[image_with_animation image_url=”8367″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I asked Claire Putney to name some of the inspirational watercolor painters for her upcoming workshop Watercolor Landscapes. She listed:
Sunga Park
Maria Ginzburg
Walton Ford
Z L Feng
In the next week I’ll share artwork by each of these painters. Today I have work by Z L Feng.
Z L Feng
Feng’s paintings are built to win watercolor awards, and they do. Feng’s skill is clearly displayed in each work: examples of glow, reflection, loose and tight, planned “accidents” and formal work. The classic asymmetrical compositions are variations on a theme, as each painting follows similar recipes: The light sky is reflected in water for diffused open glow just off of center. The vertical trees provide lift, and intersect the top and bottom (reflection) edge of the canvas – which notably tends to be generally one consistent size and ratio, and you have your choice of vertical or horizontal layout. Triangles of land offer horizontal mass to the composition and outline the water form. Branches provide stained glass windows to the background. Depth is given a faded far away background, reassuring middle ground, refreshing foreground, with an equally measured balance of light, medium and dark values. Space and forms are divided just as equally between areas of large loose swathes, medium rhythm setters, and a few small articulate details. Chroma and colors are similarly balanced, as if by recipe of analogous (harmony), complimentary (vibrancy), and neutral (restful) colors that support the final bright splash of color lifted from the shadows to make it pop. They are formula paintings, and my goodness they are pretty! I don’t mind at all. More please.
From Radford University: Growing up in Shanghai, Feng began painting at age seven and never stopped, experimenting with different mediums, including pastel, oil, and egg tempera, before choosing his favorite, watercolor. “With watercolor you cannot cover your mistakes, so you must know what you are doing,” he says. He finds inspiration for his lovely landscapes in the countryside of the New River Valley: “Usually I go around – to the river, the forest, the lake – to try and find interesting compositions.”
” load_in_animation=”none Ifyou’re interested in learning some of these techniques, consider jumping into Claire Putney’s Watercolor Landscapes Workshop on March 10th, or Sandy Bricel Miller’s Plein Air Primer on April 28th. Watercolor is the easiest painting medium to travel with, and great for little trips to see the trees.
I was looking for an artwork to include in a newsletter. I wanted something to talk about friendship, while also giving a reference to social distancing and connections from afar. I found this 1937 painting by Dora Maar that seemed just right…. and then I didn’t end up needing the image. I thought it was …
March 10-12, 2017: We put on our First Ever Seattle Artist League Show, featuring a huge variety of over 100 drawings and paintings by more than 50 League artists. With huge thanks to everyone involved, the show was an enormous success; a showcase of creative achievements. We are pleased and proud to see how things are …
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
Today we models in a changing interior, as the models moved between poses. I drew with my vine charcoal taped to a 4′ dowel so I could stand back and still reach the paper. The stick was a physical luxury so I didn’t have to reach high and low to reach the expanses of my …
Z L Feng
[image_with_animation image_url=”8367″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I asked Claire Putney to name some of the inspirational watercolor painters for her upcoming workshop Watercolor Landscapes. She listed:
In the next week I’ll share artwork by each of these painters. Today I have work by Z L Feng.
Z L Feng
Feng’s paintings are built to win watercolor awards, and they do. Feng’s skill is clearly displayed in each work: examples of glow, reflection, loose and tight, planned “accidents” and formal work. The classic asymmetrical compositions are variations on a theme, as each painting follows similar recipes: The light sky is reflected in water for diffused open glow just off of center. The vertical trees provide lift, and intersect the top and bottom (reflection) edge of the canvas – which notably tends to be generally one consistent size and ratio, and you have your choice of vertical or horizontal layout. Triangles of land offer horizontal mass to the composition and outline the water form. Branches provide stained glass windows to the background. Depth is given a faded far away background, reassuring middle ground, refreshing foreground, with an equally measured balance of light, medium and dark values. Space and forms are divided just as equally between areas of large loose swathes, medium rhythm setters, and a few small articulate details. Chroma and colors are similarly balanced, as if by recipe of analogous (harmony), complimentary (vibrancy), and neutral (restful) colors that support the final bright splash of color lifted from the shadows to make it pop. They are formula paintings, and my goodness they are pretty! I don’t mind at all. More please.
Related Posts
The Conversation
I was looking for an artwork to include in a newsletter. I wanted something to talk about friendship, while also giving a reference to social distancing and connections from afar. I found this 1937 painting by Dora Maar that seemed just right…. and then I didn’t end up needing the image. I thought it was …
The First Ever Seattle Artist League Show
March 10-12, 2017: We put on our First Ever Seattle Artist League Show, featuring a huge variety of over 100 drawings and paintings by more than 50 League artists. With huge thanks to everyone involved, the show was an enormous success; a showcase of creative achievements. We are pleased and proud to see how things are …
Online Anniversary Show: Black and White on Paper
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
Fran O’Neill’s Giant Figures Workshop, Day 2
Today we models in a changing interior, as the models moved between poses. I drew with my vine charcoal taped to a 4′ dowel so I could stand back and still reach the paper. The stick was a physical luxury so I didn’t have to reach high and low to reach the expanses of my …