watercolorWorks

Asian GardenWatercolor is a magical media. It invites spontaneity, yet demands care and planning in application. Its apparent simplicity belies the many facets and subtlety of mixing colors, layering in washes, understanding transparency vs. opaqueness, color/hue shift as it dries, interaction between different pigment formulations, to name just a few. I enjoy the challenge of learning how these facets interact in composing and executing a painting.

I fell in love with watercolor as a media on my first encounter Winslow Homer's "A Wall Nassau." The looseness and simplicity of form, the harmony of soft muted colors, the balanced asymmetry, the hint of welcome in the partially opened gate - for me captured the essence of place so completely I felt I were there gazing at the bougainvillea blooms. I still struggle with capturing this freshness in my own work.

My watercolor paintings focus primarily on the natural environment I encounter. I work with a wide palette of colors attempting to capture a dynamic sense of place to invite the observer to become part of the experience. I enjoy investigating the interplay of light and shadow as it effects shifts of color reflected to the eye, while incorporating a feeling of movement and curiosity.

When I'm working on a painting, I focus attention so that I enter into a meditative state - all else falls away - it almost becomes a spiritual experience where time seems suspended and I can work for hours. I have by no means mastered the art; I continue to be challenged by the medium.

Photos of a few of my paintings.

Blue Cottage