Article by cassandra marinchak

Watercolors

By: Sandy Marinchak

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hen we think of watercolor, what may immediately come to mind are the cheap palettes and plastic brushes that we played with during childhood.

However, for professionals, the medium proves to be a technical challenge. Controlling it takes years of practice. Artists like Kaaren Marquez and Taryn Curiel prove that art, specifically watercolor, is a multifaceted form and offers many different approaches. Unfortunately, watercolor carries a negative

connotation in some corners of the artistic industry; it is less respected than more traditional paints like acrylic, oil, and gouache. In many art schools and prestigious studios, watercolor isn’t taken seriously, or is even discouraged.

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atercolor is an extremely diverse medium. The variation in the pigment to water ratio allows for a huge range of effects, from vibrancy to transparency to texture.

However, since the paint is mixed with water, and since the viscosity of water is so low, it can be difficult to control how the paint moves.

Watercolor takes many years to understand and any mistakes you make are extremely difficult to correct unlike acrylic and oil, where you can paint directly over previous paint.

Despite its intricacies, watercolor is often critiqued as an art form that lacks in professionalism. Camille Lyons, a teacher at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, insists that “Fine-art departments aren’t interested in watercolors and they actively discourage students who show interest in the medium. I find it frustrating that it is so difficult to study watercolors in art schools” (qtd. in Grant). Watercolor may be seen as a waste of time or immature in some ways to many illustrious schools and organizations.

David Frazer, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, doesn’t understand the medium well enough to instruct students on how to use it, and says he must refer them to other faculty members. This design school is not unique; many other art schools also do not support watercolor.

At the Maryland Institute College of Art, Robert Salazar, co-chair of the painting department, criticized watercolor as being “for little old ladies”, and he couldn’t “remember the last time we had a watercolor course” ( Grant) . At

some art schools, when students are exploring painting mediums, some professors gloss over or hardly teach the techniques of watercolor; perhaps because it requires too much patience and control.

Those who work professionally as watercolor artists prove that watercolor isn’t as straightforward as it’s made out to be. Their dedication and skill confirms this. Kaaren Marquez is one of these artists, she participates in plein air sites–painting scenes you observe outside–and exhibitions associated with the SCVWS. She has also won first place awards in the SCVWS Jured Member’s Show, the University Art Open Exhibition for Northern California, and SCVWS Members’ Event. She has won many sponsors’ awards as well as people’s choice awards, and has been featured in both the Watercolor West International Juried Exhibition and the California Watercolor Associations National Exhibition twice.

Her background in engineering may be the reason that she approaches watercolor almost like a science. Kaaren explains,

I’m very comfortable planning

and thinking about the steps. I like

things having steps, because I’m

not an abstract painter. Some

people, when they paint abstracts

it just flows and they just kind of

create. I’m not quite as touchy-

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“I’m trying to capture that moment and put it on paper.”

- Kaaren Marquez 4

“It’s very much a necessary thing for artists is to have some way to connect with others and there’s nothing like plein air because you’re all painting the same area but nobody’s work comes out the same.”

- Kaaren Marquez

feely as that, I know where I’m

going with it and I have a set

process that I go through.

Watercolor is still very

unpredictable, when you put it

down weird things happen. It

forces you to constantly be

responding and it’s really all

problem solving. You pretty much

are constantly fixing what you were

trying to do but sometimes what

comes out is much better as a

result. Also there is a lot of science

to it, a lot of experimentation.

A lot of it is really learning what the

different paints do, how different

colors behave different ways, and

how different manufacturers

of colors behave. I’ll work up little

experiments essentially. (Marquez) When Kaaren paints, she uses a scene or an object that intrigues her in some way and she tries to emphasize those parts of the image. When she is painting plein air she tries to recreate the moment and the feeling of being there: “I’m trying to capture that moment and put it on the paper.” Kaaren describes the powerful feeling of her process: “I’m in the moment,

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I’m totally engrossed in what I’m doing” (Marquez). Mikael Olson, an impressionist painter, shares this objective: “I want my paintings to be expressive, and I’m always trying to strike a balance between authenticity and expression. That is, I want the shapes to be dear and accurately depicted, but I also want the paint to express the connection I feel about what I’m seeing. The artists I admire most were able to do that” (qtd. in Doherty).

Kaaren was introduced to art through her mother when she was young. She worked in engineering for a while, so she did art as a hobby

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when she had free time or when she was vacationing. When she stopped working and her kids went to school, she had much more time to explore her creative interests. Kaaren took classes with her friend Anne Wilson, whose kids were the same age as hers. Anne was later diagnosed with Melanoma and she eventually passed away, a painful event in Kaaren’s life.

While she was still determined to create art, she felt lost: “ [Anne] was my art buddy and then she was gone and I didn’t have anybody to share this with. We were really close and so after she died I obviously didn’t want to give up art. I wanted to do it for her.”

Someone recommended the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society as a good group for Kaaren. She recounts her experience: “I just showed up to one of their paint sites and everybody was so nice and so welcoming. All of a sudden I had a whole new group of artists to connect with.” Being a part of this group helped her expand her artistic horizons and grow as an artist:

I met a lot of people that were

more on the professional

side so they encouraged me

to enter shows and to do other

things, that kind of turned

it more into a profession.

I guess it was something I was

“It’s not necessarily always fun, sometimes I’m in here yelling at myself, really upset, but I’m in the moment, I’m totally engrossed in what I’m doing.” - Kaaren Marquez

interested in but then meeting

people who were doing it made me want to actually push it a little further. (Marquez) The Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society may have acted as a means of support for Kaaren. For others, it’s important to have an outlet; being cooped up in a studio and lost in your work all of the time is isolating and it can be damaging to not have much social interaction. When Artists have a group of people who share their interests it is beneficial, and this is something that the SCVWS provides. Taryn Curiel explains, “It’s like anything, we need to talk about it and sometimes we need advice or examples.”

Taryn began her journey with art as a child by painting with her grandfather. He was already a skilled watercolor artist, and his work was displayed

around her house when she was younger. It would act as the initial inspiration for Taryn’s artistry. She progressed on her own and learned more about art through practicing and teaching herself.

She eventually studied fashion at El Instituto Technológico de la Moda and photography at La Activa in Mexico City. This taught her the many elements of design, as well as how to use them, and gave her resources so that she could advance in her creative career. Taryn later realized that she wasn’t studying fashion because she was interested in textiles, but because she was intrigued with people, their figures, and their stories.

Taryn moved to the United States and once she resumed working with art, she learned from Bob Gerbracht and Mike Bailey. She now is part of

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the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society and has been a part of many exhibitions in the Bay Area.

Taryn continues to defy others’ expectations of her. Since she grew up engulfed in the rich culture and art of Mexico City, some question her use of muted colors. Her parents also were worried that she wouldn’t be able to sustain herself as an artist or that she wouldn’t have a comfortable life. Because of these fears, she began by studying in the specific and more reliable fields of fashion and photography instead of just “art”. She says, “I’m a rebel. I’m gonna do whatever I want and I’m gonna do it how I want it. I don’t follow traditionals.”

Taryn strives to tell stories with her art: “It’s experience more than anything else. We are not selling a product; we are selling an experience, an emotion.” Taryn says, “I don’t like to follow other people; I like to have my own voice. They already have their voice. Your work has to be your own.” Her works include muted colors and human figures with geometrical elements overtop, creating structure. She describes the rectangles as windows, and hopes that the viewer will look through them and find meaning or create stories in the figures.

Allan Servoss, an artist from Wisconsin also feels this way, he says that “Viewers can put themselves in the piece and become a part of the process” (qtd. in Price). They both hope that their viewers are able to derive

“We are not selling a product, were selling an experience, an emotion. That is what art is about, to make people feel.”

- Taryn Curiel 8

“I’m not that clear in what I want to say or show. I don’t mind if they see something different, I like people to see their own story.

They bring their own stories and that’s what’s exciting about it” - Taryn Curiel

individual meanings from their works. Watercolor hobbyist and interior designer Susan Marinchak, says that: “People are drawn to it because it evokes so many feelings depending on the person” (Marinchak).

Susan got a degree in fashion merchandising which taught her the elements of design and much of art history. In her time as a department manager she found herself not enjoying work and she began working with interior design at Ethan Allen. Her fascination later grew when she observed the works of watercolor artists.

Susan eventually took classes for watercolor and practiced some on her own. She believes that our environments and the colors around us can have a strong impact on us.

She believes that watercolor is an important tool for designers to use as it allows you to create translucent effects that can be used to denote form in 3 dimensions. Designers can also use it in preliminaries to other works when they make

thumbnails because it allows you to lay down general shapes and ideas quickly.

Watercolor is a medium that people often discredit as not requiring much skill, but the opposite is true. Organizations like the SCVWS and artists like Kaaren Marquez and Taryn Curiel prove that it is an essential art form, requiring years of discipline, practice, and patience to be able to control.

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Author Bio

Sandy Marinchak grew up in the suburbs of Mountain View California. She is a junior who is currently attending Mountain View High and Freestyle academy. She is interested in natural sciences and many fields of art. Sandy enjoys learning about animals and has a pet dog and a veiled chameleon. In her free time, she draws, plays video games, and spends time with friends.

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Works Cited Curiel, Taryn. Personal Interview. 25 March. 2017.

Doherty, M. Stephen. “Emerging artist: Mikael Olson: this Denver artist sets

challenges to improve his skills and establish a personal style, and his

resulting oil paintings are attracting the attention of collectors around the

country.” American Artist, Oct. 2008, p.12+. Student Resources in

Context, Accessed 28 Mar. Grant, Daniel. “In Art Schools, Watercolors Don’t Get Any Respect.” The

Chronicle Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 June

2011, www.chronicle.com/blogs/arts/in-art-schools-watercolors-dont get-any-respect/29613. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Marquez, Kaaren. Personal Interview. 16 March. 2017.

Marquez, Kaaren. Personal Interview. 17 April. 2017.

Price, Linda S. “Improvisational drawing: Wisconsin artist Allan Servoss enjoys

the challenge of working spontaneously in colored pencil, never knowing

where a piece will lead him.” American Artist, Jan. 2006, p. 38+. Student

Resources in Context, Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

Susan, Marinchak. Personal Interview. 25 April. 2017.

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