The Art of Watercolour No. 12
Watercolour 12 th I S S U E
THE ART OF
THE ART MAGAZINE FOR WATERCOLOURISTS
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DISCOVER Nordic Watercolour KNOW HOW
COMBINING SHAPES AND COLOURS
CHIEN CHUNG-WEI:
STAN MILLER
Mixing tempera with watercolour
COVER STORIES Sweet portraits alla prima
J. LOZANO SAORIN
Painting the passage of time
TECHNICAL ADVICE: Unleash the hidden power of details
Marc Folly Ona Kingdon Janet Flom Donna Zagotta…
L 15673 - 12 - F: 7,50 € - RD
« Talent cannot be taught »
QUARTERLY - SEPTEMBER/NOVEMBER 2013
FR: 7.50 € - BE: 8.80 € - CH: 15 FS - LU: 8.80 €- ES: 9.50 € - IT: 9 €- GR: 8.90 €- PT CONT.: 8.80 €- UK: £ 6,50 - NL: 9 € - DE.: 9.50 € - AT: 9 € - MA: 97 MAD
*see p. 4
Contents
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Jésús Lozano Saorin
Carefully designed watercolours depicting the passage of time on everyday objects.
IN THE NEWS 4 THE WORLD WATERCOLOUR COMPETITION Last call for entries !
6 FOCUS ON
Aquarelle Reims Evenement (France).
8 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Watercolour events from all over the world.
12 WE WERE THERE
The 6th Brioude Biennial in France.
14 SOCIETIES AROUND THE WORLD The Nordic Watercolour Society.
16 READERS’ LETTERS
Our answers to your questions.
18 REVELATIONS
Discover our selection of noteworthy artists.
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82 EXPERT ADVICE
The hidden power of smaller shapes.
86 WATERCOLOUR LESSON Managing shapes and values.
Ona Kingdon
Her “Ted” series is a way of exploring human emotion and notable events in our daily lives.
88 WHAT’S ON 91 IN THE NEXT ISSUE… Printed in France -17, avenue du Cerisier Noir 86530 Naintré – France Tel.: Editorial Office: +33 5 49 90 37 64 - Fax Editorial Office: +33 5 49 90 09 25 E-mail: editorial@ artofwatercolour.com - EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-In-Chief: Jean-Philippe Moine - Deputy Editor-In-Chief: Laurent Benoist - Editorial assistant: Manuella Pineau - Chief sub-editor: Élodie Blain - Sub-editor: Marie-Pierre Lévêque - Art Director: Janine Gallizia - Graphic designer: Audrey Salé - Graphic design team: Nadine Tillet, Hervé Magnin - Translation and adaptation: Simon Thurston - Scanner Operator: Franck Sellier - Manager: Edith Cyr - ADVERTISING Tel.: (00 33) 5 49 90 09 19 - Fax: (00 33) 5 49 90 08 29 E-mail: advertising@artofwatercolour. com - SALES, MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION Frédérik Favier Tel.: (00 33) 5 49 90 09 19 Distribution France: MLP - MANAGEMENT Financial Director: Fabien Richard - Export: Export Press contact@kdpresse.com +33 142 46 02 20 THE ART OF WATERCOLOUR Published by DIVERTI Éditions S.A.R.L. with a capital of 15,000 € 490 317 369 RCS Poitiers 17, avenue du Cerisier Noir 86530 Naintré, France - Main Shareholders: CAPELITIS Group - Photo-engraving: DIVERTI ÉDITIONS - Printers: MEGATOP, 86530 Naintré, France - Sending text or photos implies the author’s agreement for publication free of copyright and supposes that the author has in his/ her possession any authorisation necessary to publication. - All rights reserved for documents and texts published in The Art of Watercolour. Any reproduction of articles published in The Art of Watercolour, either in part or whole, is strictly forbidden without the express written agreement of Diverti Éditions, in compliance with the French law on literary and artistic property of March 11th 1957. Articles and photos, which are not retained for publication, shall not be returned. The editorial staff shall not be liable or responsible for the content of texts, nor for illustrations and photos that they receive. - Publication registration: 0316 K 90760 - ISSN: 2114-3498 - Legal deposit on date of release - Quarterly - No. 12 - September-November 2013.
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Stan Miller
A master of both watercolour and egg tempera, he reveals all the secrets behind his practice.
Our cover : Marc Folly, Raisins rouges, 29 x 47 cm.
No. 12September-November 2013 FEATURED ARTISTS
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22 CHIEN CHUNG-WEI Urban scenes
Evelyn Dunphy A sense of harmonious colour, shape and design explained in detail, painting by painting.
“Only the basics should be taught. I don’t believe that any education system can perfectly produce an art master.”
32 JANET FLOM Human figure
“Painting from life should be taken at every available opportunity. The benefit here is limited time, which forces one to choose quickly, commit and keep moving forward.”
38 EVELYN DUNPHY Still lifes
“I begin each painting with the intention that it is unique and that my design, colours, method of applying paint and even the type of paper must be intended for it. ”
44 PORTFOLIO: JESÚS LOZANO SAORIN STILL LIFES
“What I want is to represent the carelessness and neglect we show towards our immediate past. Many of the objects I choose to paint have existed for years.”
54 STAN MILLER Landscapes
“You should paint what you are familiar with, but from time to time, you should put yourself in awkward and even frightening positions in order to grow as a painter.”
32
Janet Flom
Through her portraits and figure paintings she has found a way of exploring her personality and that of others…
62 DONNA ZAGOTTA Human figure
“In keeping with one subject, I don’t have to work out the many problems involved with learning how to paint a new subject.”
68 ONA KINGDON Portraits
“I work hard to capture human emotion through the bears.”
76 MARC FOLLY Interiors
“Once the drawing is in place, I can then play with values and colours as if they were two adjustment pedals.” W ATERCOLOUR N O .12 / S EPTEMBER -N OVEMBER 2013
3
artist
Featured Shining Venice. 2013. 18 x 27 cm.
22
Chien Chung-Wei
The art of teaching
W atercolour N o .12 / S eptember -N ovember 2013
Born in Taiwan in 1968,
watercolour
this artist has gained a solid reputation as a teacher...who isn’t afraid to use technology.
W atercolour N o .12 / S eptember -N ovember 2013
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a r t is t ’ s l i f e
An
Being a watercolour artist Janet Flom It’s a well-known fact that doubt is what keeps an artist sharp. Janet Flom is fully aware of the path she has humbly taken and all that is required to become a successful watercolour artist. Through her portraits and figure paintings, she has found a way of exploring her personality and that of others…
I
I have a very talented artist friend whose acrylic and oil paintings begin from the blank canvas and evolve intuitively, building upon each subsequent mark and with no set endpoint in mind. Many changes are made along the way. He thinks all my planning and drawing and fretting about shapes and values are really just procrastination or “paralysis by analysis.” I have wondered about the truth of this: what if I avoided painting with multiple tonal studies and drawings? Then I remember how much I love a loose, juicy watercolour surface, laid down with confidence over a wiry line drawing and held together by a strong underlying structure. To achieve the surface quality I admire, performance-level confidence is required. Hesitancy, changes or wiping out are to be avoided at all costs. I know myself and my current skill set well enough to know that I am not
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W atercolour N o .12 / S eptember -N ovember 2013
capable of pulling this off without some kind of advance plan. Certainly watercolour can be lifted, scrubbed, glazed over and altered — and done with great expertise — but not by me. When I worry that a stroke is too dark and add more water or dab with a paper towel to remove a dreadfully wrong colour, I lose another opportunity for fresh paint. If I pause in confusion because I’m not sure what that corner needs, paint dries and opportunities are lost. In trying to adjust value or colour with multiple glazes, edges have a way of unintentionally appearing or disappearing. I have always considered myself knowledgable about the elements of art and principles of design Time out. 2012. 36 x 53 cm. and because I could easily see values, I used to skip doing anything more than a couple of half-baked thumbnail sketches in my rush to get painting. Since I “got” it, I didn’t really need to “do” it ahead of time. Then an instructor pointed out compelling reasons
Continues p. 36
She Wants to Play. 2012. 74 x 53 cm.
Saorin JesĂşs Lozano
Painting the ravages of time Spanish master JĂŠsus Lozano Saorin is fond of depicting the effects of the passage of time on everyday objects, in carefully designed watercolours that are not without a sense of melancholy.
Abandonados.
2007. 50 x 75 cm. This is a reflection on everyday objects we shared our lives with and now lie abandoned.
Futuro incierto. 1995. 89 x 116 cm.
The idea for this watercolour came from the realisation that empty cans and plastic bags are abandoned everywhere: we are turning our fields into garbage dumps.
KNOW-HOW
Marc Folly AS AN ARTIST, MARC FOLLY LOVES TO PAINT EMPTY WORKSHOPS AND ARTISANS’ STUDIOS – PLACES WHERE HUMAN PRESENCE IS FELT RATHER THAN EXPLICITELY WITNESSED.
MAKING THE MOST OF
SHAPES AND COLOURS
Red Grapes. 29 x 47 cm.
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How does an artist improve his art? By constantly asking himself questions and sometimes finding the answers. This is precisely the path French artist Marc Folly has chosen. Considered to be one of the country’s champions in watercolour, his work follows an ever-changing process, thus allowing his paintings to evolve. “The workshops and demos I give have helped me a great deal in understanding my own painting. Explaining what you’re doing while doing it is a valuable lesson”, he explains. Marc also confesses a great admiration for artists with an unsurpassable talent in draughtsmanship, as the books on the shelves in his studio bear witness. The names on their spines read like a history of painting, in which technical prowess and respect for the art of the past comes first: Antonio Lopez Garcia, Andrew Wyeth, Odd Nerdrum… “Yes, it is true that I am first and foremost drawn to – and influenced by – those painters whose paintings rely on traditional know-how”, he tells us. “Drawing is the hand’s intelligence. It needs practice” he continues. Coincidentally, it might not be too far-fetched to venture that his attraction towards artisans’ studios and workshops as subjects for his paintings could derive from his keen passion for traditional know-how. It might therefore come as a paradox to say that over recent years, his own painting has become less detailed and freer in its execution: “Yes, it is true that I tend to work more with abstract shapes than I used to, but it is also true that I allow myself that because I start off with a compositional drawing that means I can see the direction my painting will take, almost like a grid designed to help me.” Marc Folly’s painting follows three important stages: 1. Drawing 2. Values 3. Colours Drawing gives him freedom in a sense. Once the drawing is there, the painting itself acquires more autonomy. “It’s wrong to think that drawing curbs our creativity. In fact I think it’s completely the opposite. Once the drawing is in place, I am free to concentrate on the other aspects of the painting. I can then play with values and colours almost as if they were two adjustment pedals. In a sense, I work in layers: values followed by colours. This way of painting is in fact ancient as the grisaille paintings during the Renaissance which were painted exactly this way”. This way of painting ensures him flexibility and versatility: “Depending on what I am looking for, I can decide to concentrate on one or the other of these two variables.”
Window in Cerdon. 24 x 24 cm. Facade. 24 x 24 cm.
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS: LAURENT BENOIST (PAINTINGS EXCEPTED).
W ATERCOLOUR N O .12 / S EPTEMBER -N OVEMBER 2013
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