) hot-pressed Arches

20 15 (51cm 38cm)

To find an alternative approach, I selected subjects that were perhaps more moody than my usual ones and likewise ventured into darker and more muted color than I had been accustomed to.

On a visit to New York, I stood conspicuously in the middle of pedestrian traffic in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and photographed people as they walked past me. This guy was nearly on top of me before I got the shot. I was taken by the dramatic morning light and the immediacy of the moment and tried to record it in the painting. The mans edgy and somewhat intimidating demeanor called for a little darker palette than was customary for me, and I felt a bit out of my element as I worked through the painting.

DANCING IN THE RUINS | SUZY SCHULTZ

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches

48 40 (122cm 102cm)

A friend of mine has been taking flamenco lessons, and as she was showing me one of her new moves, it was as if she turned into a fifteenth-century gypsy. I knew I had to paint her. In a large warehouse space, we did a photo shoot complete with live flamenco music while I took hundreds of photos over a period of a couple of hours. I wanted to place the figure in a large space, but keep detail on the figure, so I decided to work large. I stretched the watercolor paper from a roll onto stretcher bars. The underlying drawing took about a week. Then I started detailing the face and hands using a small brush. The background is layers of dark washes done with larger brushes. The painting took about a month to finish, and was the first in a series of flamenco dancing paintings.

I WISH IT WOULD SNOW FLOWERS | SANDRINE PELISSIER

Watercolor, gouache and watercolor crayons on 140-lb. (300gsm) hot-pressed Fabriano Artistico

15 22 (38cm 56cm)

To find an alternative approach, I searched for a story, finding inspiration in the fairy tale world of childhood, where anything magical could happen.

I painted this portrait of my daughter layer by layer from a photograph. I first layered the primary colors, and then I adjusted the final result by adding more colors and scrubbing some off. I used some gouache mixed with watercolor on the background and drew on top with watercolor crayons dipped in water. The challenge when doing portraiture is to find something in the painting that will enable a connection with the viewer, deeper than the physical resemblance and the technique. I try to listen to my inner child.

JASMINE | VAUGHN JENNINGS-WHITE

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) hot-pressed paper

12 18 (30cm 46cm)

To find an alternative approach, I do away with expectation and brushes and think of creative ways to put paint on paper.

I had the pleasure of painting my friends niece Jasmine. The groundwork for this painting involved a combination of photo reference and quick gestural paintings created at the site of the photo shoot. My technique was a slow, coma-inducing buildup of diluted watercolor on the surface of the paper. The painting was lit using the white of the paper, while some highlights in the hair and overall dullness of the vinyl siding were created by airbrushing a diluted white watercolor wash onto the paper. I have ruined quite a few paintings by airbrushing watercolors, but its a part of the process and fun. I love mistakes, both happy and sad.

FOILED AGAIN | SUSAN HANSSEN

Watercolor and gouache on 140-lb. (300gsm) paper covered with gold gesso

30 22 (76cm 56cm)

It was a comical sight in the mirror. Me, sitting in the beauticians chair, my hair full of aluminum foil, waiting patiently for the magic formula to transform mousy brown to blonde. Right then I pulled out my camera and knew this image was the subject of my next painting. I had been experimenting on different surfaces for some time but after watching a demo by Carla OConnor, I was convinced to try a painting on gold gesso. Applying the paint is exciting because it sits on the surface and is freely manipulated to create unusual textures. I began by using a photo of a model from figure class and transformed dreadlocks into individual foils. I made several attempts at creating a beauty salon behind the figure with no success. It took some time to let go of my literal thinking until I asked myself if it was really necessary to explain where the model was. The moment I painted shapes and vague images of birds,