I used to paint, but mostly draw, because I felt more comfortable with a pencil. Master drawing first and then painting will become easier, I thought, but of course it’s never that simple. I wanted to make my compositions eventually become as accomplished as these, but lost my patience. Simple techniques I should have mastered fell by the wayside, so if I want to take it up again I should study more work like this.
I love “simple” watercolours like these, because there are complexities in the technique the artist uses which must take hours and hours of practice to master. I love the way the figures in the foreground of the last painting anchor the piece, because they are placed at the base of the skyscraper in the background (that imaginary vertical line, which gives context to the perspective highlighted by the snowy path). Composition is all-important if you want to produce an attractive piece, because the viewer looks for patterns, which please the eye. It’s clear this guy has chops. Also the light is captured extremely well. You can tell the source of light comes mostly from above and behind the artist’s shoulder, but with snow, lots of light is reflected back up and out giving a milky haze to the whole scene.
If you’re learning technique, you could study these pieces and mentally deconstruct them, to see how the artist made his choices. The suggestion is speed in the strokes of the brush, but these strokes are deliberate and careful.
The branches are above all, providing a textural frame. I’m looking at the pairs of figures walking through the snow, but the branches don’t detract from the action, but enhance it, providing points of reference. They also do this in the painting of the stream in the 2nd smaller picture, and by contrast, the span of the bridge performs the same effect in the top painting, guiding your gaze towards the cityscape across the river, as well as the boat and the 2 figures in the foreground. We need points of reference for context and depth. Composition is key, then context, then texture and light. I’m still learning how to bring all these factors into play. I must pick up my pencils and draw again, before I try painting, just to get my eye in.
(via screenyourworry)
