In the past, if I had two words to describe watercolor, I might say “fresh” and “delicate.” I’d always thought of watercolor as a fairly fragile medium that shouldn’t be worked too hard. I thought of the white of the paper as the most valuable resource, and the greatest mistake would be to lose that precious white paper.
Then I saw work by Graham Nickson, of the New York Studio School. His watercolors are bold, dark, and saturated. Badass watercolors.
Graham Nickson
Shruti Ghatak studied with Graham Nickson at the New York Studio School, and you can see some of the influence in her work. She doesn’t overwork the paint, she lets it bloom and move the way it’s going to move while recording her marks for seeing, but there’s nothing delicate about it. She’s saturated with her colors and not afraid of the dark. I heard that in her watercolor class she sets up a still life and moves the objects while her students paint. I draw a changing scene with charcoal, but watercolor!? My mind was blown. The student work that I saw from that exercise was fantastic.
Shruti GhatakShruti Ghatak
Last call! Shruti’s watercolor class starts tomorrow.
This is a man who became an artist because he missed a train. He was walking in a Manchester suburb, and as he took in the scene he was overcome by an urge to paint it. He then decided to become an artist. “I don’t know why I paint these scenes, I just paint them.” What …
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! Yesterday’s post featuring drawings by Kathe Kollwitz introduced the idea of hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I was so excited about the idea of hands doing the talking for a face in a drawing that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and …
You all have been drawing so many cats, I figure I might as well make it official. Today, draw a cat. If you don’t have a cat, find an unusual photograph of a cat. If you want to draw a dog instead, draw a dog. To get you off on the right paw, I’m including …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10026″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Frida Kahlo, 1952 Portraits of Artist’s Fathers It’s father’s day, so I’ve collected some drawings and paintings of artist’s fathers. Evidently fathers often read the paper, and sit in chairs. Note: The names listed with the artworks are the artist’s names, not the father’s. SAL Challenge Create a portrait …
Badass watercolors aren’t afraid of the dark
In the past, if I had two words to describe watercolor, I might say “fresh” and “delicate.” I’d always thought of watercolor as a fairly fragile medium that shouldn’t be worked too hard. I thought of the white of the paper as the most valuable resource, and the greatest mistake would be to lose that precious white paper.
Then I saw work by Graham Nickson, of the New York Studio School. His watercolors are bold, dark, and saturated. Badass watercolors.
Shruti Ghatak studied with Graham Nickson at the New York Studio School, and you can see some of the influence in her work. She doesn’t overwork the paint, she lets it bloom and move the way it’s going to move while recording her marks for seeing, but there’s nothing delicate about it. She’s saturated with her colors and not afraid of the dark. I heard that in her watercolor class she sets up a still life and moves the objects while her students paint. I draw a changing scene with charcoal, but watercolor!? My mind was blown. The student work that I saw from that exercise was fantastic.
Last call! Shruti’s watercolor class starts tomorrow.
WATERCOLOR / Shruti Ghatak
$185. 6 Weeks. 1:30 – 4:00pm
Related Posts
L.S. Lowry
This is a man who became an artist because he missed a train. He was walking in a Manchester suburb, and as he took in the scene he was overcome by an urge to paint it. He then decided to become an artist. “I don’t know why I paint these scenes, I just paint them.” What …
Drawing Hands: Henry Moore
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! Yesterday’s post featuring drawings by Kathe Kollwitz introduced the idea of hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I was so excited about the idea of hands doing the talking for a face in a drawing that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and …
30SAL Challenge: Draw a Cat
You all have been drawing so many cats, I figure I might as well make it official. Today, draw a cat. If you don’t have a cat, find an unusual photograph of a cat. If you want to draw a dog instead, draw a dog. To get you off on the right paw, I’m including …
SAL Challenge: Dear Ol’ Dad
[image_with_animation image_url=”10026″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Frida Kahlo, 1952 Portraits of Artist’s Fathers It’s father’s day, so I’ve collected some drawings and paintings of artist’s fathers. Evidently fathers often read the paper, and sit in chairs. Note: The names listed with the artworks are the artist’s names, not the father’s. SAL Challenge Create a portrait …