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.
I chose the clip above for Kerry James Marshall’s thoughts about how identifying as a Black artist is not a real choice, because only white artists are not burdened by the problems of race. Then the paintings of Black artists in the ‘Being an Artist” video (above) led me to seek out more of Marshall’s …
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9902″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]As part of our Art & Activism series with Fredericka Foster and the Salish Sea Project, the League has adopted an orca whale. Proceeds from orca adoptions support ongoing education, research and public outreach through the Whale Museum. …
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9566″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text] Alice Neel, James Hunter Black Draftee There are a lot of reasons artists don’t finish paintings. Death, for one, such as in Vincent van Gogh’s “Street in Auvers-sur-Oise” unfinished from the June in 1980 …
Saturdays are experimental days in our 30 day creative challenge. Today’s challenge has two parts. The first part is the drawing. The second, a bonus challenge, is to make a trace monotype with your drawing. Challenge: draw your ear Without looking (touching is ok) draw what you think your left ear looks like. If you …
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
Being an Artist; Kerry James Marshall
I chose the clip above for Kerry James Marshall’s thoughts about how identifying as a Black artist is not a real choice, because only white artists are not burdened by the problems of race. Then the paintings of Black artists in the ‘Being an Artist” video (above) led me to seek out more of Marshall’s …
Meet Our Orca Whale
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9902″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]As part of our Art & Activism series with Fredericka Foster and the Salish Sea Project, the League has adopted an orca whale. Proceeds from orca adoptions support ongoing education, research and public outreach through the Whale Museum. …
Unfinished Paintings
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9566″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text] Alice Neel, James Hunter Black Draftee There are a lot of reasons artists don’t finish paintings. Death, for one, such as in Vincent van Gogh’s “Street in Auvers-sur-Oise” unfinished from the June in 1980 …
30SAL Challenge: Left Ear
Saturdays are experimental days in our 30 day creative challenge. Today’s challenge has two parts. The first part is the drawing. The second, a bonus challenge, is to make a trace monotype with your drawing. Challenge: draw your ear Without looking (touching is ok) draw what you think your left ear looks like. If you …