The Content of Watercolor

THE CONTENT OF WATERCOLOR REVISED

AND EXPANDED

THE CONTENT EDWARD REEP

OF WATERCOLOR

REVISED AND EXPANDED

VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY

SHE NEW YORK CINCINNATI TORONTO LONDON MELBOURNE

To my to

my

whom this

wife, Pat,

book

dedicated,

is

enduring gratitude not only for her valuable help

but for her patience, understanding, and encouragement.

The author

deeply indebted to the numerous

is

museums, and

galleries

have been possible. staff at

and

I

without whose help

wish

Museum, Richard

most

Howard

Insti-

Diane Galli and

particularly, Mrs.

My

Miss Blanche Nishimura for their assistance.

special thanks

for her skillful research, Frederik Nieuwen-

huijs for his translations, aid,

Collins

Chouinard Art School of the California

tute of the Arts, and,

to Patricia

book would not

thank librarian Cal Davis and her

to

the Los Angeles County Art

his staff at the

artists, collectors,

this

Ruth Marie Judge

for her voluntary

and Donald Lent of the Noland Paper Corporation for his generous assistance.

Copyright

(£)

1983 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company inc

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Number 83-1264

Street

Melbourne. Victoria 3000. Australia

ISBN 0-442-27773-3

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Designed by Myron Hall

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III

The content Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold

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ot

Inc

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— Study and teaching. — Technique.

Water-color painting

Water-color painting

ND2110.R35 1983 ISBN 0-442-27773-3 (pbk)

I.

75

I

Title.

42"2

83-1264

CONTENTS Foreword

7

Introduction

9

1

The Legacy of Watercolor

2

The Background of

3

The Contemporary School

4

The Dynamics of

5

Related and Other Water-soluble Media

6

A

7

The Control of Watercolor

8

Approaching the Painting

the

54

Medium

74

106

128 146

169

Materials and

Equipment

Bibliography

174

Index

38

the Artist

Chronology of Change

Appendix

12

175

170

92

y

M

I

s

•\

1

m\i. .,-

3~^

: -'

COURTESY OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO.

FOREWORD Despite the acknowledged fact that important painters throughout history

deemed

their efforts in watercolor to be their finest

work, their watercolors were

relegated to a second class status. This was lamented by both Winslow Homer and J.M.W. Turner. Major art exhibitions were, for the most part, devoted to oil

paintings; watercolors were placed in back galleries

refuses.

—

a virtual salon de

classified watercolors

Books on painting more often than not

with

drawings. Recently, the publishers expressed a desire to produce a revised and expanded edition of the original book, suggesting that a portion might be devoted to basic

At one time,

instruction.

task impossible.

I

have since concluded that

something down that smacked of convey that same will

—

spirit

would have considered that there ought to be some way to set

for inexplicable reasons,

my work

I

in the classroom.

of investigation, practice, or learning

Why

not try to

call

what you

—

it

to those in need of a syllabus or guide for study.

intense enthusiasm, a virtual autopsy of

With

order to convert the lessons to text.

I

my

classes

was undertaken

in

soon discovered that to do this with clarity,

—

would not prove a simple task and I was right. The omnipresent gimmicks and formless effects lurked and tempted, much as the Sirens beckoned Ulysses. So it is that two sections of text evolved and are now a part of this work. If

purpose,

and

integrity

adhered to with reasonable patience, the diligent student should be able to gain a rudimentary control of the watercolor

medium. Over

found the work exciting and have prospered; what to

me

is

is

the years

infinitely

my

more

students

satisfying

that they have used their classroom experience as a base to launch

extremely personal directions. stated In the first edition of The Content of Watercolor, the foreword resolutely that this

is

Nude by Auguste

Watercolor and pencil. 11

2

x

12%

inches.

Rodin.

Max Doerner is quoted

from books, than to learn to swim then. The initial section of added since changed on a sofa." My attitude has not the text material is devoted to a fundamental use of materials and equipment; to latter section goes on to underscore my belief that there can be no single way

also: "It is

Standing

not a "how-to-do-it" or "how-I-do-it" book.

no more possible

to learn to paint

paint in watercolor.

Teachers and books get you going but activity

is

the thing that counts.

COURTESY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FREER GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON DC.

A

Theatrical Character by Katsushika Hokusai. Watercolor and ink on paper. 7 7 /1(i x

10%,

;

inches.

INTRODUCTION To be

free in the sense of being able to

know

the free person must

make independent

a great deal, must

experiences,

and must have enough confidence

and

how

to learn

to correct

must have learned

it

through

in his

means

choices

be sensitive to a

that

wide variety of

own judgment

further experience. It also

to assert

means

it

that he

respond to other people and other ideas different from his

to

own, rather than reacting against them, and that he has learned to accept differences as natural rather than as a threat to himself and his whole style of life. (From "Moral Values and the Experience of Art." in Art and the Intellect by Harold Taylor. 1952 and I960 by The Museum of Modern Art, New York)

©

To

reach the individual, bring out of

To develop

trick!

— from

sensitivities, to

him what he

already knows, that

be aware, informed, and

these experiences the true artist develops.

Only

alert,

and

is

the

to persevere

the hapless dilettante,

the sycophant or the frustrated student will ape his teacher beyond the point at

which learning from another's experience

own

one's

My

limitations

purpose

upon

is

beauty of the watercolor medium.

It is

word and

is

underscore

its

not only vital to explain

true gift of intimate, spontaneous expression.

possible to abuse a

medium

boundaries in the search for

Through long experience

we encourage everyone new and rewarding events.

or tool,

in this field as

both

artist

increasingly aware over the years that craftsmanship

it

how and why

And

it

is

to strain against all

and teacher, is

while

I

have become

a simple result of prac-

Nicolaides speaks of craftsmanship in painting as mere virtuosity and calls

a skill that

may

hide lack of real perception.

can be only expression.

Most painters

repeated emphasis upon

important that

The

we

He

suggests that in the end there

will rate content, subject matter,

nique in that order of importance. In

is

picture, the singular

technically unique while possessing obvious limitations, but to

watercolor

tice.

not force-feed

others.

to place before the reader, in

is

One must

relevant.

tech-

portions of this book you will find

all

these beliefs, almost to the point of redundancy; yet

it

take that risk.

elaborate world of sophisticated materials will not be dealt with in the

sense that there are special effects to be achieved.

cussed beyond the advantage which

may

Nor

we

will stress

There have been too many diagrams, suggestions, and already.

will

equipment be

dis-

be gained by using versatile, quality

products or by avoiding others. Here, too,

down

and

far

why and not what. too many rules laid

Watercolor has played an enormous role the Oriental world. This long legacy

in the history of art, especially in

traced in Section

is

beginning

1,

in the

prehistoric era with the art of the Stone Age. These ancient cave and rock paint-

ings were of necessity executed with a very liquid paint,

resemble those of the contemporary

artist at

work with

and the

results often

turpentine, acrylic or

watercolor wash. For this reason alone the history of watercolor begins with extraordinary drama.

The development that follows maintains rock surfaces give way to the more refined

Cave walls and

a startling pace.

plastered walls of the Egyptians,

Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Egyptian scribes applied watercolor to rolls of papyrus, and the Orientals employed rice papers with unusual

effect.

With

the

Renaissance, the penmanship of the painter begins to take hold, to ultimately

dominate the medium. Tonality insinuates beauty contained in the

and eliminates the chromatic

itself

The

bright colors of the ancients.

alertly

critics

"watercolor-drawing," and innocently proclaim that the

label such

work

medium

extremely

is

flat,

as

difficult to

manage. Watercolor

is

dubbed "the medium

of the masters."

In the early 19th century the British schools virtually suffocate the in

overemphasizing a

than

methodology more

strict

bound

to

documentation

Turner almost single-handedly

expression. It remained for

artistic

closely

medium to rescue

watercolor from this fate with his outpouring of vital and spontaneous work.

Turner gives us our

first

glimpse of things to come. Toward the end of the 19th

century, the French Impressionists add sparkling color-and-light experiences. after the turn of the century, the

Then, soon

German

Expressionists and an

restore the status of watercolor with

awakening American school completely dynamic energy and dramatic innovation. In Section 2,

we

take a brief but hard look at the

artist's

background, the

The

things he painstakingly explores and the enormousness of his task.

ground outlined herein

is

painters explore during their years of training.

We could not begin to encompass

of the areas of interest and study that concern

all

and

private.

or skilled

With

this in

back-

but a sample of the vast world that serious young

mind, no longer

may we

him

regard

—

studies both formal

artists as

merely gifted

nor can the amateur, neophyte or dilettante honestly call

workmen,

himself a painter.

The contemporary text traces the

artist

is

treated in a very personal

contemporary school

to

its

sionism, while simultaneously looking

porary

art.

Dada

upon the

this

to guide or in

The

and Expres-

movement The interim

total

as

a revolt

schools are

singled out as an important predecessor of contem-

For the most part, aside from the historical survey, living

ply us with personal commentaries through their

no attempt

in Section 3.

origins in Impressionism

against the long tradition of Renaissance thinking.

noted carefully, with

way

any way control

becomes the most enticing section

artists sup-

work and word. There has been

this

commentary. Understandably,

for the author, since

he too

is

invigorated

by the persuasions of other painters.

Perhaps there others.

Wherever

is

more

visual excitement in Sections 4

possible, there has

and 6 than

in

the

been an attempt to accompany the work

reproduced with an enlarged detail of the painting. This provides a most unusual optical journey for the viewer, although

10

some

of the enlargements are

By way of explanation, the difficulty of getting these details has been fearsome. It entailed selecting from available work, noting the section, returning the work, and praying that good results would be forth-

more revealing than

others.

coming. Several selections had to be abandoned simply because the negatives were no longer available, while in some instances the enlargements were sac-

were thought

rificed as they

The

be unnecessary.

to

which

preliminary text of Section 4,

away

color, pecks

formula-oriented

at the ludicrous

The dynamics

itself.

and

afford liberation

and

offers a visual

is

author's misfortunes as a

an end in

artist

humor involved in the text, based mostly student, when technique was demanded as

autopsy of pictorial content. There

upon the

devoted to the dynamics of water-

is

of watercolor are carefully explored in order to

through intelligent

full expression

analysis.

The

desire

is

to breed confidence, not futility.

Moving

to watercolor, such as acrylic, tempera, etc.,

media related

into the

enlargements are again employed in Section

5,

with startling

effect.

Here, col-

lage and impasto thicknesses appear along with the more opaque paints and suggest further dimensions. For example, it is captivating to watch Morris Louis

transform an essentially opaque acrylic into a translucent symphony, or to observe the infinite variations that occur when paint and support are altered. In

we

addition to a survey of works in the related fields of water-base paint,

are

afforded a dramatic view of the artist straining against traditional barriers.

The

sensitive reader will

undoubtedly understand the author's concern

Section 6, the area devoted to his

work

to

speak for

explanations help forward. In one's

own

early

work

whenever

itself

provide a far

own

would

paintings. All artists

possible. In this treatise,

more revealing

essay,

in

like their

however, the text

and they are

straight-

opinion, such a written analysis can only be attempted with

my

and not otherwise. Apropos, and in retrospect, some of the admittedly based more upon enthusiasm than knowledge or in-

efforts is

However, the chronology of work should prove illuminating and the

sight.

lessons,

hoped,

it is

Sections 7 and 8

clear.

make their entrance into this revised and expanded edition of

teacher The Content of Watercolor offering practical guidance for student and purpose relative to the alike. Because the foreword deals with an explanation of new sections, there is little need for further description here. if method-approaches If rules and regulations are ultimately to be denied and are

deemed

futile,

then

how might

the answer to such a question

following

is

would prove

and forgotten the

next. It

ought

It is

complex

as

submitted: Like most treatises,

cover and then abandoned forever.

book be most helpful? While

this particular

it

as the question itself, the

should not be read from cover to

not an examination to be taken one day

to be explored

with discrimination; that

is

to

in this book cansay, one thing may be used and the next spurned. Everything Returnnot possibly help you, nor can it always be useful to you at a given time.

ing later to the very thesis that was once cast aside

This this

is

a source

book of information

knowledge hopefully

ences.

There

is

each of us that

so it

much

may prove

that has been

will provide rare

would be lamentable not

drawn from

and exciting

that remains untapped

to

new

be most helpful. inspiration,

and

painting experi-

and awaiting release deep within

to investigate these individual

worlds

of discovery.

11

THE LEGACY 'fa

PHOTO

12

I.

SERISAW'A.

1

OF WATERCOLOR In order to fully appreciate the nature of watercolor today to

examine

plete

briefly

document of

some of

its

and

will serve us well

While it is impossible to present a comwe may attempt to highlight the most sig-

origins.

so vast a subject,

nificant contributions

it

same time

at the

relate

them

to the purposes of this

book.

The monumentality of this task grows when one realizes that the earliest known paintings, dating roughly 20,000 B.C., were no doubt executed in a water-base medium. Of greater import, these works look more like contemporary painting than do the efforts of the more "advanced" schools to follow, such as

One

Chinese, Persian, or Renaissance.

has only to examine the cave-wall art of

Altamira, Spain, or of Lascaux, France, to witness this astonishing revelation.

By

Bushman

careful examination of the

work This

North Australian Aborigines, one gains even further

of the

work of

latter

The hunting and animal standable, since survival

am

many

of today's efforts.

motifs which dominated early art are clearly under-

was of primary importance.

these scenes had further and specific

meanings

inclined to agree with those scholars of paleolithic art

For example, for the

it

reassurance.

cave-wall, rock, or bark painting will appear remarkably

contemporary, almost identical to

Whether

paintings of South Africa, and the

is

who

debatable, but

I

believe they did.

appears reasonably certain that there were utilitarian demands

numerous

single animal paintings found

on cave

walls.

Wall

scars in

strategic areas and other clues indicate that they were used as part of a training

program the

for the hunter. For example,

working from the single animal paintings,

young hunter could be shown where the

vital striking areas existed,

and

evidence suggests that spears were actually driven into the paintings in practicing the kill.

Of

greater pertinence for us

spontaneity that are

demanded

a very

bound

aqueous paint

lent itself to the artist's

Sumi-e painting by

magic of (

10x12

rice paper.

inches.

the fact that these works reveal a softness and

Undoubtedly the roughness of the walls

in order to

cover the surface, and this in turn

excitement and intensity in executing the work.

performance was quite obviously shared by both the

artist

The

and the

opposite

Ken Wakeshima.

Sumi ink on

this

is

to emotion.

spectator.

The

greatest contributions in the history of watercolor

Eastern schools of painting.

As

early as the

Nara

come from

the Far

Period in the eighth century,

13

the Japanese executed scrolls, mainly in ink on paper, which remain extremely

vibrant and spontaneous to this day. Japanese culture was strongly influenced

by T'ang China

and painting

at the time,

were taken from

styles in particular

Indian prototypes carried eastward through Central Asia, China,

Whether

secular or religious, Oriental art

and has remained unexcelled. Watercolor

and Korea.

superb in concept and execution

is

natural

is its

medium,

for not only did

the Oriental child develop exceptional dexterity through the delicate manipulation of his chopsticks, but he

While

may seem

it

was

weaned with

virtually

a brush in his hands.

incongruous, since there are 72 important laws that govern

Japanese painting, the Japanese

were masters of the subjective

artists

The

viewer of the Oriental landscape senses at once that he

in

and surrounded by

it

and depth.

It

him with

suffuses

European concept

overpowering sense of

its

The

is

scale

sheer beauty of

which the viewer stands apart from the painting.

in

something to be viewed, to witness, as

Not

ticipated in by others.

change

or

it,

gives the viewer a heady experience. Contrast this with the traditional

work

the

it.

aromatic, mysterious, and adventuresome.

It is

attitude.

a part of

is

terns, the

and with

For along with

art.

was

sort of occurrence par-

until the French Impressionists was there a major

in this point of view,

of Eastern

were some

if it

It

it

it

a recognition of the true contribution

came an understanding

of the flattened pat-

chroma, and the use of graphic symbols, plus the

art of selection,

elimination, or the unsaid.

Nowhere

in the history of

painting has the

medium

of pure, essentially trans-

parent watercolor been relied upon more exclusively than in Oriental school of

Sumi

upon the

entirely

subtle nuances of tonal

art.

The

and white, depends

e (black picture), while limited to black

wash gradations. These tones

are pro-

duced from a cake of black color, which resembles the hard-pan watercolors used in our elementary schools.

overworking

The

results are exceptionally

spontaneous since

frowned upon.

is

The laws that govern Sumi e painting are far too numerous to recount here, but one may not take the name of the Sumi master until all the strict teachings have been absorbed. One such law is called fade no chikara, which means "the strength of the brush stroke." While the contemporary painter might feel limited

working under imposed

restrictions

and

rules, this

chikara. Conversely, under this law, at the precise

his

arm and hand, through

continues to pour steadily into his

may compare

moment

of paint application

the brush, and onto the painting surface.

His sense of the vital forces of power, restraint,

We

not so with fude no

sentiment or feeling must be transmitted from within,

to surface, the artist's

through

is

work

fragility, softness,

or harshness

until completion.

the results of fude no chikara with those of the contempo-

rary action painter, or find a strong resemblance to the older school of alia

painting. Alia

prima painting, popularly known

pleted-at-one-sitting,

I

pletely lacking in the

work

ers (especially those

working

tired,

which begins with emotion

prefer to explain as "that

and ends with emotion." The lessons contained

in

fude no chikara were so com-

of the English, French, Italian, and in watercolor),

worn, and limp by comparison.

We

work being produced and espoused. Tempera painting dominated the world

prima

as wet-into-wet or to-be-com-

American

paint-

that their paintings were often

find to this

day

this saccharine

and

flabby

technically as a

14

of the ancients and

form of watercolor. But there

is

far

may be

classified

deeper meaning to be found

here than in mere definition, despite the fact that free-flowing line and an

abundance of glazing were prevalent. For example, the scribes as they

were

work on papyrus is

were required

called,

rolls,

in

artists

of Egypt, or

apprenticeship to execute their

which encouraged quickness and

This influence

fluidity.

readily noted in their wall paintings (usually in tombs), for despite the spe-

demands

cific

of a craft

and expressive

handed down from one generation

characteristics are felt. It

must be kept

was primarily concerned with death.

scribe

by the need to provide for the

His subjects were

ritualistic,

life after

Tomb

to another, individual

mind

in

that the art of the

decorations were dominated

death of important or wealthy persons.

biographical, or mythological, and included graphic

symbols and hieroglyphics. There was no attempt

to portray literally nature or

people, yet the results were extremely realistic. This delicate paradox

understood

when one

is

readily

recognizes the mastery of expression, pattern, and

flat,

bright color that dominates Egyptian painting and produces an inimitable timelessness.

The

Etruscans, on the other hand, being highly influenced by the Orientals,

presented an even livelier version of ceilings, terra-cotta slabs, urns

and plants. All of life

this, as in

tomb

paintings.

They decorated

their walls,

and sarcophagi with scenes of people, animals,

Egyptian

art,

was prepared mainly

of the deceased and/or to record his funerary

to

document the

Although the Etruscans

rites.

were strong admirers of the Greeks, they were unable

to

compete with the

Greek mastery of draftsmanship.

A

later record of Italian painting

which has endured remarkably

is

to

be found in the art of the Romans,

well. Relying essentially

very careful preparation of the ground support, the

came even more

Roman

present.

It is

small wonder that

in excellent condition to this day, for those

and pigment are of prime import

The Roman tary conquests,

artist-craftsman be-

sophisticated by adding a wax-encaustic element to his paint

when exposure problems were remained

on tempera along with

artist

art has

two concerns of ground

to all artists.

was involved with the recording of

and honorific

Roman

rites.

He

historical events, mili-

presented them in amazingly illusionistic

landscape settings, in addition to producing isolated landscapes, garden scenes,

and even

still-lifes.

Modest and elaborate homes

alike

were profusely decorated,

as evidenced by the excavations of Pompeii. Walls, ceilings, floors, furniture

—

indeed everything was painted with color that served to provide spiritual and

emotional meanings

in

addition

to

decorative values.

Bruskless areas were

played against translucent line on pale off-white surfaces that produced delicate sensations.

Then,

too, a precise

poses of achieving special startling black

there it is

was

absence of color was employed for similar pur-

meaning. For example, a room might be done

and white theme, which

a very definite striving for

noteworthy that

this period

is

a

most contemporary

form through the use of

attitude.

light

in a

While

and shade,

produced innovations through analysis of light

that suggest future impressionistic thinking.

So when we think of the legacy of watercolor we are the magnificence of Ancient and Eastern

art,

irresistibly directed to

for these worlds of art, while

highly developed for their time, were not concerned with labels of media. Yet

with

all

of the restrictions of technique and style, plus utilitarian demands, there

remains a strong flavor of magic and discovery, remarkably

direct.

Turning to the Middle Ages, watercolor as such, with the possible exception

15

of

some

rewarding frescoes, was ignored. Stones and metals invaded

fantastically

the art form, and decoration

became

The Byzantines stunned

a chief concern.

the world of art with overpowering mosaics, and the superb stained-glass win-

dows

of the Middle

Ages played a

vital role in influencing the

general art mold.

Manuscripts, tapestries, and miniatures (notably Persian), preoccupied

artists,

and produced lasting influences. Religious themes dominated the masterworks of Giotto, Duccio, and Lorenzetti; while Bosch and

Van Eyck

dazzled

all

with

incredible fantasies.

However,

it

remained for the

and establish a sound base for

artists

of the Renaissance to revive watercolor

future role as a major painting

its

we

here, primarily through preliminary sketches,

medium. For

sense the awakening of the

intimate world of the artist through his penmanship.

Watercolor became an inexorable part of drawing, and was fied as such.

fully

who

This regrettable and somewhat naive pattern

by various enjoy

critics

artistic

and

art historians

is

is still

become

classi-

held to faith-

either cannot detect differences or

snobbery. For to refer to an

watercolor painting as a drawing

was cause

who

to

oil

painting as painting, and to a

pure foolishness. Yet in

all

fairness there

for this attitude during the Renaissance period.

Diirer brought watercolor to a

and Tiepolo were destined

new

and the works of Rembrandt

plateau,

to reacquaint artists

with the singular beauty of the

spontaneous statement. Through watercolor, painters were struck with the rare opportunity to gain freedom and achieve rapidly. Their preparation work alone

unknown, except perhaps

displayed emotional involvement heretofore

in the

aforementioned Oriental world.

we come

Until

note. This

little to

to the English school,

may seem

of contemporary watercolor as a reasons, not the least of

amount

copious

of

headed by Blake and Turner, there

major medium. But

which was the enormous

work devoted

excited about their efforts, retrospection offers

we know

it

lish artists

their watercolors

It

is

and the

unfortunate

time were dedicated and

little

more than ennui.

gallery of an exhibition,

form

it is

work

in watercolor.

The

They

best oil paintings were always

felt that

hung

in the

whereas the watercolors were automatically

inferior oils in adjoining rooms.

This prompted them

societies for the exclusive exhibition of watercolors.

only spread but has continued to

The

as

were being given second-class consideration, and they had the

lumped together with the

yet

to a host of

today, dates back to this precise era, as these early 19th century Eng-

reacted to the snubbing of their

evidence to support their claims.

to

medium.

at that

up

was due

noteworthy that the beginning of the "watercolor society" or "club"

It is

main

this

interest in watercolor

exclusively to the

working with watercolor

that while the artists

is

paradoxical, for surely here lay the very foundation

This practice not

this day.

singular contributions of Turner have proved meaningful and enduring;

odd that the bulk of

as a preparation for later

his watercolors

greatly enhanced by this procedure, to capture

poraries.

were painted on landscape locations

and more ambitious it

oils.

remained

While Turner's

oils

were

for his sketches in watercolor

an essence and brilliance which placed him far beyond his contem-

When we

contrast his

work with

romantic painter of the eighteenth century,

that of Paul Sandby, a mannerist,

we

clearly feel the tedious preoccu-

pation with overembellishment, so popular at the time. In America, during the latter half of the nineteenth century,

16

Winslow Homer

brought a new meaning to the medium. His

now

classic

apart as the epitome of freshness and vitality. His

appeal as one inhales sea

work

Bahamian

series stood

wide sensory

offers a

stands against the wind, or cuts through tropical

air,

Demuth added new dimensions to Homer's work; while their work was of a less rugged nature, both men were superb composers and draftsmen. Now, into the twentieth century, Davies, Feininger, and a whole new Prendergast and

flora.

school including Marin and Burchfield brought watercolor in America to a

splendent It is

amusing and

oils.

Time

represented him.

more impor-

attached far

At the Pan American Exposition Exhi-

bition in Buffalo at the turn of the century, oils,

Homer

significant to note that

tance to his watercolors than to his

not his

re-

level.

Homer

insisted that his watercolors,

has given generous support to Homer's

wisdom.

The French

Impressionists and

German

Expressionists concurrently were

own

creating separate and dramatic paintings of their

with vigor against tradition

in

with watercolor. Reacting

general and the Renaissance in particular,

it

is

obvious that their efforts remain largely responsible for the complexion of today's art scene.

Caught up

emerged not only

color

in the

as a

excitement and discoveries of the day, water-

spontaneous medium, but

Cezanne, an enigmatic, solidly structured, yet transparent

Through Cezanne's dedication

medium

to the re-creation of light, plus the

that the viewer reassemble the work, he If

became known

The

we need

of Paul as

well.

requirement

as the "great innovator."

ever there was a need to support the old cliche that "watercolor

of the masters,"

work

as in the

is

the

medium

only point to Cezanne and his genius in composition.

Expressionists brought a

new

color dimension to all of painting, includ-

ing watercolor. Their efforts simply exploded from the walls and poured forth dazzling groupings of colors. Totally subjective, and purposely ignoring lessons of light

and shade,

their

work hinted

kinetic or inner energy was exploited, and

of things to come.

art

The

all

past

theory of

horizons immediately widened.

Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky brought enormous intellect and wit to their art,

while Nolde followed with an outpouring of small, brilliantly colored

works.

The

lessons

had been learned, and now they were being abandoned. The cave-

wall paintings formed a beginning, the Renaissance a high point, and Cezanne's

impressionism heralded a counter-reaction to

all

that

had gone before. The

horizons of painting widened to establish a broader plateau that would, hopefully,

support the imminent creative explosion to follow. There would be newer

lessons but they

next section rary painter,

we

were not yet will carefully

which are based

clearly in view;

however, what of the old? In the

examine the fundamental needs of the contempoin great part

upon

his

monumental

legacy.

17

Lascaux Cave

on the

left

(

below

)

.

The

great frieze

wall of the "Hall of Bulls."

stage for our exploration of the fluid char-

cise

Large Eland and site).

Human

Figures

(

oppo-

Rock painting from Khotsa Cave,

The

media.

the use of the convolutions of the natural

components of primitive painting

rock surface to enhance or achieve a goal.

we

This may be likened to the inventiveness

the reader the

of the contemporary artist in preparing

media are of

do wish

little

concern to

to impress

upon

us,

but

cave painter's fundamental need for an

Basutoland, South African Union.

extremely liquid paint, a need dictated by

This extraordinary wall painting from the

the porosity of his stone and wall surfaces.

The

Lascaux Caves begins our pictorial survey of the legacy of watercolor. tionably a remarkable

It is

work from

unques-

the stand-

is

of Bulls" a most impressive example of

pre-

acteristic of all water-base

total effect of this Paleolithic

work

strikingly similar to that of the great

Oriental schools to follow. Even

more

marked resemblance

sur-

varieties of

Age, prehistoric art came into beThe rock painting shown here, from

last Ice

ing.

the South African Union,

prising

the technical restrictions imposed by sur-

contemporary works. The softness of mass,

animal and

face and materials,

the crispness of calligraphy, the glazing of

posed,

it

becomes

a stagger-

ing accomplishment.

Both the Lascaux African

the

color over color and color over frieze

and the South

rock painting opposite set

the

face are ing.

methods found

Furthermore,

we may

to many-

raw

sur-

in today's paint-

observe in "Hall

is

the product

of a culture with a highly sophisticated

point of durability alone; but in view of

is

grounds and supports.

In the later Paleolithic period, or the

tradition in

usually

we

is

art.

This superb example of

human

figures, rarely

typical of the

done

in

superim-

work which was

polychrome

layers.

Again

discover a compatibility with the his-

torical schools or watercolor to follow.

COURTESY OF ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPHIQUES. PARIS

18

While tional,

it

realistic.

since

all

primitive art

representa-

is

by no means could be termed

Animals

dominated

painting,

hunting was a chief concern, but

there were paintings of processionals, uals,

and dances

in

which human

rit-

figures

would appear with animal heads. Of more pertinence to us

is

the rare compositional

gesture and draftsmanship seen here. Scale

and buoyancy are handled with such tinction that one

goals were artist.

art

must assume

uppermost

There can be

in the

little

dis-

that esthetic

mind

of the

doubt that early

was highly sophisticated.

COLLECTION OF FROBENIUS INSTITUTE. GERMANY (COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK).

19

Fowling Scene,

from

a

Theban tomb.

Still reflecting

filing

1570-1349 B.C.

the

such conventions as pro-

human

figure,

Fowling Scene

exhibits masterly draftsmanship and sense

This exquisite example of Egyptian painting comes from the "Empire" period of her history and

is

significant for several

reasons. Until this dynasty (XVIII), paint-

ing had been primarily a means of decorating the stone relief of architecture and sculpture; rarely did

pendent

art.

it

exist as

Because of the

an inde-

difficulty of

carving on very coarse walls, Egyptian painters lific

were

tomb

called

paintings.

upon

to

produce pro-

of design in the birds, hunting cat, and

papyrus. Flat colors were mixed with

Gum

confecting watercolor. In this painting, an

Egyptian noble, his wife, and his daughter are depicted ridding their papyrus

of birds.

Despite

its

shows

a

most

cate application of soft glaze at

the papyrus, birds,

swamp

age of well over 3,000

years, the painting still

mpjp" 20

gum

and applied to dry plaster or stucco surarabic is used to this day in faces.

cat,

and

deli-

work

in

fish.

COURTESY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON.

Tomb

Danzatore, detail from the

Old Man, Tarquinia,

Italy.

of the

VI century

B.C.

While volumes have been devoted Etruscan Art,

we

to

are concerned only with

a sample of the era in order to touch on

important step of

an

our legacy. The

tomb

remarkable Etruscan

not

frescoes

only afford us an opportunity to observe

Etruscan culture and daily

life,

but allow

us a further examination of their art

The Etruscan dancer shown primarily

selected

give

to

itself.

here has been intimate

an

view of surface and paint application.

main

In the

we

text

referred to Etrus-

can tomb paintings as the COURTESY OF FOTOTECA UNIONE.

of that ancient

to the distracting

liveliest version

This was obviously due

art.

and constant

during

this period,

rested

cultural

wars

civil

which undoubtedly

ar-

development. The result

was a bolder and less sophisticated draftsmanship applied to a cruder working surand the scenes

face;

reflected the Etruscans'

violent preoccupation with forceful ani-

mation. lessly

The Etruscan

artist

plunged

fear-

into his work, decorated virtually

every surface in sight, and in great measure

paved the way

splendid

Roman

much

for

of

the

art to follow.

In Danzatore,

we

note

profiling

the

seen in the three Egyptian figures on the

opposite page; yet the action

vigorous and there

is

less

more

far

is

of a reliance

upon symbolism. This comparison holds true not only with these examples, but

with most Etruscan and Egyptian works.

how

deterioration shows clearly

The

the

wall surface was prepared, and gives us a

glimpse of the rough surface and sequent paint

layers.

We

may

pare the bold Etruscan line with

Egyptian counterpart.

From

its

its

a

would be

more

careful

a purely tech-

nical standpoint, a rougher surface

demand

sub-

com-

also

would

liquid paint, or the result

a skipping, drier

wash or

line.

Furthermore, in fresco painting, because the artist works a vital factor.

on

A

fresh plaster, control

is

mistake often demands

removal of the old plaster and re-surfacing.

the

This alone makes such early more impressive and relates it

expanded world of watercolor in

art all

to the

to follow,

which mistakes are obviously more

difficult to deal

with than in traditional

opaque media.

21

Clear Weather in the Valley. Landscape

Tung Yuan. Sung Dy-

by

scroll (section)

nasty (XII century?). Ink and slight color

on paper. This handsome section of a very early

Chinese handscroll

is

attributed

Sung Dynasty, although

much

debate

among

to

the

there has been

historians in attempt-

ing to identify accurately both artist and school.

Our purposes may happily ignore and instead look

this controversy,

to the

superb performance of ink monochrome, subtlety of color gradation, and richness

of total orchestration.

The is

origin of the watercolor

felt here.

The

many

controlled accident, so vital in of

medium

inimitable qualities of the

contemporary

phases

combines

expression,

with the wondrous calligraphy of the Oriental artist, the virtual innovator of the

landscape painting.

We

are invited to ex-

plore valleys and coves, walk terious pathways, clusters of plant

and rock formation. The

magnitude and quality of painting

is

a

down mys-

and peer into detailed

direct

result

early Oriental

of

thorough

training and subjective analysis.

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. BOSTON.

22

COURTESY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FREER GALLERY OF ART. WASHINGTON

YuzQ Nembutsu Engi. Yamatoe school. 1329.

Handscroll

(detail).

Kamakura

period,

1 1

~4

shown here

is

and gold on paper.

Ink, color,

D.C.

5Y8

inches.

The

exquisite handscroll

r,

x

one

of countless works produced during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries in Japan which display superb draftsmanship and

compositional control. The great tradition of drawing excellence established by the

Yamatoe school These

artists

upon drawing outlined

While

first,

this

is

clearly

much emphasis

that their

work was often

and

later filled in

deny

all

how much

with color.

approach would be frowned

upon by contemporary to

evident here.

placed so

artists as

spontaneity,

flow and

it

is

seeming

surprising

movement have been

maintained. Executed in ink, color, and

gold on paper, this handscroll, like others of the Yiizu stories

Nembutsu

belief, illustrates

and incidents related

to their sect.

Despite the strong demands of method

and subject, trees in

if

one examines the

line,

the

the upper portion, and the soft

gradations of color throughout, he will

become aware

of

an amazing freedom

within the self-imposed limitations.

23

View

8%

Arco by Albrecht Diirer (1471-

of

Watercolor and

1495.

1528).

8%

x

At the age of

24, Albrecht Diirer painted

landscapes

several

gouache.

inches.

were revolutionary

which

watercolor

in

in scope.

Nature never

had been presented with such a peculiar blending of sharp detail and atmospheric

While

grandeur. ters

the Orientals were mas-

of the subjective landscape,

Diirer

took

it

European painting from

free

to

dogma and

ancient religious

new

build

foundations for contemporary thinking.

This was not a new experience for Albrecht Diirer, for

producing any

only 13 he was

He

the time.

artist at

animals,

when

self-portraits, a rare subject for

he worked with

pieces;

and pen and

ink,

later

turned to

and

landscapes,

portraits,

altar

watercolor,

oil,

and produced magnifi-

cent woodcuts and engravings. At the of the Renaissance

in

dawn

Germany, Diirer

unquestionably laid cornerstones for the great schools to follow.

View

Arco was painted on

of

turn trip from Italy in 1495.

an

capture

infinite

distance

his re-

appears to

It

that

against the closeness of forbidding

r,.

plays cliffs.

the very essence of the ancient

It lives as

awesome

Italian

landscape.

scale

given emphasis by the nestling of

is

r ..N..

walls, fortresses,

Its

sense of

and other smaller

struc-

tures against the majestic mountain.

accomplishments

Diirer's

summed up in

cannot

in a single painting or

be

even

an entire volume. His prodigious

complishment went wrote

treatises

far

on many

beyond

art;

ac-

he

subjects, includ-

ing fortifications, proportions, and mea-

surement. Although his greatest influence has been

felt

we cannot

in the field of graphic art,

overlook his monumental gift

to the watercolor painter.

£*S#$ %* COLLECTION OF THE LOUVRE,

24

PARIS.

COLLECTION OF THE BERLIN MUSEUM.

View

London by Rembrandt van Ryn

of

(1606-1669). 1640. Pen,

6V2 x

and wash.

bistre,

121/2 inches.

Le Tibre en

Amont de Rome

by Claude

(1600-1682). Brush and

Lorrain

wash on white paper. 414 x

10%

bistre

inches.

These two significant paintings by Rembrandt and Claude Lorrain are similar in

but they

that they are both panoramic;

are quite different in treatment. For one

London

thing, Rembrandt's view of the

countryside, with is

St. Paul's in the distance,

a spontaneous, flattened,

perience. Executed in

brown pigment made it

rain,

of

bistre

(a

from charred wood),

deals magnificently with light

and haze

monochromatic

key. Lor-

on the other hand, presents

a fullness

in essentially a

COLLECTION OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON.

and linear ex-

pen and

wash

trast

and suggests an intense color con-

and

reflection of light off the Tiber.

So much has been written of these

mous

painters,

Rembrandt, that could add

little

and most especially this

brief

fa-

of

commentary

biographically.

My

pur-

pose in showing these two works together is

not only to encourage comparative view-

ing, but to set the stage for the

unusual

development of the British school which follows. Keep in mind that we have now reached a high point of spontaneous expression, and that watercolor

referred to as the

medium

was curiously

of the masters.

25

( .

f/vjptrt(/cl®Ja:(®rta/ict bafth Gmdiinthtdldand cfuucmtQ}.*, '

I

t

»

,

^^i-^S

frjfr^.5 COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM. LONDON

Peter's

St.

Thomas

Port and

Phillips

(

Cornett

Castle

by

1635?-1693). 1680. Ink

17%

line

and watercolor.

An

Ancient Beech Tree by Paul Sandby

(1725-1809).

No

Body

1794.

color gouache).

21Y% x

x 41Vs inches.

(water-

colors

41%

inches.

would be complete without

survey

touching upon the odd turning of the English school. For here, well over a century after the expressive vitality of

brandt

we

Rem-

and the chiaroscuro of Lorrain,

sink back into a world inundated with

genre painting. Phillips' work

is

classifiable as a painting.

truly

It

is

hardly the

forerunner of the architectural rendering as

we know

it

today,

and was referred to

then as a platte painting. These plattes, or COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON.

plot-plans,

were normally drawn out

monochrome, but with

in

the tremendous in-

terest in watercolor at that time, Phillips

added

transparent

platte to increase

color

its

washes

Meanwhile, Sandby and contributing portfolios

of

little

and

his

others

were

more than enormous

highly

romantic,

and mannered works. Interest

dium was

to

effectiveness.

idealistic

in the

me-

so high at this time that clubs

societies

were formed for the

sole

purpose of exhibiting watercolor paintings.

26

Ship and Cutter by

J.

M. W. Turner 1775(

1851). Watercolor and pencil on paper.

11%

9Vs x

A

on the opposite page

more than lord

will accomplish

these words. For Joseph Mal-

William Turner gave the English

school a needed

than the

He

more

transfusion

of vitality.

to

have seen the drama of Lorrain, which

must have moved Turner; but never be-

elaborate

an internal truth rather

fore had the painting world experienced

than the customary outer veneer. His early

such a dynamic and tempestuous brush as

training as a draftsman his

drawings

at the

— he was — no doubt selling

age of 12

endowed him with dence to work with

the

necessary confi-

rare enthusiasm

in

the outdoor world he loved.

Ship and Cutter, as a single statement, can hardly be expected to display the fullness

works

peered long and hard into na-

ture, searching for

inches.

simple comparison of this painting with

those

tent

follow.

It is

not

difficult to

this

brash upstart was not readily accepted by

members

his fellow

no questioning

for his innovations posed a serious chal-

message.

Turner's watercolors are essentially studies

for his oils or mezzotints, but they are

obviously

filled

with more emotional con-

of the Royal Academy,

lenge to their traditions.

ing to note that Turner's tried to emulate,

Nor idol,

is it

the

wielded

those

father lets

While

others

Ship and Cutter an

in-

the

that

he was the

contemporary school.

He

slashing brush strokes, spattered paint,

and unfinished wash support theme.

He

masterfully things

We

in

who contend

of

surpris-

was Claude Lorrain.

Turner.

novative spirit that provides ammunition

man

he

by

Turner displays

for

understand that

of his total contribution, but there can be its

that

were relying upon subject matter alone,

with

a

superb

coming undone,

transit, all

his perilous

controls conflicting diagonals

in

disorder

of

motion and

struggling for survival.

***\

A-

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. nOSTON, GIFT OF

DR.

\

WILLIAM NORTON BULLARD.

27

The Whirlwind

of Lovers (Hell, Canto 5)

he used watercolor almost exclusively to

by William Blake (1757-1827). Ink line

carry out his visionary works.

and watercolor. 14 1/" x

often

20V2

inches.

for

illustrations

writings and those of the

Because

upon

of

Turner's

the art world,

placed

him

to play

Turner against

sors.

It

is

enormous

we have

impact

purposely

before William Blake in order his flaccid predeces-

of little consequence that our

chronology suffers a slight shock, for

at

posed with his imagination, ignored convention, and held fast to his

The Whirlwind

of Lovers

which

powerfully

attest

no technical guidance or

William Blake was unique:

He

was hardly

a painter in the accepted sense, although

is

to

normal sequence of

never be another like him.

subjective

but one of

a prolific outpouring of magnetic works

man's burning personality.

there will

own

goals.

best Blake can hardly be placed into any art events.

These were

own poetic Bible. He com-

his

this

We

classic

great

look for

draftsman-

ship here, yet William Blake, by virtue of his imagination

and

great painters of

all

vision,

is

one of the

time.

COURTESY OF THE CITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY. BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

28

Slope of a Hill by Eugene Delacroix

(

1798-

1863). Watercolor on paper.

The most notable

painter and the leading

figure of the romantic movement in France,

Delacroix presents us with the antithesis of the Blake on the opposite page. Fresh,

spontaneous, and spatial, brilliant in pano-

ramic

scale,

Delacroix's

Slope of a Hill

own

is

unlike even

planned

carefully

oils.

But despite this sparkling, breezy jacket, there

is

a careful transposing of light

and

dark masses in the lower portion of the

must be the result of Delaunder Gros and his admira-

painting. This croix's studies

and Veronese,

tion for Gericault, Rubens, all

classically involved with subject and

form.

While

* .&> *^*«i^ COURTESY OF CABINET DES DESSINS, THE LOUVRE,

PARIS.

his

output was prodigious, his

most satisfying works remain

his colorful

sketches, drawings, and watercolor paintings.

Man

Reading

Daumier

in

Garden by Honore

a

(1808-1879).

drawing on paper. 13

1

Once again we witness form and

1854-56.

Wash

10%

inches.

%e

a classic control of

structure in this

performance by Daumier.

work

premonition in

this

things to come.

The

x

amazingly solid there

Still,

is

a

of impressionist

loose brush

and

line,

and the patient love for intense contrasts that

characterize

Daumier's

work,

are

clearly evident. Originally a cartoonist, he

eventually

completed over 4,000

graphs which, for the most

litho-

part, furiously

attack corruption and evil. His satirical

and often

bitter

commentaries aimed at

the French society around

him

are without

parallel.

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. BEQUEST OF MRS. H. O. HAVEMEYER, 1929. THE H. O. HAVEMEYER COLLECTION.

29

COURTESY OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM.

The

Heap by Winslow Homer

Shell

W^Ae

(1836-1910.) 1904. Watercolor.

x

14 inches.

Nassau by Winslow Homer. 1899. Watercolor. 15

x 2\y% inches.

Winslow Homer was line of

American

the

acclaim for his watercolor recently have critics

wagon

now

efforts.

hopped on

wide

Yet only

his

band-

to speak of his modernity.

They

proffer reasons

why

his tightly

"minimal"

present

oils

in a long

first

to receive

artists

formed

experiences

of

deepest and most profound implication.

But the truth

is

that

trator, self-taught,

Homer was

an

illus-

and was happiest when

cutting away from the shackles of his past.

He far

openly

felt that his

watercolors were

more meaningful than

his oils.

shown here

In both of the paintings

we

share Homer's love for the open, wind-

swept Bahama

coast.

His superb control

of draftsmanship and structure understandably echoes his disciplined past, but there is

ease and assurance in his adroit han-

dling of the ably

Homer

medium is

watercolor enthusiasts; but nate that his in

Unquestion-

as well.

the bellwether of

work

method than

is

more

it

American

is

unfortu-

often emulated

in subjective spirit.

VMCJi COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, PURCHASE, 1910, AMELIA

30

B.

LAZARUS FUND.

COURTESY OF THE WORCESTER ART MUSEUM.

^isMjr^

^/•«?j»^dfi£jl ^

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. BOSTON CHARLES HENRY HAYDEN FUND.

Low

Tide,

Beachmont by Maurice

Prendergast

(1859-1924).

1897.

Brazil

ed with

Pencil

knowledged

little

acceptance, yet

to

be America's

is

first

now

ac-

love you keep." His paintings gave full

modern

affirmation to his words. Watercolor for

On

and watercolor on paper. 19 V^ x 22 V%

painter,

inches.

the other hand, Sargent's every effort was

50 years ahead of

eagerly snapped

Simplon

Pass,

Avalanche Track by John

Singer Sargent (1856-1925). 1911. Watercolor.

13 x 201/2 inches.

The comparative

Sargent serves us with

moving

and

clarity, for

time has reversed the positions of each painter.

The

struggling Prendergast paint-

While

media should

be.

He wove

a pattern

happy

of beautiful people, gaily attired,

He was

a master of the ac-

play;

style, a virtual

pedaling-backwards

voted to the re-establishment of nature as

when you

essay of Prendergast

Prendergast was only a means to an end, as all

he gained notoriety

and fortune. cepted

up

his time.

as

think of Turner or Delacroix.

his virtuosity

unexcelled, he had

was conspicuous and little

love you liberate in your

work

is

he saw and loved face with an

the only

it.

He dabbed

at his sur-

awkward, halting brush, and

made convenient

to say.

Maurice Prendergast once noted, "The

at

and his patchwork of color was de-

rules as

where do paintings more

he went. Norichly

endorse

the content of watercolor.

31

COLLECTION OF

Two Prostitutes by Georges Rouault 1958).

(

1871-

x 22V4

1906. Watercolor. IdVi

overpowering statement,

Two

Prosti-

tutes stands as a giant step forward in the

history

of watercolor

unleashes

all

painting.

Rouault

of his disgust for vice and

corruption in depicting these

pitiful, gro-

tesque creatures; and yet he does so with

an underlying empathy

of majestic pro-

portion.

A 32

to a stained-glass

his apprenticeship

window maker when he

enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux- Arts.

inches.

An

had already completed

student of Gustave Moreau, Rouault

Here

he met Matisse, and by 1902 was associated with the Fauves. The point of this brief biographical examination later

work was

is

that his

to be greatly affected by

these early events.

A deeply efforts

religious

man, Rouault's

took deadly aim

hypocritical

society,

shown

here.

MRS.

illustrates the

tercolor

HARRY BAKWIN.

spontaneous potential of wa-

when employed by

draftsman of profound

matter

in

order

to

further

express

devout attitudes; and only on sion did he stray from the themes of

in

his

reli-

gion, landscape, and the flower

still-life.

Regardless of subject, Georges

Rouault

dimension to painting, one

that fused a classic

Prostitutes

Later

belief.

rare occa-

brought a new

Two

a powerful

life he turned directly to Biblical subject

complacent,

commentaries on clowns, judges, and the prostitutes

AND

through his

at a

largely

initial

DR.

ist

background with Fauv-

overtones and the simplicity of stained

glass.

Women

Bathing

by Raoul Dufy

(

1877-

1953). 1920. Watercolor gouache.

Dufy, like Rouault, was influenced

CO

the Fauvist

classically trained,

an even greater extent by

movement and

Matisse; but,

additionally, he felt a kinship with Japa-

nese draftsmanship and concepts.

doned

all

He

aban-

attempts at imitation at the very

outset of his career and sought to express

with

himself

bright

color

within a design format. life

He

masses

held

gave

new

a

element, whether object or

to each

person, that entered his work. Each eleits own place in a color tempo was singularly Dufy's. As with Pren-

ment found that

Dufy's world abounded with

dergast, joie

a

de vivre that included the recording

of regattas, symphonies, and the pageantry of historical events.

Whether one

Dufy had mind or not, we are assured that he was drawn to the abundant life. Bathing Women may be nothing more than three opulent ladies believes that

more philosophical

goals in

languidly posing for us, or

symbolic

of

implication.

While

batable, there vices.

is

all

this

no question

When Dufy

it

might be

meaning

deeper

far

is

and

highly de-

as to his de-

paints a shape, color,

or tone, he does so with resolution.

He

relinquishes traditional draftsmanship and reconstructs with a flowing line that ani-

mates

his forms.

He

delights us with his

innovations, and again, not unlike Prendergast,

mit

COURTESY OF GALERIE BERNHEIM- IEUNE.

makes watercolor

traditions sub-

to his personal goals.

PARIS.

33

Twittering Machine by Paul Klee (18791940).

1922. Watercolor, pen and

ink.

I6V4 x 12 inches.

seller.

In essence,

exploration structure,

of

vital

contribution of Paul Klee to

contemporary

mented

as

art

is

Cezanne and

that of

His influence

is

almost as well docu-

felt

through

Picasso.

both

his

contains his inductive line

and

dimension and balance, gravita-

tional curve,

The

it

proportionate

and kinetic and chromatic

felt

it

essential that the artist

municate with nature, and

that,

com-

indeed,

he was a part of nature. Along with his

paintings and philosophical essays. Klee's

Bauhaus colleague, Wassily Kandinsky, he

Pedagogical Sketchbook, which was actu-

was dedicated

ally

a plan for theoretical instruction at

the Bauhaus,

is still

a

most deserved

best-

a superb

bled

Klee's.

Yet we cannot dispute the

fact that they are birds, for

to the exploration of spiri-

tual realities rather than to the traditional,

analytical approach.

Twittering Machine

really care to hear

we

are even

the crank, and

more,

we

If

we

simply turn

who knows what

further

songs they will sing!

Klee rarely worked

30 inches

is

in

large;

anything over

considered unusual. Coupled

with the fact that executed

COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. NEW YORK.

34

example of such thinking, for

allowed to listen to their music.

energy.

Klee

is

there never were living birds that resem-

much

transparent

of his

work was

watercolor,

de-

tractors

allude

efforts.

This

to

slightness

the

simply

brings

into

of

his

clear

often

self-consciously

struggle

to

attain

focus the utter nonsense of such empirical

Twittering Machine dramatically under-

ever there was an artist in

scores for us the formation of the con-

criticism, for full control

if

of his work,

He dominated was unerring

it

was Paul Klee.

symbol language.

his

He

upon the controlled

temporary school.

It

symbolizes the fusing

his

A

inches.

contemporary of Kokoschka and Gus-

tav

choice of sign or

break away from Renaissance thinking,

today as a charter

member

future art world full of

expressionism. His

work

intuitively

depended

and presages

accident,

so gener-

new

preciseness

counterpoise. Klee's

1178 x 18%

of myriad heroic but scattered attempts to

a

expression, invention, and discovery.

ously available with watercolor, in order to disguise

Reclining by Egon Schiele

and

his painting completely

in

Nude Female

(1890-1918). 1917. Pencil and watercolor.

this quality.

oils,

and to lend

by comparison,

Klimt

(his teacher), Schiele

turbulent

regarded

is

of Austrian

reflects a brief,

he was

Quitting school,

life.

imprisoned on charges of producing

later

Days

pornographic paintings.

after

his

marriage, he was conscripted for military

and three years

service;

he and his

later

wife died of Spanish influenza.

prowess as a draftsman

Schiele's

re-

mains unexcelled. Nude Female Reclining characterizes the compassion he held for the female form;

many

torted as

not as violent or

dis-

of his other works.

He

it is

compressed, distended, and foreshortened the figure at will, exposed joints, and de-

veloped his off-beat,

own

way over

its

symbolism. His color was brush scumbled

unruly

his

as

Painted

a tortured surface.

almost exclusively in watercolor, Schiele's soulful outpourings are totally dependent

upon

his peerless draftsmanship.

Sun Storm by Oscar Florianus Bluemner (1867-1938). 1927. Watercolor. 10 x 13V4 inches.

JRTESY OF THE VIENNA ALBERTINA

Relatively

little is

known

Bluem-

of Oscar

wondrous Sun Storm, painted 1927, will live forever. It is a most in-

ner, yet his in

ventive, personal expression

of

celestial

energy, one that bares a mysterious, kinetic

happening.

For 16 years, before turning to paint-

Bluemner worked

ing,

as

an

architect.

Trained in Germany at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, he came to America 1892, where he became a pioneer of

in

modern

art

Sun Storm

is

the

to

ity

simplify form and eliminate the

unessential.

the

movement. typical of Bluemner's abil-

manner

Of in

special

meaning

to us

which he has ordered

is

trans-

parent glazes of watercolor to carry out his explosive message. All

too often

we

hear empirical utterances that insist upon spontaneity in watercolor, yet neither Schiele nor

Bluemner seem

to

advice. Antithetically, the crux of ner's individuality rests largely

Egon

heed

this

Bluem-

upon

his

determination to solidify form and structure

and ignore technical considerations.

COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. NEW YORK. GIFT OF JAMES GRAHAM AND SONS.

35

John Marin

by

Seascape

(1870-1953).

1914. Watercolor on paper. 14 x 16 inches.

Since

we

rely

upon John Marin's dynamic

orchestration in the following section, this

eloquent statement

is

offered

more

as a

commitment

to our chronology than to his

importance

in

scape

is

American painting. Seaexample of the

a relatively serene

rugged genius of Marin; in 1914, when was painted, he had not yet been it

moved by

the

to have a great is

Armory Show, which was effect upon him. But there

evidence in the lower portion of Sea-

scape of bolder things to come. Unquesthe name of John Marin and American watercolor painting are synonytionably

mous.

COURTESY OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART.

Mid-Manhattan

by

Lyonel

Feininger

(1871-1956). Pen and ink and watercolor.

40 x 56 In

this

inches.

single

distinctive

work we

are

immediately impressed by Feininger's passion for space and dimension. Everything

he touched was

fully orchestrated

into a

geometric network of shapes and planes: ships,

buildings,

people,

land,

and

sea.

Cartoonist, composer, Bauhaus professor,

and an original member of the "Blue Four,'' Feininger's individuality

and broad

scope leave to us an unparalleled docu-

ment.

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. GEORGE

36

A.

HEARN FUND,

1953.

%

'&

COURTESY OF THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY, BUFFALO.

NEW

YORK.

Sun and Rocks by Charles Burchfield (1893-1967). 1950. Watercolor. 40 x 56 inches.

If

Marin and American watercolor

are

synonymous, then Charles Burchfield and

American watercolor

are almost equally

His early paintings of the sound and smell of nature are deeply moving works so.

endowed with mystical grandeur. He loved the world of growing things, of radiant light and murky depths, which fill his work with impelling mystery. In Sun and

Rocks we are transfixed by the mighty sun-star, as the earth submits to

power. Burchfield ing, reaching,

and dead

tells

its

furious

us of swollen, gap-

and broken forms of living

things,

powerful brush

with a

and he does

this

that

convention.

defies

Perhaps Charles Burchfield's secret was revealed the

when he

woods

noted, "I do not

free of superstition

wander

any more."

37

THE BACKGROUND f?>

fj/rxi^*.

* .^mtf?"

'

JJ^ 1

]s{J£is

hi'^^'1^

,

Studio per ice

da Vinci. ISTITUTO GEOGKAFICO DE AGOSTINI. NOVARA.

38

la

Battaglia di Anghiari, Ven-

Academy, from the volume Leonardo

2

OF THE ARTIST A

"primitive" artist in today's society has to be either one of two things: naive

—

or insane

A

area.

unless, of course,

he were to be found

so-called primitive living in an

surrounded by

urban area

libraries, schools, art galleries,

is

may

is

highly unpredictable.

is

deeply involved an indi-

a very personal matter, It

is

artists.

may

and

safely be said that an

learn in order to discard or avoid. For example, mastering perspective

artist will

simple matter)

(a relatively

avoid

him

lead

a pathetic figure, since he

How

In other words, there are things to be learned.

it

some remote, secluded

museums, and other

vidual artist becomes in this learning process

where

in

is

necessary in order either to capitalize

upon

or

it

it.

Several years ago a former student of

with a renowned

bubbling over,

"The

first

I

artist-teacher.

When

mine went

off to a

summer

of study

he returned, highly enthusiastic and

asked him what he had learned. "It was wonderful," he replied.

my

thing

professor told

me

to

do was

to forget

about perspective!"

In this instance the professor's advice was sound, as the student was well trained.

we

But could

advise

all

students to do the same? Or, to rephrase

forget something you don't

Perspective the above

how do you

know?

hardly a major course of study in any school of art today, yet

is

may

it,

well be applied to

of the learning areas.

all

The mastery

of

draftsmanship, picture structure, and color, plus a working knowledge of the properties of paint and support, can be no less vital to the serious painter.

can

we begin

to

list

Nor

the myriad explorations and penetrating studies which can

prove deeply personal.

The purpose

in outlining this

painter, but rather to lay

or in

becoming

there

is

and

it

it

background

is

not to frighten off the aspiring

out clearly for those

artists. It is essential to

do

this, for

no magic formula. Furthermore, painting

is

high time

to

who is

are interested in painting

there are no shortcuts and

more than

a craft or a skill,

underscore this obvious truth in the area of watercolor

study.

There are ness, is

still

other requirements apart from the formal study areas. Aware-

empathy, and

doubtful

if

integrity

must play

a vital role in the life of the artist; yet

these things can be taught

beyond a

point.

To

time-consuming, and one must not only persevere but learn

learn to paint to

cope with

it

is

dis-

39

aster. Self-discipline

and must be cultivated

a basic requirement

is

if

it

is

not

already a part of the aspiring painter. Eventually, through the development of

work

and strenuous task can become

habits, the tedious

unbeknownst

because,

to

many, painting

So many of today's young success; they are of the

education,

among

it

is

is

a

artists are in

now

joyful.

stress

I

search of "instant" art or "instant"

generation. Yet Joyce Cary states that "Without

not possible for a

man

even to appreciate any

was well

into his thirties before holding

one-man show.

his first

Only when the experience of learning the student will he

become aware

finally

awakens, strengthens, and

of the value of his labors.

The

moment when

and practice are reassuring and beckon one toward that golden he will paint without being conscious of the act

Henry

In Henri Matisse's letter to

Museum, he

my own

have always tried to hide

am

afraid the young, seeing in

drawing, will use

itself.

Clifford, Curator of Paintings of the Phila-

very eloquently states the following:

efforts

and joyousness of a springtime which never I

frees

subtle indica-

largely through repetition

growing competency or sureness achieved

tions of

I

Kandinsky,

art."

other things, was an attorney and had a thorough education before en-

rolling in art school, while Giacometti

delphia

strenuous

tremendously enervating experience.

this as

my work

and wished

lets

my work

have the lightness

to

anyone suspect the labors

it

has cost. So

only the apparent facility and negligence in

an excuse for dispensing with certain efforts which

necessary.

The few

exhibitions

make me

fear that

young painters

have had the opportunity of seeing during these

I

are avoiding the slow

necessary for the education of any contemporary painter

I

believe

last years

and painful preparation which

who

is

claims to construct by color

alone.

While any course in its written

form,

of study

may

much misinformation

believe that so

I

when

look naked and exposed

what

the world of watercolor with respect to

it is

examined

has been offered in

constitutes study, that

I

have gone

meaningful material.

to great lengths here to present

Typical diagrams and analyses have been avoided, as well as various exer-

No

cises that are altogether unnecessary.

leaf or a tree, a clever little figure, or

how to paint a Nor will aid

advice will be given on

an industrial sky

at twilight.

be offered in the area of thatched roofs, stormy seas, stone walls, dogs, horses,

and

Nowhere

my

birds. In

in the

world of

art

education has technique been so foolishly sub-

meaning, self-expression, and knowledge

stituted for true

cats,

estimation, simple answers do not exist.

as

in

the field of

watercolor.

The following curricula of

most

such a book as

are

top-flight art schools

this,

perhaps

the following outline simplification

is

examples of areas of study that are fundamental

may

a deadly

in

and

must be noted that

colleges. It

bow And while

any book, one cannot be taught

well suggest what must be done.

enemy,

it

my

is

belief that

in the

we may

in

to do; but

over-

divide the major

study areas of the painter into composition, draftsmanship, color, and materials.

These four subjects are very complex involved in

all at

in nature,

and most

a great painter and virtually pin-point the period

one phase or another was evident. could be produced without the

40

artists

become deeply

one time or another. Apropos, one may examine the work of

It is

artist's

doubtful to

when

me

being aware of

his

preoccupation with

that a creative statement all

four of these subjects.

COMPOSITION Perhaps composition, or picture structure, the categories to explain, for there

all

of composition are highly occult.

By

is

the most difficult and complex of

virtue of their structure alone, pictures

evoke meanings to the sensitive eye that read

Even

ter.

and

ness, (it

to stand before a

serenity.

The

doubt that solutions to problems

little

is

blank surface

is

may

as legibly as realistic subject mat-

to feel

an intense

immaculate-

clarity,

absurdity of presenting a blank canvas for exhibition

has been done) becomes

less irrational

when one contemplates

the juxtaposi-

tion of emptiness next to clutter.

To

digress for a

moment,

work may well be

a painter's

a daring

new

adven-

and present. His most recent work, as they strain against manner-

ture, a reaction against other artist's efforts, past

may

paintings

take issue with his earlier

isms, limitations,

and prejudices. Composition

is

inexorably bound up in a

re-

within acting of one thing to another, whether or not that reaction takes place the confines of a single painting.

Emerson once thing

is

stated that

"An

inevitable dualism bisects nature, so that each

a half, and suggests another thing to

man, woman; odd, even;

make

subjective, objective; in,

it

whole;

as, spirit,

matter;

out; upper, under; motion,

nay."

rest; yea,

Thus, a diagonal line amidst the relative calm of perpendiculars and parallels produces activity and commotion. Large next to small, whether in color, form,

mass or

line, creates contrasts that are

placed next to a small green shape, size

to

and

color.

When

two similar

we

immediately

Such investigation

is

a large red shape

objects are placed side by side, one

advance and the other to recede due

texture.

felt. If

is

are treated simultaneously to contrasts of

may appear

to a simple alteration of color, tone or

so fundamental to the artist that

it

commences

without the concerns of content and subject. Wassily Kandinsky became so incensed with imitators (comparing them with

own approach to art remained in the area abstract movement which began in Paris at the

apes) that his

leader of the

of the spiritual.

A

start of the century,

Kandinsky in his paintings and writings dealt not only with the basic contrasts abstract "art alluded to herein, but moved on to far more esoteric areas, such as of internal necessity."

we find that it plays picture plane may The special meanings. an infinite horizon or eternity, or it may

In examining the picture plane, or surface of a painting, a

dramatic role in

how we

interpret

invite us to look into a painting to foster the illusion

that objects are advancing toward us.

The

picture plane

the atcan support weighty architectural or geometric forms, or, conversely, surpicture's the to mospheric and ethereal. Diagonal planes or planes parallel face

may

be utilized, each with different messages.

The

use of perspective

perspective, is effecdevices, or their negation, such as the Cubist's inversion of distant horiare all aware of railroad tracks appearing to converge at a tive. tracks to the we upset this natural phenomenon by not allowing zon. reverse order converge or by widening them as they move to the horizon, we distortion, a with and cause the distance to advance. In essence we are dealing the picture twisting or deviation from a natural shape. In further manipulating

We

When

speaking, use such things as surface patterns and symbols. Generally complex patterns recede as we associate smallness with distance, while the replane,

we

41

verse

Symbols such

true with large patterns.

is

num-

as letters of the alphabet,

role bers, arrows, or other familiar shapes, also play an important

in juggling

the picture plane.

The

artist-composer

is

a

keen observer of natural, architectural, and animal

forms and may depend entirely upon their evolution as a source for his imagery. Or he may rely upon the imagery, subconscious, and the unpredictable (accidental).

There are methods of weaving shapes

movement and produce

stronger impact. Line, pattern, color,

contrast, and

tex-

a painting

may

and control these shapes. The very heart of

ture support, define,

reside in the fine balance of positive

and negative shapes, opposed

induce

to create patterns, to

or, to

put

it

another

to air-spaces.

way, areas that appear as weight-forms as Nothing could be more appropriate today than to emphasize space, yet the the has been dependent upon the implications and uses of space since

artist

Stone Age.

The

classic use of space in

Oriental and Renaissance art

so than the use of space in

illuminat-

is

the contemporary works of the Sur-

ing, but

no more

realist,

Abstract Expressionist, or Reductive painter.

The

of

control

space,

is of inestimable worth to the artist. of the traditional classic structures and controls, knowledge Lastly, a working such as the Golden Section and/or Dynamic Symmetry, is rewarding. The

whether shallow or deep,

Golden Section

is

back

essentially a geometrical proportion, dating

to Euclid,

which governs the harmony of proportionate relationships both in art and naVI of Euclid, ture. There are actually two propositions set down in Books II and but the

common

formula

is

"To

longer part as the longer part geometrical.

is

cut a finite line so that the shorter part

whole." Dynamic Symmetry

to the

is

to the

also highly

proposes methods of establishing a series of root rectangles pos-

It

Golden

sessing perfect order comparable to that found in the

through a

is

method

strict

Section.

Then,

of establishing diagonals, followed by horizontal and

angles, vertical divisions within the original shape, an endless series of lines,

and smaller shapes may be constructed,

all in

perfect proportion to one another

as well as to the original shape.

One must

be careful with such rigid teachings, since there

is

a temptation to

may be said about all advice given in when the study of Dynamic Symmetry

adopt them as a crutch; but in a sense this life.

There was a time

was an invaluable self-consciously

aid

stiff

in

my own

career

and comfort

to

me, and while

my

efforts at that

time were

and geometric, the experience was necessary.

DRAFTSMANSHIP When mind

one thinks of draftsmanship, perhaps the

are people, animals, and

first

subjects that

other recognizable objects.

While

come

to

these subjects

draftsmanwill always be valid, there are, in addition, vast areas of expressive the ship that are devoted to drawing those shapes and forms that reside only in artist's

do

it

mind. Even to play an ovoid body

with complete control and conviction

thrust to

its

the

knowledge of when

painting, as with so

can be far more

we were

many

difficult to

to

element found

42

tangent to a simple oblong and to is

still

wanted terminus requires not only the

more import,

If

in

draftsmanship. facility of

To

carry a

hand, but, of far

the precise goal has been reached. In

other things in

life,

the simple and direct statement

achieve than the complex.

examine drawing only

in fine painting,

then

as

drawing, that

we might

is,

not as an inseparable

appreciate the importance that

upon good draftsmanship. For drawing

schools of art place of the

draw

ability to

(or his lack of

Leonardo da Vinci,

in color.

than painter.

It

much

very heartbeat and soul. So

artist, his

may be

equally

example, was a

shown

draftsman. Bonnard and Vuillard,

revealed in the

more exceptional draftsman

far

that a great colorist

who

artist's

great painters are truly draftsmen

many

that

it)

for

is

penmanship

the

is

rarely a brilliant

is

without question rank

among

the noted

colorists of our time, could hardly be classified as magnificent draftsmen.

working knowledge of the human form. countless arguments posed today, convincing enough on the surface, that the painter have a

It is vital

There are

that take issue with this idea.

anatomy and ical

function

its

While

engineering.

is

a

a

We cannot deny,

however, that a study of

most revealing expose of the ultimate

knowledge of

animal forms

all

is

in

human

mechan-

worthwhile, and

sometimes imperative, the human form remains most important for the artist. To have a knowledge of the human form is to understand one of the most ingenious apparatuses ever designed.

It

would be pure

folly to ignore the oppor-

comprehend the function of bone and muscle, or the system of joints, shock absorbers, and protective devices that make up the human anatomy. How rewarding to investigate the interior regions and become involved tunity

and need

to

with the phenomena of man's physiology. Indeed, thing until

we

first

proceed with a visual commentary involving such things?

often stated that

It is

To

can then draw anything well.

There tions.

is

How

tectural form, past

and present,

The most important

a large extent

machines and

believe this to be true.

I

of great concern. Careful exploration of archi-

is

an exciting course of study for the draftsman.

from

The budding

tools,

this area

is

the full appreciation

from

artist will profit

a careful inspec-

roads and waterways, and dams and bridges, and

he will develop a vital awareness of force, leverage, tension,

this study

compression, and power.

It

is

it

motion, and animation.

to investigate flight,

artist to thor-

fundamentally necessary for the

oughly comprehend gravity and balance, and

him

without clearly understanding

is

lesson to be gained

of soundness in structure.

from

if

man

you can draw the human form well, you

much to be gained from the study of man's inventions and constructhings work together, assist or oppose one another, and hence serve

as lessons in functional analysis,

tion of

how do we understand anyhow can we expect to

understand ourselves? Furthermore,

is

He

additionally rewarding for will continually

the vast reservoir of nature study, geography, and ultimately the

draw from

new geography

of other planets.

Some of his drawings may spring directly from a subconscious image, while others may ramble on to exquisite, unpredictable conclusions without apparent direction or motivation. tion in detail. It

young

is

We could

not begin to account for this immense varia-

reasonable to conclude that

engaged

so rightfully

in

new

all artists,

experiences,

and most especially the

would

profit

from early study

of the foregoing outline.

When we tion or

attempt

knowledge

to interpret a city, a girl, or a

is

to learn.

the artist there

drawing.

The

is

affec-

of form, depth, shape or image, tone, space, color, texture,

pattern, line, mass, void,

there

machine through our

and

Knowledge

transition,

we

are simply staggered by

or information comes to us in

many

how much

ways, but for

nothing superior as a learning process to careful investigative

artist

whose background includes such

velops a deep and lasting curiosity about

all

a

program of study

de-

that surrounds him.

43

COLOR It is

many

easy to understand that

fascinating part of their work. effects

its

upon man

artist alone. It

new.

Not only

is

that

one

of today's painters find color to be the most

There

much

so

is

significant too that our broad

does the

to

can hardly limit this

artist

continue to

make

be

known

about color and

enormous investigation

knowledge of color

is

to the

relatively

startling discoveries, but

men

of

science and medicine contribute as well.

A

may

painter

achieve overwhelming effects through nothing more than

playful experimentation with color, whereas this

not likely to occur with

is

draftsmanship or picture structure. Therefore, color becomes a tantalizing and delicious morsel, beckoning all

and seemingly within the grasp of the novice

One must keep in mind the admonition and gentle warning of Matisse who would claim to "construct by color alone" (see page 40 our purposes we may think of color in the area of color physics or color

painter.

to those

For

)

pigment. Most painters agree that there

is

a

need to gain a working knowledge

of both subjects, although there are those artists

complex and mysterious

scientific goals.

duce creative paintings, although

we

who

carry the study of color to

Rarely do these

find

men

continue to pro-

an exception to be the renowned

Josef Albers.

In color physics, tion,

we

are primarily concerned with colors produced by refrac-

although there are other ways of generating color.

stration of color refraction

is

the

Newtonian experiment

The

simplest

demon-

of directing white light

through a prism, which in turn disperses the ray and produces the color spectrum. Using this as a base, the eager young rays

and wavelengths, why objects appear

rules of color subtraction),

artist

plunges into the study of light

to be a specific color

(through the

and on into the world of psychophysiological

color.

For color must be a seen thing, requiring not only the optical but the cerebral

When

participation of the viewer.

goals as the

phenomena

color experiments are conducted with such

of afterimage, illusion,

upon the comparison and contrast of

How how

etc.,

they are usually reliant

color.

may be when played next to another, or how warm or cool one color may appear through

chromatic or intense one color

dark or light a tone, or

various juxtapositions offer endless and exciting challenges to the serious art student.

A

former teacher of mine, a noted color authority, has successfully

identified color

while blindfolded by placing his fingertips over multi-hued

surfaces exposed to heat. Since

white refracts heat,

it

it

is

basic

would not be too

knowledge that black absorbs and

difficult for

anyone

to succeed with a

very simple experiment of his own.

The

painter and his pigment, in contrast to the color scientist, works in

other areas.

He

many

begins with a very basic use of color spirituality; in other words,

he uses color to evoke emotional conditions within the viewer. For example, all react to

blues and greens, or the cooler spectrum, quite differently from reds

and oranges, or the warmer spectrum. Color combinations may for us any

number

of

elaborated upon below, esoteric, precise

harmonious or dissonant is

reactions.

easily provide

Color symbology,

especially significant to the artist in attaining

meanings. Color impressionism

is

44

more

undoubtedly the most widely

accepted area (although not easily understood) to be explored by the is

we

artist; this

largely due to the popularity of the Impressionist painters. Color groupings

that provide the viewer with sensations of humidity

warmer and

gested by the terms

and temperature,

as sug-

cooler noted above, prove to be invaluable to

the painter. Lastly, artists will explore the areas of precise color construction,

which are often extremely mathematical. Apropos, there are methods and theories to

be dissected. The Munsell system presents

color with respect to hue, value, and chroma. all

for all

color system classifies

colors as either achromatic or chromatic, with a peculiar and complicated

method of

men

great

of color are to be sought out; in particular Goethe, Bezold, Chevreul

When we

the Impressionists), Holzel, Itten, and Albers.

we automatically visualize may hold deep implication

think of the symbolic meanings of color,

red and green as stop and go. Red, white, and blue for the

The

descriptions such as lull-clear colors, light-clear colors, and tones.

(who influenced

American or the Englishman, but what kind of meaning does

the Mexican? In America the color black is

measurements

strict

The Ostwald

white. Religion

with various

rites

filled

is

and

is

it

a funereal symbol, while in

hold for

China

it

with color symbolism: specific colors are associated

feasts.

We need

look no further than the red and green of

Christmas and the blue and white of Hanukkah. White was once believed to be hygienically advantageous and

operating rooms. Yet

was considered necessary

we now know

in hospitals, especially

that white contributes to eye fatigue, due to

the intensity of light refraction of a white surface. So,

whether we are deeply or

with color,

superficially involved

we

recognize

that the chemist, the physicist, the physiologist, and the psychologist contribute

And

constantly to our growing store of color information.

while the

artist

has

explored in the past, and will continue to explore and discover, he, along with the architect, designer, city planner and others interested in color from every

depend upon such sources

esthetic attitude, will

for

new

information.

MATERIALS The

broad category that must concern every

last

artist at

one time or another

deals with materials and equipment. Since in Sections 4 and 6 the dynamics of

watercolor and related media are fully covered, and there

pendix entitled Materials and Equipment,

The

artist

nizant of

known

factors,

limitations of

He

achievements.

a section in the

Ap-

brief.

media

permanency, and in

thorough understanding of

his tools

Apropos,

tation, or dry paint

on

He must

order to be prepared to

be cog-

move on

to

to see

a

and materials, nor can he reconstruct desired

through accident alone.

him both time and expense,

to all destinations.

use.

cannot carry out experimentation successfully without

qualities that are gained

that will save

is

account will be

has to be aware of his materials, the nature of his pigment, of

ground and support, adhering

new

this

an

He

will benefit in other

for there are

artist

ways

high roads and low roads

use a large brush for a minute no-

a porous surface, or apply sensitive tonal nuances to a

buckled or warped support, or simply paint lean over fat seems incredible to

me, especially when he does not do so through Still

there

is

we must remember

a decided limit to the

theories. In the

selection, for special effect.

that artists are not chemists or scientists, and that

emphasis placed upon technological attitudes or

long analysis, as stated elsewhere, there

in rare instances

would the

is

only expression. Only

esthetic viewpoint fail to suffuse

and dominate the

work.

While we cannot

prescribe exactly

what should

constitute an artist's back-

45

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST.

Women

Sleeping

from

(page

Sketchbook), by Henry

Moore

(b.

Shelter

1898).

1941. Watercolor, ink, and gouache.

of

its

presence.

Its

result that all

emphasis

is

role,

with the

given to mean-

We

of

the

20th

century,

Henry Moore

is

noted for his poignant draftsmanship, particularly his epic

drawings of sleepers

in

London durWorld War. The name Moore will invariably be in-

turn to

son: his

is

a

Moore

for yet another rea-

unique force and direction

Lebrun on the opposite

conscience.

The work shown

cluded in any discussion of art today, but

cal of that distinctive

why, you may

upon us with an

ularly

necessary in a

deemed book which

particis

de-

The answer Henry Moore em-

voted primarily to watercolor? is

extremely simple:

ploys watercolor in

form; that

is

its

to say,

purest and noblest

one

is

hardly aware

of

community

just north

London. The monumentality

sculpture

is

known

to

all,

of

his

but an equally

Moore

impressive attribute of

the magnificent

it

an ancient farmhouse near Hert-

sonal integrity and character. This always

does not overwhelm or shout as does

page; but instead he gnaws at your soul and

is

in

that broadens the horizon of watercolor.

ing the Second

ask,

works

He

the underground shelters of

and work of

at Castleford,

England, of a family of miners. Today he

fordshire, a rural

ing.

Undoubtedly the most renowned sculptor

Henry Moore was born

place has been sub-

ordinated to a supporting

sage.

One

here

power, as

incisive

is it

typi-

runs the emotional gamut, sens-

ing courage and fatigue, and feeling guilt or shame.

no

relief.

The The

attack artist's

is

persistent; there

compassion

is

to

writings;

was

is

over-

it

in

his

his per-

interviews and

also quite evident in our

brief correspondence.

While

plays

and tender mes-

me

seemed so

is

of

secondary

importance,

it

should be noted that the trying conditions

under which Mr. Moore worked during the brutal

him of

bombing of London compelled upon the special advantages

to rely

watercolor.

whelming.

47

Group

Three Girls by Egon Schiele

of

(1890-1918). 1911. Pencil and watercolor.

17%

\2Va x

inches.

Nowhere can

more

there be found a

contribution

nificant

sig-

world

the

to

of

watercolor than the work of Egon Schiele.

And

wedding

yet the

medium and

of

art-

removed from the mastery of

far

is

ist

Lebrun or the calm of Henry Moore.

we

stead,

along with constant argument

struggle,

and

In-

are confronted with torture and

No

futility.

compassionate than

less

the others, and unquestionably a brilliant

draftsman, Schiele stood apart as a young

genius on the prowl, searching and de-

manding as he went. Egon Schiele died

in

1918

at the tender

age of 28, thus terminating a most promising career

see page 35

(

)

A

.

dedicated stu-

dent of Gustav Klimt, he was well on his

way toward

the development of a highly

inquisitive,

peculiar

precedent.

approach

While Group

relatively serene, there

without

Three Girls

of

is

remains an under-

lying feeling of deep concern for the girls,

perhaps even of impending tragedy. This characteristic

the figure. in oil,

not foreign to Schiele's

is

work, whether

While

most of

landscape or

still life,

is

it

some work

Schiele did

were executed

his efforts

in watercolor and,

to

great extent, con-

cerned themselves with portraiture or tudes of the

The here

human

analogy

intriguing

manner

that the

is

medium

abuses the

content-message he

in

fits

be found

to

which Schiele

neatly

offers.

One

into is

pelled to accept the fact that this

purely

indeed

accidental,

atti-

body.

it

the

comis

not

remains

the very core of his work; but there

at is

a

lingering impression that this was also the

way

it

had

He was little

to be, that there

use for convention. His

out the truth as he saw ing,

was no

it,

choice.

man who had

an intense young

work sought

concealed noth-

and avoided the accepted genre of the

day.

Over and over again we are made aware drawing knowledge and

of the union of

personal concept.

One could hardly point medium in the con-

to a mastery of the

ventional sense, or begin to instruct in Schiele's

Egon

style;

notions of utterly

would prove

how one ought

ignores

vice as well.

48

it

fruitless.

Schiele not only assaults accepted

all

to draw, but

technical painting ad-

COURTESY OF THE VIENNA ALBERTINA.

the massive

No

Grosz (1893-1959). 1930-31. Watercolor.

man

pulling along with giant strides his

work;

25'/2X 18 1/2 inches.

more

delicate

The

City

(Man and Woman) by George

as does the brisk action of

companion.

As The City

attests,

with subject and media.

We

have examined the work of three draftsmen working with water-

brilliant

Rico Lebrun, Henry Moore, and

color,

Egon

The

Schiele.

George Grosz,

fourth,

though equally competent, Grosz legacy

The

unique.

with an unparal-

filled

is

is

leled bitterness. The nature of his enemies demanded savage reaction, and George Grosz met the challenge head-on. He

wash and

line

with

less

Grosz

He

is

at ease

may be adjudged by

artist

would be pure

folly.

bulent

work

life,

his

and saved from the death penalty, fined and

aimed

at the

series,

he

is

far

in his attack

more

upon a

depraved society but, oddly, not as spon-

direction,

in

The

City.

Grosz was a

his tur-

one event-

ful turning after another. Court-martialed

again

taneous as

reflected

controls fluid

known Ecce Homo and violent

Throughout

concern for method

than for his esthetic goal. In his widely

caustic

a single

Grosz's case such an attempt

in

Whatever

brilliant

his

draftsman

whose limitations knew no boundaries.

again

for

"insulting"

works

army and public morality, he

nevertheless continued to produce through-

out

his

American

life.

Although

citizen,

he

became

George Grosz was

an ulti-

mately accepted and honored by his native

Germany.

lashed out at war profiteers, their promot-

and the establishment with a hatred

ers,

was born of deep

that

He

belief.

with sexual perversion, greed, crime

with

working

He

was

an

eye

class to all that

came one of

Germany for

and seek refuge

The

was around them. ultimately be-

his chief targets;

became necessary satirical

and

awakening the

and spared no one.

utterly fearless

Hitler and Nazi

try

to

dealt

lust,

him

it

finally

It

to flee his coun-

in the

United

States.

genius of Grosz has been

so well established that few are aware of his other qualities

a painter. Subject

as

matter or message alone does not automatically will greatness to a

nor does the mere Nicolaides.

The

trained Grosz

work of

art,

scorned

by

facility

fact that the

saw and

felt

an enormous

human

injustice truly allowed

latitude

and gives our

thesis

thoroughly

him wider

deeper mean-

ing.

This relatively passive example of his

work begins with the enigmatic double title, The City (Alan and Woman). It is as

if

Grosz wanted much more

ceived

to

*m

\

be per-

than just an affluent couple out

for a stroll. Their fashionable attire,

and

the suggestion of a wintry night in the lighted city,

summon

subjective responses.

COLLECTION OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM.

49

River at the Bridge of Trois Sautets by

cannot be

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906). 1906. Water-

alone, but

color on paper.

roles in

On Morse Mountain, by John Marin color. 21 x

(

Small Point, Maine

1870-1953). 1928. Water-

by their works

Cezanne's tranquility against the blast of

reflected against their

Marin; yet one painting complements the

summed up must be

as leaders of great art

Europe and America. Since so much has been written about

these

two

painters,

frustrating only to

and Marin.

To

mention Cezanne

expect single paintings to

represent their massive contributions art

is

unthinkable.

we need

not delve

too deeply into folklore, but instead

16 Yl inches.

directly to the point.

How

movements

to

Their contributions

their

work with

We

are

come

examining

a single thought in

mind:

other,

and neither

because each of

total

River

one of ing

the

suffers

by comparison

remains in

orchestration.

at the

his

artist

full control

Cezanne thought

Bridge of Trois Sautets to be

most harmonious utmost

Every element

in

possible this

efforts, achiev-

relationships.

sensitively

struc-

The

to

uncover evidence of master composers

tured painting seems indispensable.

at

work.

rhythms, movements, films of iridescent

It

is

by careful intent that

we pose

color,

and soft staccato

line

summon

forth

COURTESY OF THE CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM.

50

There

a vibrant melody.

is

and ceaseless enjoyment repeated viewing.

be found in

magic blending of

a

It is

supreme order

to

invitation and distant recollection, unques-

tionably the stamp of Cezanne. Painted

during the

summer

last

of his

life, it

sur-

enormous dedi-

vives as a dividend of his cation.

At

On Morse Mountain

glance,

first

seems quite different from Cezanne's painting;

yet,

when

quite similar.

analyzed,

carefully

it

is

Despite his more rugged

approach, John Marin was as deeply con-

cerned as Cezanne with the total state-

ment and picture

Marin was

plane.

who

outdoor soul

crusty,

work Imbued with a

a

abhorred con-

vention, and his

reflected this char-

acter.

love of nature, he

was dedicated

to a

perception built upon

a full use of the senses.

the

wind and

salt air;

filled

his

He

leaned into

lungs with the

he meant his work to lure the

viewer into

His enthusiasm

world.

this

caused him to paint over margins and

onto the frame,

within

the

at the

and

cutting,

ing,

same time divid-

creating

painting's

new

surface

planes

wherever

needed. In

both

of

these

notable

concerning nature, there

is

statements

no need for

more horizon. Each painter says what he must and is done, and neither work pretends to be or

more through embellishment identification. Cezanne

geographical

gives us a tender word, a quatrain;

Marin

grabs and sweeps us out to sea; but the

compositional genius of both omnipresent.

artists

is

COLLECTION OF MR.

H.

SAGE GOODWIN. PHOTO PETER

A.

JULEY & SON.

51

Flowers

Cyclamen by Charles Demuth

(1883-1935). 1920. Watercolor on paper.

1134 x

13%

Charles Demuth was an excellent draftsman and an even more remarkable com-

an influence he openly admitted and which

works of Poe,

of architecture. Demuth's control of space

poser. His illustrations of the

inches.

Zola, and

Henry James rank high

lector's items,

Whatever Demuth painted was done with extreme

care, as

is

bats are sought after by

museum

curators

and form, along with

in his paintings

his ability to trans-

pose dark and light, invests his paintings

with imminent drama bordering on the

While

may seem

evident in this metic-

everywhere. But the relatively serene paint-

sinister.

Whether working

ing of cyclamens reveals more for our

those

or

purposes than do his other works. Here

muth's

Demuth

be a modernist crusader and

ulous study of flowers.

from vaudeville

as col-

while his paintings of acro-

was even more evident

entertainers, flowers,

factories, his patient attitude

robbed noth-

ing from the effectiveness of his paintings.

which

exposes a penchant for control

faintly echoes the Cubist

manner.

who

it

far-fetched to

are not aware of Charles

full

knowledged

De-

range, he was considered to

to

now

ac-

be a forerunner of Pop

art.

is

COURTESY OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

52

ff

x

'

V

COLLECTION OF ROBERT RASC11

Miss

M

by Edward Reep. 1974. Pencil and

wash drawing. 12 X 20

inches.

53

THE CONTEMPORARY

COURTESY OF THE MILWAUKEE ART CENTER.

Dragonade by Mark Tobey

(b.

1890).

1957. Sumi ink and rice paper. 24Y$ x

34 '/s inches.

54

3

SCHOOL Defining precisely

who

subjective a task that

it

what

or

is

the "contemporary school"

might very well prove an

nature will be attempted here, save

being executed with watercolor today. Perhaps while

way

we

are fully

aware of much of the

able to account for

all

of

some

and

Nothing of

this

of the

work

that

is

should be further noted that

it

art of the day,

Since most

it.

impossibility.

to chronicle in part

so difficult

is

artists

and

we

critics

are certainly in

agree that art

no is

a

very secret thing (created by one person, usually working alone, and not always able or willing to describe his work), there is a gnawing possibility that even

museums do not contain examples of the most significant contemporary paintings. As we all know, this condition is not peculiar to the present era alone. While we know that many contemporary painters of note have been duly recognized, and their works may be seen continually in galleries, museums, or reproduced in periodicals and books, we must also surmise that there will be the galleries and

numerous others appearing

members

later

who

will take their rightful places as important

And we

of our contemporary school.

attempt to appraise any of today's work

There was a time when

it

in the light of

its

when we

meaningful endurance.

painfully clear that watercolor painters

seemed

produced more trivia than any other group of in particular, this

can only conjecture

artists.

In

America and England,

condition existed, for painting in watercolor was a pastime or

hobby, and was even taught as such

more than a sketching

device,

in stylish girls' schools.

and the

results,

Or

it

was nothing

although stimulating, were

dis-

missed as incomplete works. Clubs, groups, or societies were formed and unhis wittingly fostered one approach or another, usually with a local hero and

sycophants leading the way. But even as these dilettantish adventures were taking place (and they still are in many places), solid painting in watercolor

was

also being produced. In America, for example,

sible for elevating watercolor to a

dergast kept In the

it

first

there,

major

and Marin gave

section

with special attention

we

it

role,

if

then

Homer was largely responwe must assume that Pren-

liberation.

traced briefly the origin and development of painting,

to the

important role played by watercolor. Throughout,

There were painting has served the purposes of documentation and decoration. communivery few deviations from the accepted premise that a painting must cate readily to the viewer,

and that subject matter should of necessity consist of

55

recognizable objects. This was true even with Bosch's Garden of Worldly Delights (a precursor of surrealism), in

which

most unlikely fantasy unfolds,

a

employing carefully realized human and animal forms.

However, daries with

in the

which

mining whether

contemporary world of painting there are no such boun-

Over and over again we

to contend.

a painting

an

is

oil, acrylic,

face difficulty in deter-

or casein; or

if it

has been executed

with transparent washes of turpentine or water bases, on canvas or paper. this

is

as

it

factors that

little to

watercolor and

Most

oil,

is

me

to note that

Paul Cezanne, working in both

MoveMonet with

scholars agree that Cezanne, at the head of the Post-Impressionist

preoccupation with

and

light, color,

near the end of his

life.

And

while

their effects; but his

it

was not Cezanne's

or develop disciples (for he believed in an

from

all

too, such as

was an unordered

realization only with the lily-pond paintings

contribution that truly achieved full

free

of

restrictions.

began the great movement away from Renaissance thinking.

ment, founded the modern school. There were others, his

number

arrived at by a

do with predetermined limitations or

does not seem strange to

It

medium

should be, for the choice of

have very

And

desire to

form a school

"individual intuition, fundamental,

preconceived academic ideas"), his followers were legion.

Cezanne's preoccupation with order through "concentric focusing" was not

adhered to by Seurat, Pissarro, or the

Pointillists.

Men

such as Bonnard and

Vuillard seized upon a theme of dazzling quiltworks of color, while

Van Gogh's

concern was dynamic energy, and Gauguin's a pattern-tapestry of highly personal color. Others, such as Rouault, Picabia, Delaunay, and Leger strayed even further; yet in their

Now

work one could

that Impressionism

was

easily identify Cezanne's influence.

a reality^

it

continuing chain of rebellious reaction. So

it

had

to follow that there

would be a

was that the Fauves, or wild

beasts,

with Matisse as their leader, rose up to denounce Impressionism in general, and Seurat's mechanical approach in particular. In attacking "Divisionism," Matisse

claimed that "The splitting of color brought the splitting up of form and contour."

Meanwhile, from Germany came Expressionism, with the two groups Die Briicke and

Der Blaue

Reiter spearheading the

Mueller, Pechstein, and later Nolde, ing artists in this

Munch and

movement. Here was

movement. Modersohn-Becker, Ensor,

among

others,

were

lead-

may

a vital, restless, and frenzied art that

well reflect the introspective, self-examining, and sometimes morbid tempera-

ment

of the northern European mind.

A

sense of fear, imminence, fantasy, and

mystery are inescapable throughout the Expressionists' work. In addition,

we

continually see Gauguin's strong influence; he, in turn, was greatly motivated by the printmakers of Japan. But to

some, think

how

prevalent

munication

at

in the past,

no longer

such imbrication

if

it is

in

those days seems startling

today with supersonic travel and instant com-

our disposal. "Schools," as

we have

reflect provincial points of

so conveniently labeled

them

view but are now of necessity

international in style.

To

return to the events leading up to the present school of painting,

mained

for the Cubists to create the

their art influence the

architecture and design as well. at

first

colorless,

Later, as the

56

most remarkable turn of

world of painting then and now, but

The grandeur and elegance

all.

it

Not only

colorful

and prismatic,

re-

did

spilled over into

of Cubist paintings,

fragmented and geometrically shaped, remains

work became more

it

it

to this day.

developed such a

dominantly is

scientific

nature that

sometimes impossible

that

two of contemporary

One

Cubists.

art's

interior of a vessel as well as

viewer,

grow

was likened

work

to the

it

is

While

of Seurat.

it

generally conceded

strongest tendencies sprang from the

work

of the

the lesson of simultaneity, in which, as an example, one sees the

is

which

perspective, in

it

to pin-point a precise origin,

One may

farther apart.

same

profile at the

its

converging

lines, instead of

The other is inverted move away from the devices at work throughout time.

as they

witness these

Cubist work, and most especially in the paintings of Juan Gris. Futurism, while not of Cubist import, nonetheless contributed immensely to the

development of motion symbols:

artist's

everyone concerned with

Nude Descending

New York Less well

is

its

Duchamp's

the outrageous reaction to

appearance

Duchamp and Nude were

1913,

in

known

knows of

art

a Staircase. After

time and speed. Undoubtedly

Armory Exhibition

at the

household words

in

in

America.

the manifesto of the Futurists, speaking out against virtually

everything and anything, including imitation, the masters, harmony, and good taste.

There

little

is

doubt that the Dadaists had the most profound and lasting

While

effect

upon the trends

ment

lay in Europe, as did all of the other schools noted herein,

that are current in our time.

took on an international flavor. Major land,

Germany,

cities in

and France formed Dada groups, and proceeded

to publish

and

exhibit. In

member

York, Alfred

to

Stieglitz

modern movement, displaying works

the center of the

American

New

artists. It is

the

hub of

Italy,

this

Dada

of the Stieglitz stable, for this pioneer of the

quickly

Spain, Switzer-

hold festivals and

and

his gallery

fairs,

became

of both European and

John Marin was

of special interest to us that

move-

a charter

American moderns worked

almost exclusively in watercolor.

Dadaism was in

denouncement of naturalism,

in essence a

other words, imitation of nature was a

were tenaciously guarding

wedge era. It

And

into the future.

ing alone.

It

the

was a source of

became

a

It

lie!

traditional ideas,

realism,

dealt a death

and

at

the

Dada Movement was not to

men

and

ing to find an even stronger bond between the realizes that there

braces warfare.

And

understandable,

if

is

Dada

artists

It is

made

and those of today,

because of a deepened sense of outrage and disgust,

much

a

not surpris-

a continuing protest against a society that

not reasonable, that

who

architects of the

such as Schwitters, whose work

out of junk and rubbish was intended to shock the bourgeoisie.

when one

to those

same time created

to be confined to paint-

inspiration for poets, writers,

symbol of freedom

blow

and idealism;

of today's art

is

emit

is

absurd, self-devour-

ing, or anti-art.

Surrealism, the last in this brief

more than bring

The

Surrealist vision it is

is

shall concern our'selves with

it

artist's

it is

debatable

if

the

form that may well enjoy

intimate fantasy world

could never be denied. This

is

is

made

not to say that the

universally accepted as the epitome of expression; incongru-

viewed with disgust by hordes of

ment might well be

artists.

The major

source of resent-

the tedious use of photo-reality, despite the bizarre or

dreamlike content couched is,

we

attention to an art

ubiquitous nature of an

of such revealing stuff that

ously,

of note that

resume, was soon to follow the Dadaists. But

Surrealists did

immortality.

movement

in

pronounced psychological overtones. But

at the risk of oversimplification, that

Arcimboldo, and Jamnitzer from

as far

we have

back

as the

my

point

noted the works of Bosch,

15th Century, which appear

57

contemporary

as

many modern

as

who

Surrealist attempts. Dali,

by some to be the leading exponent of Surrealist thinking shared by

all artists

or

boldo and Larmessin.

it

Nor

does

or identification of such recent

more

distinguished Surrealist works.

and intoxicating

way toward

and well accepted

successful

some

Op

newer and newer turnings. Pop and

are

time.

At

the

moment,

realm of Psychedelic and Reductive

and manifestos inundate

and durable,

if

both with paint and

done

in the

Happenings,

numerous other names,

directions are real, meaningful,

a repetition or extension of the earlier

and (b)

who work

artists

the following clear. There is

one reason or another. But nowhere is

in

felt is

watercolor

uppermost

is

employ watercolor

to

there to be found any

in

it

then,

a long record of artists

is

compelled

content. If

or "the watercolors of Turner,"

or technique that

now and

convincing proof that the versatility

medium over

referred to by

Rembrandt"

is

well established. Additionally, there

from every school and era who have

method

light.

our discussion of the contemporary school, or (a) that part of

of watercolor

of

Some

us.

much more than

in watercolor,

me make

import that

have been on the

chronicled here.

To resume let

not

art

there are eventful things being

art,

boxes, traps, found objects, assemblage, frottage, and

working

at the

bequest to the contempo-

left a scintillating

art.

Today there

movements

drives. In this area

international recognition of the con-

was immensely

action painting as such, he

Paint-

while Pollock was not the sole originator of

time of his unfortunate death, and rary world of

our purposes to even presume evaluation

vitality,

And

temporary American painter.

descriptions,

the advent of

felt since

We cannot neglect reference to Action

art.

alone, Jackson Pollock led the

scene for

as far

suit

it

marriage to emotion,

its

not

does not appear that any clearly defined "school" of great import

has been established.

ing and

on

live

numerous other influences

there have been

Surrealism,

is

contributions of Ernst, Arp, Masson, Miro, Magritte,

and Tanguy, among others,

While

view

(this

has virtually repeated examples of both Arcim-

critics),

The

considered

is

mind

it

it

work

for

of lasting

be said "the etchings

most assuredly

is

not the

(save perhaps for pedantic dis-

cussion), but rather the content-meaning of great artistic accomplishment.

Nor can

watercolor be dismissed to a minor role, for quantity will never

equal quality.

enervating to read essays and theories espousing naive reasons

It is

for watercolor ever to

have

existed.

The

last

if

this

goal of Marin, Burchfield, Tobey, O'Keeffe, or Francis, to

American

artists

of stature

whose work

The following pages devoted

his

that

is

either

work, and/or

to offer

my

known

to

me

watercolor

to paintings

by no means a complete register of

work

in

by

all

my

by

artists

is

well

were the major

name known

working

such contemporary

association with the artist,

deepest apologies to the numerous

artists

but a few to us.

in watercolor

work

availability for this purpose. Furthermore,

its

come my way

such diagnosis to

binds American watercolor securely to "luminism," as

I

of note.

knowledge

feel

is

It is

of

compelled

whose work would merit

inclusion, but, by the very nature of physical limitations, has been omitted. Since

the paintings have been selected to present as comprehensive a viewpoint as possible, without attempting a to present a written this

58

artist

has been asked

statement concerning his attitudes, concerns, and

way we may gain

of watercolor and

complete bibliography, each

its

beliefs. In

further insight into the unique autobiographical nature

content.

^ Pomegranate by Edward Reep. 1967. Watercolor

and ink on

rice paper. 11

X

17 inches.

59

jft£

"

J

.~-.v

y

I

-

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO

Fugue

in the Silence

1963.

Watercolor

#15

on

by Hilda Levy. paper."

"hospital

process of becoming.

being metaniorphic, define his art?

In talking about painting, ivords a trap!

The

miliar

—a

to hold

on

may

be-

from man's known, the fa-

trap springs

need for reference

to the

sense of security. In seeking to these bases,

one may

fail to

keep his emotional and mental passages

open for the unfamiliar. The

word is a deadening The visual arts offer

the

finality

of

The

is

truly

of the

now

how

can the

artist

nature of the creative

stands by the side of a further

painting

is

telling of a creative act

or of a non-creative act.

The

process of

life

experience moves

thing!

follows destruction of elements

the possibility to

necessary for the in the painting

tion

moves

moment

made un-

present. So, too,

— the process

metaniorphic existence con-

its

tinues to a composite of essentials. This final abstraction brings forth a

An

new

truth.

attempt at explanation of a paint-

ing begins

its

dissolution. It will,

own

to the beholder patiently its

toivard extraction of essences. Extraction

ence through revelation. This involves a

,

through

ever, reveal of its

revealment of the tomorrow.

A

The painting presents in itself the full gamut of an all-inclusive experience and

unknowable! The truth

self is so illusive,

keep open these channels for true experi-

60

process of con-

man's link with the Universe. This vision

19^2 x 19V2 inches.

come

The

tinuous change, or metamorphosis,

SERISAWA.

I.

accord

its

how-

mystery

seeking to fathom

meaning.

The

fulfillment of the painting

sensing of

Only

this

life of its

its

is

the

particular flow as a truth.

experience can give the work a

own.

of destruc-

to preserve the necessary only.

(Hilda Levy)

Three P.M. Fog by N. P. Brigante (b. 1895). 1962. Watercolor and ink on paper.

24 x 36 inches.

The

artist

start

to

must have absolute control from

completion over

engender the creative

all

effort.

forces

that

This includes

control over craftsmanship and materials,

the entire surface and the spaces confront-

ing him, the elements which suggest movement and dynamic, kinetic energy < Yang, active,

male), and those

tranquility, with the rest

which promote and repose that

follow (Yin, passive, female). The artist synchronizes ends and means as well as heart

The the

and

brain.

natural world remains as always

common

basis for all inspiration

though

research, even

it

and

has changed from

and of antiquity. images are constantly discovered and revealed, and appear in ever-changing the world of our fathers

New

forms for both our pleasure and enjoyment. We are also inundated with new sights, sounds, tastes, textures,

To understand

this

and

smells.

new development, we

must re-make and re-orient our vision these

new images, in order to direct new elements into concrete, perma-

nent,

and expressive

with these

art forms.

They pos-

shapes and are confined within limits, and they are microscopically small as well sess

Furthermore, these many enormous images may reveal themselves to us but

as

.

for a fleeting

.

.

moment.

This nature touches and immerses us in a moving sea of atmosphere, heat, dampness, and cold. We are awed by the mystery contained within the

volume

of

its

depth and space.

(

From The

New

Artist's

Approach

to the

Nature by Nick Brigante.)

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO BOB FORESTER.

61

Composition by Ernst Wilhelm Nay 1902).

(b.

23%

16 Vi x

1964. Watercolor.

inches.

notable simplicity of Nay's sponta-

The

neous and melodious paintings, would at

seem

first

to contradict his elaborate philo-

sophical premises. But quite the opposite is

he

true, for

is

upon

totally reliant

his

personal investigations as source material for his efforts.

Nay

imbued with "the

is

man," and alludes to Initially

ments

considered translating his state-

I

but

verbatim,

proved meaningless.

.

.

me

is

is

(in English),

the language

sometimes not

is

enough

logical

It is

that there at

and

artist,

for us to

a brilliant

work when Nay

efforts

his erudite wife

But Nay's language

of an

my

of

all

As

Elisabeth has written to ".

loneliness of

this in his writings.

logical."

determine

and sensitive mind "Nature," he

paints.

not only visual, but has mathe-

states, "is

matical form."

He

draws from nature ex-

periences which allow his

work

speak

to

of these experiences rather than of nature itself.

He

speaks of time, space, mathe-

matics, physics, and cosmology as

sources for

new

He

thoughts.

prime

writes with

abstract precision of ascending and dimin-

movement mo-

ishing scales of color and

treatises include the analysis of

tifs.

His

the

number as a symbol, posing value its imminent value.

against

Nay's paintings project an eternal quality

that extends

the frame. visual at

He

first

beyond the borders of

feels that his

work

viewing, but that

more and more

visual as

we

it

is

non-

becomes

reach the

center of each painting, where the visual quality disappears again.

phenomenon

to "a

He

likens

this

wave flowing over the

painting in a very poetic way." This continual

movement

in

each painting estab-

lishes the basis for a genesis; that

is,

the

energy of one work flows into or demands another, until an ultimate cycle pleted. In his

numerous

is

exhibitions,

com-

Nay

very positively wants each painting to be in contact

with the next, in order to form

this zyklus, or cycle.

COURTESY OF M. KNOEDLER &

62

CO,, INC.

PHOTO PAULUS

LEESER.

)

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST.

Untitled

Watson Cross

by

1918).

(b.

1965. Casein watercolor. 19 x 28 inches.

This sounds tion

to

say,

egotistical.

"I'm

an

What presump-

artist,"

more. "I'm a teacher of

art."

and,

even

The

brief

history of watercolor painting included in

As an

artist-teacher 1 find

parallels in classes. self,

my

approach

many

to art

and

direct

this

book can make one

my

ble.

What

to

There must be an opening of one-

a freeing of one's tensions, prejudices,

and predetermined techniques,

to

make

contact, whether

it

be with a canvas or a

student. Contact

is

the precise word.

must

away

strip

one's

surface

One

self

or

and me! Take me. or reject ?>ie, but by God. this is me! This is my paint-

front, one's respectability, in a sense, say,

"This

ing, this is

is

my

line!"

feel

mighty hum-

a colossal act of egotism, then,

to paint yet

another picture! This

is

a part

of the "hang-up" that must be stripped

away

if

we

again be

are to

Adam

make

contact anew, to

before the Tall, or the

new materials as well as new people can bring creative action and touch new facets of the inner self. Knowing these inner resources and not undervaluing them in the slightest, we Contact with

with vital

should prepare our physical skills, crafts,

tinuingly relevant to our

unprepared technically,

As existential as the above may sound, we need not separate ourselves from the

tact

world of everyday experiences. In fact, these very experiences can enrich and ma-

the

ture us

if

we

give ourselves to

the?)!.

with the

field.

If

we

are

this too can limit

our freedom and creativity.

When

child-artist before school.

self

and mechanics that seem con-

your precious moment of conit's your pic-

comes, prepared or not,

ture,

or thing,

first

happening then and for

time.

(

Watson Cross

63

COLLECTION OF DR AND

Dream by Leonard Edmondson 1964. Watercolor collage.

(b.

1916).

x 28!/2

19 V2

artist creates

His environment

and

intellectual

out of an environment. is

physical,

— and

What the artist and how he responds by

He may

or curse

make

it

it.

a

tomb

or

two

his shoulder as

glorify his

embrace

emotional,

imprisoned

[re-creates) are

which peer over

works.

is

receives (perceives)

it.

faces

he

environment

or flee

it

make

it

he

from

it,

a garden, but

he cannot turn away from the reality of it. This environment is made up of the major philosophical and social trends of his day on the one hand, and the most

trivial,

my

is

An

teacher.

technique

impersonal (not the handwrit-

ing of the

man from

are

nature,

his fellow

from

his work,

man. In the face of

vironment that

is

shaping

responded in two ways. is

to

and from

my

My

this en-

have

art, I

first

response

assume an anti-traditional attitude

—

one that turns away from the familiar, the ingratiating, the appealing; fies

one that de-

limitations of artistic vocabulary (con-

cepts,

attitudes,

response tialists'

is

purposes).

My

second

to identify with the existen-

"absurd man,"

who

prefers to live

I

work

is

64

is

life-

not concern

only with those creative acts which his existence.

is

sometimes used

like

an

atmosphere which surrounds shapes and objects;

come

either

namic)

like a web on which The arrangements can be-

sometimes

shapes cling.

active

or static

inanimate)

.

I

(swift,

moving, dy-

(slow-moving or even

would

like

my work

to en-

gage the viewer, to provoke him, to leave

him

free.

My

phor.

who does

solutions

{primarily of space, but also of arrange-

without appeal within the span of his the artist

The painting

artist).

ment). Space

not teach;

—

on informality. The

based on a predetermined structure

with his courage and his reasoning, to live

himself with creating for posterity, but

which

reliance on

myths, scattered the family, and alienated

the other. in

little

ized urban society has destroyed the old

time

The environment

creative acts are intellectually con-

ceived and pursued, with still less

industrial-

fragmentary, and peripheral episodes on

dominated by science and technology. The

My

CARL M SHAFER.

gesture and

population and annihilation.

inches.

Each

machine has taken over and

Science has created the specters of over-

MRS.

Its

it

work

is

not didactic.

shares. It

is

its

It

does

own meta-

roots are buried in the environ-

ment from which

it

springs.

fulfill

(Leonard Edmondson)

Oracle

by

Leonard

Cutrow

(b.

1911).

The

artist,

from long, striving study,

1962. Watercolor and ink on cloth. 141/2

becomes keenly attuned

x 15V2

to so great a

inches.

to

form: attuned

degree that on rare occasions

he develops new symbols and //

is

difficult

to

painting, since

it

write about

one's

must speak for

own itself;

comment on painting in By painting I mean the artist's constant search for new symbols and ways

using

this

broad language.

these symbols in his of seeing

general.

his vast energies to

and

I.

applies

particular

accidents.

make

He

use of

way

all direc-

and sometimes succeeds, then judges work and in retrospect justifies the

logic

—

a logic that does not necessarily

come from

the status quo.

Therefore,

the

artist

with

all

of

his

concepts encompasses a broad range of

human

acts in the creation of a

work

of

art.

pushes and seeks

because of a momentary mood.

communicate.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO

tions

He

of

and executing; he manipulates

therefore, I will

to

own

new ways

bles

the

He gam-

(Leonard Cutrow)

SERISAWA.

65

by Jack Kling (b. 1929). 1967. Ink on rice paper. 20 x 30 inches.

Malibu

Series

by another, and soon, as

by magic,

if

shapes take form and meaning. In a few seconds the intensity of feel-

Ink drop follows,

jails,

splashes, spreads; another

and another, and

somewhere a

still

line appears;

?nore.

it is

From

intersected

ing dissipates and I try

ders in

is lost

new won-

each work, but always there

me on

to continue the search.

once described

forever.

again and again, finding

something missing, something overlooked or scorned. It is this something that drives

impossible."

(Jack Kling)

is

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO

66

it

Giacometti

thusly: "In search of the

I.

SERISAWA

)

COLLECTION THE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL WATERCOLOR SOCIETY. PHOTO

Mantled Shore by Glen R. Bradshaw 1922). 1959. Casein

wash on

(b.

rice paper.

that

Writing about

my own

painting always

some uneasiness for me because my primary means of communication is visual

SERISAW'A.

what the painting conveys should be the beliefs that guide

these: art requires order; the

should

reflect

should

know and

his

Each painting tuitively,

regarded as nearer truth.

Among creates

I.

me

artist's

uniqueness; the respect

the

are

work artist

craft

of

is

begun rapidly and

in-

without preliminary studies, di-

on rice paper. Then the relationships compounded by the application of many overlays of thin casein paint. The work is continuously judged, and changed,

rectly

are

possible to write

painting; and a painting should be a re-

until I feel that a precise unity of all its

about work methods and overemphasize

warding visual experience for the viewer.

parts has been achieved.

rather than verbal. It

the "nuts

and

just as easy to

pay

is

bolts" side of art,

go

think that

more objective

seem remote from what

my

it is

extreme and

to the other

lip service to ideas that I

believe but which, to

and

I

eyes,

work on absorbent paper, that I enjoy the immediacy of marks made with soft brushes and fluid paint, and that I often use complex color I

am aware

that I prefer to

paintings ac-

relationships.

With these extremes in mind, my comments must then be measured to some extent against the work itself, and,

My subject

tually reveal.

if

there seems

some discrepancy,

1

believe

country

How my

landscape,

is

nearly always lake-

but

it

is

based

on

or

may not

whatever

can, as well as I can,

1

meaning

It

into little

seems enough to do

to

me.

fit

of

is

importance

concentrate

matter

work may

current art style at any time

on the things

and

which

for me. Painting has

to

have

meaning

for me.

fundamental relationships and experiences rather than specific views.

(

Glen R. Bradshaw

67

Red Horses by Harold M. Kramer

(b.

1912). 1967. Latex wash on board. 18 x

22 inches.

Art

is

the act of creating an experience

for both the viewer and the creating

The

ist.

meanings, his

artist sees his

artfeel-

ing-thinking, emerge from his work. This

emergence from the canvas, paper, wax or clay

ing he

A is

is

in accordance

upon

sets

with the structur-

this art.

major goal of the experimental

artist

to select, invent or renovate a structur-

ing that will house his idea- feelings. There are many,

many

eight bricks

—

These means

movement.

COURTESY OF MR. AND MRS. RICHARD COUCHMAN

and sometimes

texture,

He may

but in

means.

are line, shape, form, color,

select

two

build his

these bricks to ture,

yet,

back on

falls

plastic or graphic

pattern,

value,

and

structures in art

in order to build them, he

he should be con-

cases

all

scious of the restrictive of this art so as to

to eight of

creative struc-

and limiting nature

expand

to his fullest

it

use.

The mature his work.

(b.

1918). 1966. Watercolor. 22 x 30 inches.

though,

The

of this

all

subject

the painting.

The

droplet of color running

paper, the gathering of water

down

the

and color

in

tubes

—

is

is

empty performance.

all-important:

Too bad

motivates

doesn't

it

come

in

subject-motivation

high-quality

ground with the

it

most permanent

finest,

ingredients

—

saturated areas: these are natural, unfore-

more than

a surface covered with bottles

seeable incidents of watercolor painting

and apples, a landscape, a

mis fudged by some to be crude craftsman-

charging the waves. This subject-motiva-

the valleys

ship.

To

of

erase

warps, the

confluence of

them would be

the signs of adventure, to

kill

is

much

so

sailing vessel

and

some

its

structure.

its

ap-

Here one needs a

tween is

much

the sparkling whites of bare paper be-

pleasing.

tween areas of colors, the wild-fringed invasion of one color upon another when

painting with your brush to struggle with

power of scumWithout a subject,

so

With boldness reach

the unseen (the subject), it

emerge into the

and

surer of into

try to

the

make

visible.

of the

profits in art. It is the

both

the

line,

first

when

and the

viewer

said,

1

an experience creative

artist."

Art

is

not the act of locking nature

into the canvas: this real estate.

Art

is

is

merely depicting

man-made

nature,

the understanding of the nature, ture, plastic

to

(Keith Crown)

his

The

emotional ideas and his means

his

one of the purest

meaning

certain kind of courage to ignore all that is

it.

seeing-understanding of the wedding be-

for

pearance,

release

of

selec-

makes do not confine

that pervades the picture, giving

has gone before, that

68

tions the artist

art but rather define

"art is the act of creating

the personal observation, the poetry,

strength

out

the penetrating visual statement, the idea

is

colors placed in areas saturated by others,

blotting.

and cancels

meaning. The structural and graphic

the paint-

of painting the delicate reactions of

bling and

windmills, deals with inconsistent

emotions,

tion

can discover only from a great deal

they are impinged, the

conviction and order. Without these, he tilts at

to destroy

ing.

One

for the subject

plas-

means, and emotional idea gives him

tic

White Line Landscape by Keith Crown

can see-understand

artist

His selection of structure,

its

and

struc-

means, and energies wedded

an emotional

idea.

(Harold M. Kramer)

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST.

69

COLLECTION OF LYTTON SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION.

The Inward Sun by

Elsa

Warner

1964. Acrylic wash and

(b.

collage.

1900).

30 x 40

nature in the cycles

trates

immediacy of pleasure with the real,

abstract

moods

warding for

me

of

nature has

been

re-

in the watercolor medium.

imaginative,

The intuitive, spontaneous, and automatic processes grow from freedom of the it

develops and

the

activity of watercolor as shifts under the brush.

an intimate and spiritual experience. The emerging images possess an emotional recall from many walks with

This

70

is

her lights and

Abstract imagery, that which concen-

inches.

The

of

seasons.

in itself the essential qualities

things, often reveals in nificance.

My

depth their

evolvement with inner and

outer found images in

collage activated

the automatic juxtaposition of forms colors.

There

of sig-

is

and

an intangible bond be-

artist and his personal expresand to these feelings I must add the of working in this infinitely challeng-

tween the sion,

joy

ing medium. (Elsa

Warner)

Message

Paul Klee by Olga Higgins.

to

1963- Watercolor and ink line.

The combination

of watercolor, or casein,

and working in line has long been a favorite approach of mine. Being an experimenter and innovator by nature has al-

many

lotted

me

and

employ media such

to

Conte

tnove into

to

crayon,

gouache,

casein,

monotype, and

am

oil. I

work with great

art fields

as watercolor, collage,

very prolific and

fervor, often producing

a hundred paintings over a period of several

months.

My when

most

sometimes

on a

over,

is

begins.

Many

my

but

When

such

evaluation of the

work

with alone.

doomed

bin"; but these discarded

me

may be

times only a dozen

saved, with the rest

supply

specific series,

subject

concerned

more often with media a series

occur

paintings

successful

am working

I

to

my

"lemon

works may well

with collage material for future

series.

The painting Message

to Paul

Klee

is

a result of one such series that was de-

voted to line and watercolor wash.

Today my springs years as at

greatest thrill as a painter

from the memory of my long a commercial artist, which began

the age of 14.

Having once

experi-

enced the pressures of deadlines, specifications,

and a regimented

life,

1

can

now

express myself with full freedom. Because of this,

my

I

feel a

deepened sense of joy in

present creative endeavors.

(Olga Higgins)

/

-

rm«>a«3?

i

&a

a

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO BOB FORESTER

71

COLLECTION OH THE SPRINGFIELD ART MUSEUM

1

COURTESY OF THE PASADENA ART MUSEUM. PHOTO

Phenomena Anatomy of a Cloud by Paul Jenkins (b. 1923). 1977 Watercolor on pa.

per. 3

X 43

1

inches.

Utah Red

1.

SERISAWA.

by Alexander Nepote

1913). 1957. Watercolor and collage on

and texture display the disruptions and marks of perpetual change. The esthetic

Masonite.

fabric

Cliff

(b.

unites

known and One

doesn't simply view a Paul Jenkins

— once

My

reactions,

which are

e?n bodied in

my

In

my

the seen

felt,

and unseen, the

the specific and universal.

paintings details of snow,

cliffs,

and

you look at it you're trapped. Enormous washes rush one way or

paintings, are the result of an intensive

crevices lead us to feel the spirit of mas-

search: to see, as best I can, beyond the

siveness,

another, fluid and seemingly

obvious to hidden deeper

realize such experiences as aloneness,

painting

their edges or

Movement,

still

feathering

resolutely holding crisp.

color,

and scale; they

are there to

realities. I feel

that man's existence in historical time his greatest experience

—

his life. It is

is

not

transport the viewer on an exciting voyage of

my

discovery.

suggest that the transitory things of nature

Jenkins's

work seems

ceptive. Phenomena

by 43 inches in area

is

effortless.

How

Anatomy of a Cloud,

de-

at 3

virtually three times greater

than the typical imperial-size water-

Nevertheless, Jenkins's deep,

color washes remain clear

and vibrant,

affords little credence to technical

plishments.

He

is

at ease

with

absorbed by the statement and

whether

in sight or not,

his its

rich as

he

accomwork, destiny

and the viewer

are not the real reality. ity is the

color paper; this in itself presents a challenge.

intention to describe a place but to

is

come

things

away

—

This

is

The ultimate

real-

never-ending process in which into being, exist,

and pass

the mystery of continuous change. a

paradoxical

situation,

where

the process which unfolds in historical time is

the eternal, the absolute.

constant transformation

is

To me,

this

best expressed

by the illusion of deep space where

rela-

and

to

am-

and mystery.

biguity,

The

or intimacy

vastness

technical process echoes the ulti-

mate content. Torn pieces of thin black and white etching papers are glued to Masonite

and painted

position.

as they are placed into

There they are subjected to con-

tinuous modification pulled

The

off,

cut out,

— scrubbed, rubbed,

and new pieces added.

textured pieces (resulting from the

tearing off process) are frequently reglued into the painting in different places,

and

repainted. This battle with materials continues until the

work comes

to life.

tionships of light suggest the energy and

movement

in historical time, ivhere

mass

(Alexander Nepote)

convinced. Paul Jenkins's painting rightful part of the

is

seen here as a

contemporary school.

His personal commentary appears on page 1

12 alongside another of his stirring images

in full color.

73

THE DYNAMICS

74

:

4 OF THE MEDIUM Dynamics:

The branch

1.

of

mechanics that

treats of the

motion of bodies in

the space (kinematics) and the effects of forces in producing motion, and of laics of the

motion thus produced

{kinetics):

opposed

to statics.

World Language Dictionary)

(Britannica

greatest concern, indeed the very crux of this entire volume,

The

more misinformation been dispensed, with

has

expand the

inhibit rather than

An

artist's

over-concern with methodology

contained

other area of art instruction

dynamics. In no

in the deceptively routine area of

is

the result that

it

has served to

individual personality. is

totally distracting

when one

is

attempt-

attained through ing to gain major goals involving content. Such things are then a wedding are solutions practice which builds experience, and technological of

common

sense with that experience.

It

would be

an understanding of the latitude that already

The

beckon.

most important of

capriciously, meticulously, and,

not subscribe himself to a time

more helpful

and of the

exists

employing watercolor must be

artist

far

free to all,

to

develop

possibilities that

work

as

he sees

independently!

element or a work pattern that

is

He

fit:

can-

dictatorial.

must be Popular formulae for "planning a watercolor" or "how "painting by the numscuttled and relegated to that dismal level slightly above to paint a tree"

bers."

Planning a painting

but the true

artist

is

hardly the issue, for that

is

a

most personal thing;

could never submit to another's method as a standard of pro-

cedure.

Nicolaides sums

up

it

this

way

more deeply. Do nor rry nor try to learn a formula, bur to become sensirive, ro feel people who refused ro the by made been has Progress ro masrer a parricular Technique. made by people who been have technique of rules The submir themselves to mediums.

Do

copied those

who made

you are painring but

when your

become

easier

Most

at

all.

inrerest

the progress.

When is

and easier

,

r?,57"":„' £ifit'l inches

will paint well

when you

to handle. Therefore, practice

artists recall nostalgically

is

are able to forget rhar

medium, things become

completely absorbed by the model

—

the idea

difficulr,

— your materials

the watchword.

the use of the thumbnail or small preliminary

companion, such investigain the hands of the mations are of reasonable value and comfort. Thumbnails in no. on., prove revealing, bo, worch, as .ndivicoa, eta, ar„» t follows that they themselves. As richly rewarding as they may be, it rarely

sketch. In the early going, ,

you

You

are conscious of your

»«

when

sureness

is

a rare

™,

75

would be copied verbatim; of

less

my

the artist

me

in

To

elaborate further,

warmed-over kind

a mechanical,

The^feeble argument which suggests that

art.

then you are to

would produce

this

you cannot follow your plan

if

pure nonsense and was a source of great

is

irritation

art-student days. let us

assume that an

begins a painting that will

artist

Why

presumably occupy him for several hours, or several days.

should he, then,

proceed to devote the bulk of his time to the embellishment of a thought solved at the outset,

underway

when possibly no later than an hour or two after getting may be suggested? Does he not know the meaning of richness of reward? Is it not a further possibility for him to wherein a newer thought or an accident or turning may be

a worthier goal

flexibility,

approach

and of a

its

painting

abandon the

seized upon; or could he not

total

enticing challenge offered itself? All of this

is

concept and begin anew

if

more

a

with the method

in direct conflict

which hours of routine busywork are devoted

plan, in

re-

to the coloring-in of

frozen diagrams.

Perhaps through the be struck in

personal experiences, a

recital of

As

this forlorn area.

a student

member

clusively in watercolor (on landscape locations),

sky

Many

first.

was achieved;

at a

neighboring art school

and could be adjusted

with

to the rest of the painting

dubious lessons were given

sincere fashion by

painters.

The

in

pity of

it all,

fear, in retrospect,

is

not,

and will never be

working from the

still

life

damage was done

to

young

or the figure.

a "class" a

It is

on location or

in the

medium,

ink, or acrylic. Class titles such as "watercolor landscape"

figure painting" are meaningless,

more, an

of

me, was that these

hardworking teachers who

that

is

little effort, this bit

at least to

subscribed to such naivete.

Watercolor was not,

and

could begin.

nature was being

a class of similar

The

studio,

ex-

to paint the

Since skies were relatively simple things to paint,

last!

fatuousness was judged helpful.

who

worked

of a class that

was instructed

I

may

times a sky was painted again and again until the proper result

advised to paint the sky

artists

forceful note

after this initial victory, the rest of the painting

Oddly enough,

were capable

more

artist

who employs

who works

in

the watercolor

as are oil,

pen

and "watercolor

and invariably inhibit the student. Further-

watercolor

medium

for

to recite. Traditional definitions of just

is

not a "watercolorist" but a painter

myriad reasons, perhaps too numerous

what

nate in themselves. Each sincere attempt

is

a watercolor

is

are rather unfortu-

either obscured by technicalities or

diluted by an over-reverence of tradition.

After

all,

watercolor

ground and suspended in water! it

is

in

The Europeans,

as aquarelle. Purists

nothing more than a paint whose pigment an aqueous solution of in

order to distinguish

gum it

arabic,

and

from opaque

it

is

is

finely

miscible

paints, refer to

have traditionally frowned upon the introduction of any-

thing foreign to the transparent colors, specifically, opaque white.

It

was generally

conceded that a very white (a cream color was acceptable on rare occasions)

hand-made rag paper was the most

effective support to use.

real significance in all of this concerns the

purist of yesterday

but

it

point of

permanency of the medium. For the

and today may not have produced any work of consequence,

will certainly endure.

"When permanent colors is

The only

To

quote from the noted authority, Ralph Mayer:

are used

on pure rag water-color paper and the picture

kept under the same normal conditions of preservation as are accorded other

objects of art, the technique

76

is

as

permanent

as

any other."

Working on

white surface

a glittering

way

practically all media. In this

fundamental

is

maximum

alone, a

employing

to artists

brilliance

is

obtained from

the translucent nature of watercolor. If the artist selects another support, or a

toned ground, he does so with the complete knowledge that he luminosity to gain other qualities.

He knows

when he

that

is

abandoning

from the

gravitates

pure white ground, he loses the high rate of reflected light that plays off of

But by employing watercolor, the

and back through the films of

color.

granted the inestimable

being able to get where he

gift of

is

it

artist

is

going quickly, often

with effective conclusion. Accidents are omnipresent, and are conscripted to lead the

way

to

newer

discoveries.

There

is

an excitement in the act of painting

often inherited by the viewer. There

that

is

that

comes with each new juxtaposition of

is

an

color,

of expectancy and thrill

air

form or

The

line.

very nature

of the paint consistency, plus the design of the brush, invites the artist to continue

painting with infrequent in the subtle

The

his palette.

ease of mixing, especially

tertiary color, contributes to the flow of uninterrupted

world of

spontaneity. Everything

and

from

refills

directed toward and suited to the alia

is

paths have been cleared for the inductive response.

all

prima

Still this

attitude,

has to be

only one thought, one suggestion, albeit more sophisticated and intriguing to the contemporary painter.

The

painter

fast papers;

may change

the support to cloth, add collage of white or color-

paint back over the collage, add ink,

work with

stick,

boo; use rubber cement as a frisket, or wax-resist, or invent his

He may is

splash and splatter, or

let

dirtied or his clothes are soiled?

the paint run;

How

up the mind? Scrape the

cluttering

surface and start again.

Or

sit

what does

does one think

paint, scratch at

it,

twig or bam-

own

matter

it

approach. the floor

if

when such concerns scrub

away; ruin the

it

quietly at a table and use rulers,

T

squares or any

other mechanical device to gain the desired result. Break every rule, ignore advice; but to is

know

it first!

not simple to work with

be

made abundantly

great artist

would be able

his nature.

Take from him and

in their place,

it

—

but then, neither are the others;

clear.

to

There

work

all

in

is

oil,

paper

all

it

medium

time that

of his familiar and beloved materials, leave others

will be a matter of time alone before great

works will again

difficulty

with his

particularly in the manipulation of the fluid calligraphy he ex-

Mexican

were always near

at

hand. There are

Diego Rivera, who drew with shoe polish on news-

artist,

through the great depression of the

redundant,

is

any medium, even one completely alien to

celled in; but, then, his watercolor paints stories of the

it

every good reason to believe that a

pour from his studio. As an example, John Marin had great control of

all

Only through long experience can one expect to grow,

understand and appreciate the singular beauty of watercolor. This

this

are

would be prudent

if

thirties.

At the expense

the aspiring artist learned to

of seeming

draw and com-

pose; one could then assume that after these major victories, problems of materials

and techniques would be

Because there has been so

easily conquered.

much

said about

color, the following antidotal information has

of a very fluid, water-miscible paint

is

how one

should paint a water-

been included. The

maintained by varying the proportions of

water and paint. For those encountering watercolor as an

seems

furtive, elusive,

ever, after

When

fullest control

initial

experience,

it

and downright unruly. Apprehensions soon vanish, how-

competence and confidence are gained, mainly through

practice.

the artist works a relatively dry brush into a wet surface, he maintains a

77

firm control of his stroke, as

is

approach affords brush applied to a dry surface or a wet-into-wet possibilities,

and

A

virtually the case in all liquid media.

in this light the aspiring artist

makes

progress.

still

We

dry

other

could

dis-

but this would be

splashing in detail, cuss scraping, scratching, splattering or obligation of the individual's perantithetic to our premise. In addition to the there are the works of thousands of sonal experimentation with the medium, as a fount of information if not other artists to be studied carefully and used section alone provide a good beinspiration. The paintings reproduced in this wet or dry calligraphy, or the use ginning. One may quickly note the value of a

instrument to scrape it away. There is of a stick to apply paint or a hard-edge another, since we advantage to be gained in suggesting one kind of tool or little

could compile a

list

that

would

volumes, and they would

fill

all

make

be done, more than

to

a different

be described.

mark. Splattering and dripping paint need to discovery, and The very heart of this adventure is imbedded within the hide of

is

highly personal.

Painting

is

not without

amusing experiences; and those who are

its

medium

blindly or platonically devoted to this contributions. For one thing, there

is

a breed of

make

particular

in

who

artists

take

either

bountiful

enormous pride

or minute shape with their largest in being able to produce a very narrow line that all of their results are brush. They will use the same brush so exclusively might well use a smaller brush similar. It has never occurred to them that they massive areas. There are those who for smaller strokes, and the larger brush for will not put paint their

work shows

on it.

their palettes; frugality

A

stumbling mass of

appears worn and faded

mass

a large

While

this

to

it

is

to

part of their composure,

insipid,

most neophytes

minimum in all

and

unchromatic brush-stroking

Another manifestation of frugality

at best.

be painted, and only a

common

is

color, since is

is

is

is

paint mixture

media,

it is

seen

is

when

prepared.

devastating in water-

time-consuming to duplicate color mixtures in general, and time

often a vital factor.

The

in this section paintings that have been carefully selected for reproduction or amuse, singular purpose. They are not intended to entertain

possess a strict"

but to be inquired

and

into, dissected,

laid

open.

We want to know

why and how

when he may not be able to explain the naThe professional painter, along with experts in

the artist performed as he did, even ture of his automatic responses.

way. Excellent drivother fields of endeavor, creates in a relatively subconscious the paths they took. If one after arriving at their destinations, often forget ers,

were

to ask a pianist, a surgeon,

and

a golfer precisely

how

they achieve their

unable to provide high level of performance, they would probably be quite

to-

tally clear explanations.

The

well equipped, and he comes by this through failures or has long since ceased to blame his equipment for his

professional painter

experience.

He

inadequacies, although

it

is

would be well

to

keep

at a safe distance

when

a defec-

He knows what to reach tive paint or support has been unwittingly employed. these things while his mind for and generally where it is; his instincts tell him is

saturated with deeper concerns.

as the deliberate

mechanic.

tion with this in mind,

why he

artist

this applies to the action painter as well

will look at the paintings contained in this sec-

try to get inside of the individual artist to

resorted to a given approach.

journey with the

78

and

We

And

down

determine

By the use of photo-enlargement, we will

a very private road.

Here

is

a truly magical expe-

rience in any painter's

medium,

for all

have their unique qualities that allure

and, sometimes, seduce. Rather than be awe-struck or bewildered by these

microscopic adventures (for such things are inordinately delightful),

engaged

One

in a private

last

selected solely relative to the right,

on the

why and how an

would be

Although they have been

basis of their individual ability to project a clear

superb paintings by accomplished

safe to

me

artists.

message

in their

own

These people have been most

the privilege of presenting their

assume that they share with

will be

artist speaks.

to the paintings.

dynamics of watercolor, they are quite properly,

generous in allowing It

autopsy of

word before turning

we

me

work

in this

manner.

the belief that watercolor

is

capable of inimitable expressiveness and unsurpassed beauty.

Page from Shelter Sketchbook by Henry

Moore

(b.

1898). 1941. Watercolor, ink

gouache.

79

The

pictorial essay of this section

concerned

with

watercolor

medium

fied

the

is

exposition

in all

its

mainly of

the

forms, clari-

Evening 1887).

11%

Star,

HI by Georgia O'Keeffe

(b.

1917. Watercolor on paper. 9 x

Bird

by an accompanying enlarged detail

Morris

contemporary American painter Georgia

of it

Georgia

O'Keeffe

and

was not deemed necessary

to in-

O'Keeffe

clude the detail, but rather to display the

one

work

The bold

data

as is

voted

work

large

as

possible.

Biographical

kept to a minimum; the text to

a

itself.

clinical

is

de-

examination of the

handsome Bird we

In Morris Graves'

This startling painting by the pioneer

ings

ally

to

(b.

inches.

of each work. However, with the paint-

Graves

by Morris Graves

(opposite)

1910). 1957. Sumi. 34 x 2234 inches.

is

even more remarkable when

realizes that

was executed

it

simplicity of

its

in 1917.

structure virtu-

overwhelms the viewer, and the

today.

reductive

Unlike

thinking

prevalent

so

present

the

relates

O'Keeffe statement does not deny tural concerns, but instead

duce unpredictable

results

to various surfaces. In

see the result of this

magnificent

tex-

welcomes such

events with open arms. All artists that well-thinned or liquid

the

school,

wash

when

Evening

know

will pro-

applied

Star,

to

the

than

imprison

the

experience

textural

within the stroke. Graves has pre-wet the surface in order to encourage a flowing out, so to speak.

With but one purpose

in

mind, namely, that of exploring the dy-

namics of the medium,

would seem

it

foolhardy to attempt this magnificent per-

formance in any other way.

must

It

also

be noted that the elusiveness purposely sought out in painting Bird

is

made

valid

primarily through Graves' acute sensitivity

and competent draftsmanship.

HI we

phenomenon and

contribution

witness a similar happening. But, rather

its

broad,

linear forms.

COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. NEW YORK. MR AND

80

MRS.

DONALD

B STRAUS FUND.

COLLECTION OF MR. AND MRS. JOHN

D.

ROCKEFELLER. PHOTO GEOFFREY CLEMENTS.

81

The Mirror by Edward Reep. color

on paper.

1956. Water-

attempt to present

this

thought as an un-

folding, not too unlike a Mercator

201/2 x 281/2 inches.

map

projection.

The primary Mirror was to

objective in painting set

down my

The

reaction to

the bright yet elusive light patterns before

me,

addition to the

in

intriguing,

shapeless, nocturnal forms of lake and land.

There

is

is-

the recollection of seeking

to build a structure

The

from

inside, or cen-

The broad scraping away of wet paint fills this work is the obvious purpose

that

for

its

upon me,

on

a bitter cold

as the paint refused to dry.

each scraping seemed to illuminate a area, entangled light patterns

glow from within

insistent chandelier-like

This

image was omnipresent, and there was an

goal

ter-to-outside.

inclusion. Painting

night by a park lake forced this approach

is

appeared to

the painted

an example of

may dominate and

how

As

new

surface.

the content-

dictate

method.

COURTESY OF MR. AND MRS. ELMFR HERZRFRG.

82

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO

Ancient

Grass

I

SER1SAWA.

Olson

Meredith

by

40

At the time Ancient Grass was

(b.

1929). 1961. Watercolor on paper. 26 x inches.

Miss Olson was deeply involved ies

of works based

upon

painted, in a ser-

this premise.

Her

dependence upon the repeated scratching This splendid painting offers

Olson's

own

words,

much when

philosophical

we

able.

realize that she

needs.

She

is

For

how

is

which

so well

else could she capture the

spirit of a nocturnal grass,

to

is

quite understand-

when

limited

an essentially dark-over-light paint?

A

try

change of medium would solve the prob-

impart the experience of seeing the

lem, but could never present the personal,

burnished grasses of of

the

states

following: "In this nocturnal scene, to

paint,

revealed in the detail,

not nearly as conscious of her method as of her

away of paper and

However, from Miss

carefully examined.

the continuity

Ancient Grass son, but

is

is

summer

of

life

as a

I

symbol

through time.

not the grass of one sea-

as old as

man

himself."

inimitable answer seen here. of Ancient Grass

is

relentless pressure

brought

The beauty

a direct result of a to bear

upon

old limitations.

83

Grouping by Irene Koch

(b.

1929). 1957.

Watercolor collage on paper.

The

sheer feminine gracefulness of Irene

Koch's Grouping her

management

forms, but

it is

is

largely the result of

of

tumbling

pattern-

further emphasized by her

brilliant tonal scale. It ranges

from

glis-

tening lights to velvet darks, each note clearly in tune.

The

detail peers into hid-

den recesses of quick

line

and spontane-

ous wash, displaying the artful manner in

which complete and confident authority dominates her work.

Torn

entries of other painted surfaces

are so skillfully fused that one

aware of

their

rewards of

inclusion.

The

is

hardly

fortuitous

collage

(technically, de-

coupage) may be noted,

as varied textures

this

and movements are rudely imprisoned and placed into newer orbits. Grouping epit-

omizes a realm of eternal elegance. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO

84

1.

SERISAWA.

COl'RTESY OF THE ARTIST.

Beach

by

Harold

Kramer

(

1967. Latex wash on board.

b.

1912).

1714 x 22

inches.

tion.

He

it

further

statement do

to simplify

background or

our earlier

training. Certainly

method involved here

plex,

vibrant

regarding the importance of the

thesis artist's

the

much

this

and that

is

is

far

from com-

a great part of the paint-

ing's pristine beauty.

What

dignifies

Kramer's wash and line

comes through years of creative explora-

shape;

it

meaning through His

symbology.

meanders about or draftsmanship exhibited in

SERISAWA.

exaggerates form and rearranges

he gives

personal

controls and confident

I.

into multiple station points, but above

it

all

The superb graphic

PHOTO

it

all

this

or narrow, or auis

a playing

against a pattern of striated

wash, to the accompaniment of other ventive shape-symbols. tail

attests

a

line

digs out an incisive

may be wide

tonomously awkward. There of

explicit

to

this

The enlarged

in-

de-

and more, especially

with the discovery of both sharp and furry line.

a

Rarely

is

the viewer presented with

more abundant world of pure

visual de-

light than in this joyous painting.

85

1,000 Watercolor Touches by John

Mdvor

W.

1931). 1967. Watercolor on

(b.

// is

and

paper.

me to work with mawhich can be manipulated quickly

important for

terials

Not

that I ahvays work with when ideas do occur at quickened meter, I demand a material precisely.

a great rush, but

Mclvor

is

neither a slave to tradition

nor does he fret over the moral issue of eclecticism. ist's

detail reveals

all;

the art-

moves confidently over the

brush

surface,

The

dripping,

scraping,

scoring,

yet

a

which responds built while

With

it

is

clear in

in the

movements

are countless smaller, startling

thrustings,

deepening dimension

mark

mind.

times, the painting seemingly dying in the

Imbedded

and more obvious

my

other media, I have experienced, at

process of being built; the

as bearing the sure

tion

work was

gap between inception and

—

lost

realiza-

the "credibility gap."

as well

of the drafts-

man.

(John

COLLECTION OF THE

86

still

always in touch with and seeking his goal. in the larger

form can be

fast so the

ARTIST.

W. Mclvor)

PHOTO FREDERIC MARSCHALL.

6 P.M. Glow, June by N. 1895).

1965.

Brigante

P.

and

Watercolor

ink

(

b.

on

paper. 24 x 36 inches.

of performance with the philosophical directives of

Yang and Yin

that

is

equally

impressive.

Brigante displays alternate patterns of

wet

The

singular beauty of

space-world

When

is

Nick Brigante's

breathtaking

seen magnified,

6 P.M. Glow, June

is

it is

behold.

to

overwhelming.

only one of a long

series that has intrigued not only Brigante,

but his followers as well. There tery of

medium

line into

wet and dry surface, and dry

brush over wet and dry surface. fers a

He

of-

multitude of textures that swarm

through and about the painting, adding

emphasis

to his adroit use of scale

transposition.

At

first

we

a ceaseless drama,

and

are only witness

but soon

we

a

mas-

to

that can result only

from

drawn introspectively into Brigante s world and become a part of it.

long experience, and there

is

a

is

wedding

are

COLLECTION OF LYTTON SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION. PHOTO BOB FORESTER.

87

COLLECTION OF

Formulations by Hilda Levy. 1954. Watercolor and ink

on "hospital paper." 19V2

x 19Vi inches.

This bounteous work by Hilda Levy a world apart tion.

We

from

all

are treated to the spectacle of a

massive, yet calligraphic, unrest,

foundly under the

textured

a

bold structure

is

all

pro-

line,

and

artist's control.

ink

watercolor,

Essentially

wash on success.

lies

others in this sec-

paper,

Mrs. Levy's

the clue to the painting's

She has manipulated a sensitive

arrangement of textured shapes which

ulti-

mately plays against the complex linear patterns. In this

way

the

monochromatic

calligraphy stands forth or falls the

artist's

will.

There

is

away

at

an imposing

sense of scale and depth to be found in this

work, and the enlarged detail

a dramatic

88

view of how

this

offers

was achieved.

I.

SERISAWA.

PHOTO

I.

SERISAW'A.

Demaphon

#2

by Leonard Cutrow

(b.

with watercolor wash, ink

line,

1911). 1963. Watercolor and ink on rice

paper seems astonishing at

paper (mounted). 21 V4 x 18V4 inches.

are soon provided with

The

exquisite

oscuro in

management

Demapbon

#2

is

of the chiartypical of Cut-

row's dramatic oeuvre. There

symphony heard here relentless

is

resounding

— one bursting with

fury that seems to engulf the

first,

and but

rice

we

insights far re-

moved from method and media. Massive washes sprawl over their more delicate counterparts, scale line

complex spatterings supply

and vibration, and is

a broken, dotted

omnipresent. Materials and

are one, and there

is little

What

artist

time for tech-

happens does so

viewer. Additionally, the detail reveals a

nical persuasion.

particularly unique assortment of surface

because of the careful preparation

textures.

has preceded this and countless other kin-

That so much power can be generated

* \. *

'<

™

dred

efforts.

that

COLLECTION OF CALIFORNIA

PHOTO

ARTISTS.

I.

SERISAW'A.

The Red Tear Drop by Leonard Edmond-

there

is

son (b. 1916). 1957. Watercolor collage

ment

that denies complacency.

on paper. 19V2 x

echoes and dimensions

281/2 inches.

them tile

The patterned world of The Red Tear Drop is but one of a long series produced by Edmondson several years ago. It has lived in

my memory,

and was included

in

this section to display a rare use of the

watercolor medium.

The

patient attitude and obvious con-

cern for a total synthesis

90

is

evident, but

a

that

There are with

carry

myriad number of absorbing

sensations. This latter quality

apparent

in the

mulation.

Edmondson

the

is

its

relies heavily

tac-

most

is

enlarged detail, as

painstaking care that went into

the

move-

also a persistent, floating

for-

upon

transparent nature of watercolor

to

further

enforce a sense of overlapping

pattern,

which

sis to

ments.

in turn lends

added empha-

the painting's dimensional achieve-

South Side by Jerome Land

1908).

(b.

pendent upon the support,

as the trans-

1963. Watercolor and transparent plastic

parent paint films that follow are affected

on black paper.

by it. Land method "...

Perhaps the most eventful textural journey of this essay

is

found in the enterprising

work of Jerome Land. Paint was

initially

applied to a wet, non-absorbent surface, to

Land employs terial

is

The support which

a transparent plastic

mounted on black paper. He likens to the effect of a large Kodachrome, cept that a "black light"

The

ma-

(polyethylene or cordite), which

resultant

tonal

is

is

this

ex-

qualities

are

de-

he finds in

this

trying to attain a desired result. Shapes,

and tones can be richly realized

to create

moods

of considerable depth and

mystery."

There can be do doubting

ment by

the

artist.

South Side

an impressive painting it

enhances our

thesis

in its

com-

this is

not only

own

right;

by providing

new

and rewarding painting adventures. The enlarged detail in

utilized.

that

a great deal of flexibility in

textures,

be eventually blotted with wrinkled,

paint-saturated tissue.

states

intimately

hidden

is

unbelievably generous

exposing an

all-too-often

fabric.

COLLECTION OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL WATERCOLOR SOCIETY. PHOTO BOH FORESTER.

91

RELATED AND OTHER Allegory by Kenneth Callahan (b. 1906

PNW^

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

92

)

.

Tempera. 24 x 32

inches.

5

WATER-SOLUBLE MEDIA In our time art accepts no boundaries. Fashionable art movements often seem to be more the creation of create

some kind

critics

than of

artists,

a somewhat frantic attempt to

of order out of the exciting chaos of today's art scene. In tech-

nique, too. the artists have stepped across traditional boundaries with the

and the multitude

of plastics, metals,

of

new

products.

The

situation

is

coming

extremely

confusing for a person inclined to divide works of art according to the media

employed.

Should the netv oils,

from those

acrylic paints, with properties very different

be classified as oils? In what category

is

of

a drawing filled with painting or a

painting filled with drawing? At what precise point does a collage become an

assemblage? These questions which have plagued many an art fury over the years have

become

medium

which

in

virtually meaningless.

his idea

(Dr.

While we

An

artist

may choose

to

work

in

any

can successfully be carried out. Thomas

It".

Leantt. Director. Santa Barbara

Museum

of Art)

are primarily concerned with painting in transparent watercolor,

must be noted that there are many other water-base paints manufactured sale

and privately compounded that are termed watercolor. One

preparing a lecture for the Los Angeles County Museum, survey the current exhibition which juried paintings selected for

of entries, were no less

was

to

it

be the basis for

year, while

I

for

was

became necessary

my

talk.

it

Among

to

the

showing, which had been extracted from thousands

than fifteen categories of watercolors.

Among them

were:

egg tempera on board, gouache on Masonite, casein on wallboard, tempera on

Upson board, and watercolor on ground, there also appeared,

paper.

Without any reference

to surface or

listed thusly: watercolor, casein, collage-watercolor,

watercolor-gouache, and tempera-wax. There were countless other combinations

and definitions among the the individual

far

down in so

.//•/•o

i,

rules,

rejections, all carefully noted

by

artist.

Before going any further, presented here

more numerous

is

let

me make

it

abundantly clear that what will be

not to be mistaken for a scientific

explore chemistry in paint, or in other

complex an

area,

my

sole purpose

water-soluble paint to the reader. For

if

is

treatise.

Rather than lay

manner pose

as

an authority

to present a very basic explanation of

the artist

is

going

to explore

and expand

93

dimensions

his

he goes, he must be aware of the physical properties of his

as

manner he

paints and supports. In this

work

insures his

impermanency. But any deeper investigation additional

against deterioration or to private

experimenta-

tion should be undertaken by consulting reputable publications that deal exclu-

and methods.

sively with such things as materials

While

it

may seem

media appear very similar istry

many

perplexing to some that

of the aforementioned

in character, there exist subtle differences in

and manipulation that establish unique appeals to

addition to the broad definition of the traditional tempera discover,

when

chem-

For example,

artists.

medium, you

in

will

consulting a volume devoted exclusively to materials and meth-

ods, detailed treatises

on such standard variations

gum

egg tempera,

as

tempera,

soap tempera, and varnished and unvarnished tempera. Casein, gouache, and transparent watercolor will be looked at with the passionate dedication of the chemist, and the

many

gum,

glues and emulsions (wax,

natural, or synthetic)

Mixed techniques, along with the newly manufactured prod-

will be explained.

ucts in this as well as other areas, are presented with reliability, allowing the

many

painter

when formulating

options

elaborately described, the

own

paint. Synthetic paints are

most popular being polymer tempera or

ground

acrylic.

This

water, mixes and thins with water, yet cannot be

astonishing paint

is

dissolved once

has dried thoroughly.

it

his

in

The

must gain complete under-

artist

standing of the nature of synthetics, for while the polymer tempera colors are

non-inflammable and non-toxic,

is

this

is

not always so with other synthetics.

not water-based, but

it

should be noted that acrylic-resin, ethyl-silicate, vinyl-

and pyroxylin colors (lacquer) are also

acetate,

classified as synthetics.

Manufacturers are always alert to the needs of

problems

for

them.

One example

of this

is

to

artists,

often solving vexing

be found in the recent production

of canvas primed with acrylic paint, the purpose being to

and water-base

oil is

We

and therefore will not provide descriptions of paint that

are not concerned with

colors.

While one may paint

not advisable to apply water-base paint over

oil

accommodate both

over a water-base paint,

it

oil.

GOUACHE The most Artists

intimate relative of the transparent watercolor family

and technicians

have never been able

alike

medium, but my

precise definition of this elusive

follows:

"A

to agree

upon

description

is

gouache.

a single or

would read

as

paint that produces delicate, luminous, high-key, and semi-trans-

parent qualities." But

let

me

hasten to add that gouache colors are essentially

opaque, and only in the manipulation of overlapping brush strokes and washes

As

does the semi-transparent quality delightfully appear.

in

most media, how-

ever, the artist will dilute or thin his color to gain transparency,

accident or intent. All this seems

more than proper

to

whether by

me, since painters em-

ploying gouache are predominately concerned with edla-prima qualities couched in a soft

and

reflective world.

Although gouache colors

are

one must be extremely careful

manufactured and offered on the

to select only those

manent. Watercolors, watercolor

manufactured for use

in the

for the easel painter.

Some

hence extremely inviting

94

retail

market,

brands guaranteed to be per-

inks, designers' colors,

and gouache have been

commercial advertising-illustration

fields as

well as

of these colors are exceptionally brilliant in hue,

to use,

but since there

is

little

need for permanency

in

the commercial world, they are

attempts with gouache (that the addition of a artists

is,

all

my

My own

too often fugitive or impermanent.

version of gouache) have been executed with into transparent watercolor;

good opaque white mixed

gain an even more delicate result with the use of the

less

some

opaque Chinese

white.

Concerning the working surface

for

gouache

colors, there

is

one major

differ-

for transence that distinguishes them from the white-ground support desired paint opaque essentially parent watercolor. It is generally agreed that with an

such as gouache there

is little

need for the refraction of light

off the

ground and

although through the color. Therefore, toned grounds are generally preferred, primary purthere is no real objection to white or other high-key supports. The The suppose of the toned ground is to enhance lighter masses and calligraphy. multitude of specially ports usually preferred are cardboard, paper, cloth, and a cardboards prepared surfaces designed to attain highly personal goals. Cheap been widely used for are often of such subtle and neutral nature that they have

gouache grounds. They are additionally little

attractive to painters since they require

or no preparation.

TEMPERA category of tempera must of necessity be broken

The broad simplified

form or we could

easily devote a full section to

enormous range, being involved with both

oil

it.

down into some This medium has

and water-base

colors.

In the

tempera-wax (or gum), and When one egg tempera only, as these are the most popular and widely used. casein, gum, oil, considers that tempera colors may be formulated with either

we

latter vein

will cover tempera, casein tempera,

wax, or egg, plus combinations of these elements, a delightful experience awaiting the

Tempera ture of

resin or

wax with

more opaque base than found a

more

becomes

clear that there

is

artist.

colors are classified as emulsions,

oil, fat,

it

water.

which means that they

provides a heavier and

The emulsion

in transparent watercolor.

coarsely ground pigment, tempera

are a mix-

When

combined with

becomes very opaque

in nature.

At

indicates that an

note the classification of oil-tempera used, which you eliminate the fatty content oily or fatty emulsion was present. If, however, with glue only, the result may now be termed distemper. In times you

may

and mix tempera

luminous and sparkany event, tempera colors are noted for their resplendently a rigid support that has been ling qualities. They are most successfully applied to with glue, gelatin or casein. coated with gesso, which is a chalk or whiting mixed

Tempera

is

virtually insoluble in water

may be overpainted withSupports most commonly used are

when

dry and

out great fear of moving the undercolor. various materials and wood, untempered Masonite, and wallboards composed of become so widely has that paint the common casein wall structures.

Although

accepted in recent years

may be used with

panels, gesso remains unexcelled as

success

when preparing any

a ground. Perhaps

this

is

because

it

of these

may

be

shaped or textured during application.

CASEIN TEMPERA Apart from the popular

acrylic colors,

which are

relatively

new, casein tempera

watercolors. This is mainly has enjoyed by far the widest use of all the opaque fact that nearly all wellthe plus the result of its markedly simple formulation,

95

known

paint manufacturers offer

was once very

tubes. It

new

condition, but

hue and

in virtually every

it

convenient

in

tube and keep casein tempera in working

difficult to

and materials have conquered these problems.

discoveries

Enigmatically, casein colors have not received the stamp of of the leading authorities; yet none of

my own work

full

approval by

all

(some of

in this area

it

dating back twenty-five years) has seemed to discolor, fade or deteriorate.

Casein

extracted from skim milk which has been allowed to sour.

is

sultant fresh white curd

owning

Among

superior adhesive properties.

ability to set

is its

is

used as a binder or glue, and

it is

extremely

re-

the attractive advantages of casein

up and remain impervious

to

water

when

dry.

the artist to rework an area without fear of lifting the undercolor. effective glazing

The

effective,

and increases the painting's resistance

This enables

It

also permits

damage from

to

moisture.

Casein white, a most brilliant and effective color possessing enormous hiding

power, has been largely responsible for the advances made with the underpainting white (controlled or quick-drying white) of the

WAX AND GUM The most wax, but

TEMPERA

brilliant color of all

emulsions.

oil palette.

Tempera wax

may

The

not to be confused with wax-encaustic or hot wax.

it is

emulsion provides the

work

final

As noted

deterioration.

wax

well be found in paintings employing

will as a rule be formulated with a clean, white bees-

earlier,

use of a

wax

with excellent protection against moisture

wax-encaustic was utilized by the

may

ancient times for identical purposes. Various lusters

Romans

be obtained

of

in lieu of

varnishing by rubbing over the finished work with a soft cloth; but one must gain a working knowledge of this procedure through personal experimentation.

Gum

gum

temperas are confected with emulsions consisting largely of either

gum, or gum Senegal. Their

arabic, cherry

tremely compatible both to use

gum

in

chief advantage

mixing and formulation.

is

Artists

arabic since earliest times, and have been well

that they are ex-

have been known

aware of

tempera

colors,

while permanent, will pick up easily

when

vital

its

function as an adhesive in the transparent watercolor recipe. But the

gum-

painted over, and at

best must be classified as the least effective paint in the tempera family.

EGG TEMPERA Tempera formulated with the emulsion of egg probably constitutes the earliest known water-soluble medium we will discuss. We know that it has been used effectively since at least

Renaissance, artists,

when

it

400

attained

A.D.

Most of

us associate

enormous popularity,

or with the illuminators of the Middle Ages,

with incredible beauty and purpose

particularly among Italian who employed egg tempera

documents. Usually pre-

in their religious

pared with the yolk of egg (egg yolk contains

its

egg tempera with the

own

natural oil),

it

may

also

be compounded with both yolk and white, or with the white only. Present-day artists

oils

often support the natural egg emulsion with equal measures of various

and varnishes

dilutant

when

in order to fortify their colors, yet

water always remains the

working.

Applied to the hard panels generally used with the other tempera paints noted, egg tempera

than

oil paint.

patience,

96

it is

is

Being

when dry and is claimed to be tougher most demanding medium and requiring extreme care and

virtually insoluble a

not suited for the alia prima technique. Because of this limitation,

work with

very few of today's painters

medium seem

ill-advised for those

intricacies of

it.

Those who do gravitate

and brilliance of color

find the luminosity

new

to this age-old

would

irresistible. It

become deeply involved with the

to painting to

egg tempera, particularly

be

to

much

until

further along with their

careers.

POSTER COLORS In

my

They

estimation, poster colors are the poorest of the water-base paints.

essentially glue colors, coarsely

main disadvantage

overpainting. This bleeding

temps

to

change

ground and therefore very opaque, but

that the undercolor will pick

is

is

disturbing to the

up very

artist,

and will crack or chip

if

their

alter

when he

especially

damage by

a hue. Poster colors are very susceptible to

slightest moisture exposure,

and

easily

are

any at-

the

applied too thickly. These

colors are quite properly suited to classroom and commercial purposes.

SYNTHETIC PAINTS The

synthetics or plastics are considered by

future,

and there

is

many

artists to

be the paints of the

no question that they have been gaining popularity with

throughout the world. These versatile colors were born

artists

laboratory and are likely to prove the most durable of

highly sophisticated colors that are marketed under myriad

names, but

in the chemist's

titles

are very similar in manipulation and character.

all

Synthetics are

all paints.

and trade

While no one

paint can ever completely supplant another with respect to behavior or result, the range of the synthetics

knows no boundaries; for example, they may be apwash or heavy impasto. Obviously such combina-

plied equally well in delicate

tions of diverse qualities lead to scintillating

and inimitable

results.

The completed statement in synthetic will more often than not resemble an oil painting. The quickness of drying plus the infinite ease with which corrections or changes may be made remain the primary reasons for the growing popularity of the synthetics. Still there are

development of a very

effective

numerous other advantages, such

modeling

paste.

This material

combination of polymer emulsion and marble dust and may be applied support or mixed into the color.

It

as the

essentially a

is

has excellent adhering ability and

to the

may be

shaped, carved or chiseled, thus affording the painter exceptional latitude in the area of surface

relief.

Additionally, synthetics are available in extremely brilliant hues, and have

proved to be tough, durable, and permanent. there

was some complaint about

When

they were

first

marketed

their consistency or workability, but this has

been corrected.

The bulk artists'

on the shelves of

of manufactured synthetic paint to be found

supply houses are

commonly

referred to as acrylics.

Most

labels carry

three words, acrylic polymer emulsion, are sold under various trade names, and are non-toxic.

ing collage.

Polymer medium may be used

It is

for mixing, glazing,

also used to prepare a highly sophisticated

ease with which the artist

may

prepare his

and even

fix-

tempera paint. The

own tempera to fit his own needs is in a minimum amount of water

unbelievable: one need only grind dry pigment

and add the polymer medium. Synthetics, as well as all

process of polymerization.

modern

To

plastic materials, are created

fully describe this

through the

complex process would be too 97

digressive for our purpose, but

form larger groups (through zation.

Or another way

it

off

when

dry. It

you will visualize molecules fused or joined

catalytic action),

phenomenal nature of

to apply a layer over a slightly oily surface

will have fused

very tough yet highly flexible.

When

to

you will have witnessed polymeri-

fully to appreciate the

and exciting paint would be peel

if

itself into

this

new

and then

a powerful thickness of color,

applied properly to clean, non-oily sur-

faces that have been suitably prepared, acrylic will adhere with tenacity to wood,

canvas (primed or not), metal, Masonite, hardboard, paperboard, paper, and

even masonry. Curiously enough, with

all

of the qualities listed above,

unfavorably to the speed with which

acrylics dry.

They

many

artists react

find that there

is

not

time enough to work the paint. So manufacturers, always alert to artists' reactions, have been quick to respond. They have come up with a preparation to retard drying

which

is

used in watercolor for

nothing more than a traditional glycerin-based recipe

many

years. It

is

altogether possible that the synthetics

become the most universally accepted paint in the history of art. The pictorial statement to follow will include some of the media discussed above, plus other inventive combinations. The attempt here will be to examine

will in time

retrospectively the event of the painting. will be able to

serve

more

—

differences in both artistic

detect the artist's

growing

With

the aid of enlarged sections, you

determine differences that would otherwise be impossible to ob-

to completion.

temperament and method. You may

further-

enthusiasm and his affection for his work as he senses

While

all

it

such thoughts are nothing more than imagi-

nary visions woven with an occasional educated guess, they do prove illuminating and rewarding.

Most

artists

eager to learn.

care

little

for this kind of autopsy, yet

It is in this spirit

alone that the essay

through patient examination of each painting, new tion will await the viewer.

98

is

we

are inquisitive

offered. It

is

and

hoped that

avenues of personal explora-

Desert Landscape by Clinton

Adams

(b.

1918). I960. Polymer tempera, collage on paper. 30 x 22 inches.

Discriminating selection has always been a characteristic of Clinton

Here we

find a notable

restraint,

care,

Adams' work.

example of

his

and ultimate victory

in

reducing desert elements to their simplest terminology.

When we

viewing Desert Landscape,

first

see merely flattened shapes, floating,

superimposed,

and butting against one

another. Massive earth-layers play against a distant sky,

and we

quility of the

Western

desert

more pects

desert.

But

to the patient observer, as after

like the

much

painting offers

this

itself,

feel the eerie tran-

careful

one

sus-

of

the

examination

underground labyrinth.

Through suspicions tures,

the magic of enlargement are

confirmed.

all

tex-

and movements of unusual com-

plexion hint of deeper truly

Patterns,

life.

Clinton

Adams

develops an unparalleled synthesis of

media and content

in this exquisite paint-

ing.

COURTESY OF THE PASADENA ART MUSEUM. PHOTO

99

I.

SERISAVt'A.

V

Automaton 1955.

Zerbe

Karl

by

Gouache and

collage

(b.

1903).

on canvas. 48

x 24 inches.

No

artist

could better serve the purpose

of this section than the deliberate experi-

for his

Widely acclaimed monumental achievements in en-

caustic,

he shows here another facet of his

mentalist, Karl Zerbe.

ouevre with a most eventful combination of translucent gouache with collage.

Automaton

is

powerful

a

which presents man's inner

statement

self as a

mi-

crocosm of our chaotic world. Elaborately

formed and

infinitely

complex,

more than one viewing. The cludes

mysterious

it

demands

collage in-

numbers and

letters.

Undercolors peek through from beneath a

resist-like

cisively.

layer;

line

The impressive

darts

about

in-

detail exposes a

faceted understructure stuck together with a

weblike mucilage, and the viewer

caught up in Zerbe's frightening

is

self-ex-

amination. COURTESY LEE NORDNESS GALLERIES.

INC.

PHOTO GEOFFREY CLEMENTS.

100

COURTESY CEEJE GALLERIES, LOS ANGELES.

Country Landscape by Sam Amato 1924). 1967. Acrylic. 96 x 96 inches.

My

recent

work has been directed

wide range

of

pictorial

(b.

to

experiments

a

—

most of them dealing with African landscape with or ivithout animals as subject matter. I've been leaning-out my paint

almost resembles watermodulate by the use of suc-

(acrylic), until it color,

which

1

cessive wash-glazes and small marks. My drawing and feeling for light have been directed increasingly toward photographic objectivity,

are

my

although poetic motivations

principal determinants in working

through a painting.

Sam Amato's words sum up precisely how the artist becomes involved with considerations of media, subject,

and poetry.

His concern for light alone demands dramatic alterations of paint consistency.

By

thinning his paint he not only gains light

through glazing, but also is able to manipulate his paint more quickly and

effects

give fuller attention to his poetic goals.

101

#1

Untitled

Gordon Wagner

by

(b.

mixed media. 22 x

1915). 1966. Collage,

30 inches.

One might

easily read philosophical

ings

this

into

mean-

provocative statement by

Gordon Wagner, but our purpose examine the dynamics of the work. look to

its

is

to

We

revelation of fragments and

glimpses of the

artist's

own

world, a world

with vigorous contrasts of patterns,

filled

textures, shapes,

The

and

scale.

detail further intrigues us not only

with the physical dimension of collage, but an even more imposing illusion of varied

elements floating through space.

This invites one to return to the painting

with more anticipation than before.

At work here symmetry care.

is

is

an elusive bilateral

managed with extreme

One may, through

letters

and

words,

an

infinite

wall, but

with

that

the persuasion of

sense

a

billboarded

space takes bold issue

this interpretation.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO BOB FORESTER.

102

warn COURTESY JOSE DRUDIS FOUNDATION PHOTO

Boy with Kites by John Kwok 1959. Casein. 19 x 28 inches.

I.

SERISAW'A.

1920).

(b.

John Kwok's paintings have been widely acclaimed for their poetry. erly

While

turned in

remains

Kites

passionate

incisive

tender

yet

work has propnew directions, Boy with

his recent

a

characteristically

com-

masterfully

exe-

statement,

cuted.

Casein

paint,

opacity with ease.

full

The

paint not only allows

own

translucent,

essentially

may range from

transparency

to

very nature of the this,

but offers

dividends along the way.

Kwok

its

dis-

plays here a brilliant use of the inimitable qualities of casein.

He

feels

no concern

for the convention of fat over lean,

any

other

technical

restriction.

or

Under-

washes are followed by countless overbrushings and

now vides

essentially

the

more washes, which become glazes: this pro-

still

vibrant

character

of

casein

painting.

103

COURTESY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.

The Revolving World by Kenneth han (b. 1906). 1962. Gouache on x 18 1/2

141/8

In

this

The

Calla-

paper.

inches.

superb statement, as in Tobey's

Drift of

Summer (pageC-3), we

the private journey to be dominant.

use

articulate

of

find

The

gouache encourages a

remarkable calligraphy to coalesce with the

massive underlying washes.

In

this

way The Revolving World gains an enormous sense of scale, yet it is a relatively small painting.

Kenneth Callahan's use of watercolor has been influenced by the Oriental, with-

out an attempt to adopt detail is

shows the extent

at ease

with

for the intricate

all

which Callahan

facets of his

medium,

and indescribable manip-

so evident

ulations

methods. The

its

to

in

enlargement

the

properly play a supporting but minor role in the total

drama.

The theme hub of

a

is

Christ's crucifixion as the

chaotic

people, planets,

etc.

whirling of animals,

This painting

one of many works devoted

man

in

the cosmic scheme.

feels that

he has absorbed

is

but

to the role of

all

One

never

that exists

within the confines of Callahan's margins.

104

*

Nepote

Nature's Abyss by Alexander

(b.

1913). 1967. Watercolor, acrylic, and collage

on Masonite.

No

more shown on

experimentation

unusual

by Alexander Nepote, for here ist

is

these pages than this painting

who, in his own words,

"99 percent straight color and a

is

transparent

little acrylic."

an

But

this

art-

upon

relies

wateris

only

part of the story. In the artist's

handsome Nature's Abyss, the

sense of the dramatic seizes and

challenges

the

viewer,

confronting him

with the overpowering weight and dy-

namic energy of natural In surveying the detail believe

that

one

executed on a

is

flat

forces. it

surface variations and

more

to

ground. The dimen-

sional layers present their

out in a

is difficult

viewing a painting

seem

own to

peculiar

be carved

lithic or bas-relief

manner.

COURTESY KRAMER GALLERY. PHOTO VIRGINIA MCINTIRE.

105

A

CHRONOLOGY

The Bank.

1957. Watercolor and ink on

cotton skrim cloth. 24 x 34 inches. COLLECTION OF MR. AND MRS. DONALD LENT, PHOTO

106

I.

SERISAWA.

,

6 OF

CHANGE In any endeavor there definite cause for

presented here

nothing more constant than change. There

is

when change

alarm

what we have already seen to

be

infinitely

is

absent.

My own

solely to illustrate this firm belief.

more

only superficially

Cezanne against

the melange of other

For while

true.

a

in the earlier sections of this

variation in

we may

is

book that there appears artists'

work, but

with

and

this will

me

is

the attempt to

not be the case here.

philosophical attitudes,

as to motivation,

is

Klee

move

it

consciously

it;

will happen.

What

(hopefully) forward.

welcome movement

to his

The changes noted have more

re-

It is

own

to

do

emotional or intuitive perception and, enigmatically

enough, structuring that appears pragmatic

doubt

this

another interaction altogether.

unlikely that a sensitive artist could assign such efforts,

is

evident by

is

it

differences, visualize a

forcing or seeking change carries no guarantee that to

watercolor

in

In most instances change takes place without our knowing

mains clearly needful

in fact,

play a Klee against a Grosz, or a

Homer, and note remarkable

against a Klee and there

work

Furthermore,

is,

and the message

vealing to depend upon art

critics,

in retrospect.

will be clear. It

But there will be no

would be

far less re-

historians or any other second-hand source

for this information.

The work appearing thirty-four years from

in this section has

1946

been updated to cover a span of

until 1980. In the early going,

my

efforts

were

medium; only upon occasion did I turn to oil paintings. From 1958 until approximately 1970 the reverse has been true: the bulk of my work was in oil or acrylic with only infrequent sojourns to watercolor. During the 1970s, I began to

virtually confined to the watercolor

either lithography or very elaborate ,

produce works

in series,

rather consistently

roughly seven to twenty in number, and alternating

among

oils, acrylics, oil pastel

drawings, pen and inks, and

watercolors. All throughout this period, whenever possible,

I

continued to

work from the figure at least one night per week. Most artists struggle to maintain a high level of quality, perhaps not in what they attempt or when they attempt it, but in what they will ultimately let out of 107

their studios. In the exploration of

tion of change),

new

(which

directions

another manifesta-

is

may also when one

should be noted that for each promising gain there

it

be a loss of ground.

A

phenomenon

frustrating yet natural

occurs

produces work well ahead of oneself, at any given time. These and other factors contribute to the

dilemma

given to the concerns of

how many

to discover

of the serious painter, and

critical acceptance. It

paintings artists labor over diligently, to ultimately detest

and destroy. Ivan Albright once confessed that he didn't

He

very much.

without a thought

all this

would amaze the general public

go

said, "I

like getting the results

at

my

the hard way, with

it

want.

I

I'd rather paint

really enjoy painting

eyes wide open. But

one good picture than

do

I

hundred

a

bad ones. Anybody can paint bad ones, including me."

To

away from

get

oneself, to stand off

them

able to do something about years ago

became necessary

it

my

solid year. Prior to that,

year

my

at

were confined

efforts

satisfying, the experience

—

that

me

to

lack of

form had gnawed away

sional

for

and recognize weaknesses and is

For example, several

important!

abandon

painting and draw for a

all

knowledge and experience

me from

to be

in three-dimen-

within, the result being that for a full

to sculpture.

While

the results were not always

was invaluable.

Rarely, despite beckoning nostalgia, does one peer into the frozen past with a sense of great expectation.

and

flaws, omissions,

technique saturated

my mind

impossible for

It is

me

back without seeing

to look

Rules and regulations based mainly upon craft or

futility.

my

and limited

Needless to

vision.

say, this hapless

condition did not appear so at the time, for even in ignorance there joy.

How

know when

does one

is

unlimited

and exposure are narrow

training, environment,

and confined? The teachings of the modern schools were not only ignored, but for the

main unknown by

my

what made matters worse was my After two years of army service, as

The Bauhaus was

teachers.

my

merely tolerated. Expression outside of

little

world was an impossibility, and

inability to recognize this fact.

my

career took a sudden turn.

War

an artist-correspondent under the auspices of the

into contact with

other renowned

men

Being with these

artists.

My own

men and

seeing

inadequacies

barrassing regularity. Until then, drawing little

for or completely ignored

from the

little

pure joy

to

a

came

em-

a shock to find that

what seemed

movement

so sacred to me.

of the Renaissance.

me

during

my

art-school tenure,

simpler to dispense with these than the others. There

artistically.

into focus with

was always a love of mine, and while there had been

severe and restrictive rules laid before

war-artist experiences

how

breakthrough or an overcoming of the deep-seated con-

cerns of ineptness. Color

far

came

be released from the world of modeling to gain form or

sole reliance of the "s" shape

Here and there was

I

did and

what they

more than arrangement. What

and composition meant

And what

Department,

meant copying what was before me,

other

cared

Commissioned

such as Reginald Marsh, Mitchell Siporin, and a host of

they thought was a revelation.

artists

either pure fiction or

it

seemed

no doubt that the

is

my entire perspective, philosophically as well as my work was of a documentary nature, something

changed

For while most of

Guggenheim Fellowship Campaign was a thrilling

of deeper import was being included. Being awarded a

on the

basis of paintings executed during the Italian

experience.

However, upon

ness to get to

work on proposed

ideas vanished

108

my

one by one,

as

it

return to America, with confidence and eagerprojects, further frustrations appeared.

was impossible

to set

down

that

Grandiose

which

lived in

my

The war had sickened me, the futility of it was omnipresent, and once again my work appeared inadequate. Turning to numerous preliminary sketches, and in many instances full-scale black and white drawings, was my heart and mind.

Each of these elaborate drawings took several days

salvation.

human

were

figure

to appear, separate

to complete. If the

drawings would be made

to further as-

sure a result.

When found

the

war experiences began

new and

both

in

worlds away from

seemed imperative

art.

to

were other excitements

to fade, there

Teaching anatomy became

me;

two years of

after

The most

quit teaching at the school that

was perpetuating

any meaning for me. Soon

my

Institute,

At Chouinard

it

became

not only as

abilities,

after,

and has continued to

artists

my

form of self-abuse that

a

condyles and tendons appeared

it,

everywhere, and that was enough.

Art

to be

neglected areas, such as reading and studying in the

intelligent

move

time was to

at that

beliefs that

no longer held

teaching career resumed at the Chouinard

this day.

great privilege to

but as master teachers:

work with men

men

of exceptional

such as Donald Graham,

Herbert Jepson, William Moore, Watson Cross, and Harold Kramer, to name but a few.

It is

how much one can absorb by simply working alongespecially when the core of instruction is built of creativity and

surprising

side fine teachers,

not methodology. Concurrently, in 1950,

an

artist of rare

largely based

upon the

Bisttram

came my

first

my

added pleasure

E. J. Bisttram,

Dynamic Symmetry. An

lessons of

unusual quality, Bisttram proved to be a

With

was

it

and separate nature. This was

real

warm

to

work with

whose work was

abstract painter of

friend and an unwitting teacher.

appreciation of picture structure, largely

through the fascinating study of Hambidge's essays on Dynamic Symmetry. For

some time

most of

after that,

my work was

based upon the rigid precepts of this

doctrine.

Coming in

to the School of Art at East Carolina University as artist-in-residence

1970 proved

to be an enlightening experience.

The change from

a fast- paced,

noisy, jam-packed western metropolis to the serenity of a rural, southern

university

town was overwhelming. The days grew

interruption and

my

was searching

help in

faculty that

for

production increased. its

A

school of art

quest for excellence.

was on the move, primarily with

It

worked without with growing pains

longer;

I

proved a joy to work with a

a host of creative,

young

teachers

providing an ambiance of lively excitement.

To

return to the

cannot be labeled

Whether Today,

work shown

as

in this section,

one may readily note that

experimental beyond a point,

or not subject matter

is

present in

a point of departure for painting

my

as this is

efforts

may be

little

is

my

not

it

wont.

no longer a concern.

more than

a desire to

paint, an excuse to use a lot of yellow or possibly six different shades of black.

Over

a

decade has passed since the

first

edition of The Content of Watercolor

appeared on the market, and that fortunate circumstance has given

me

opportunity to review and update the original text. In doing so,

become

it

has

the

apparent that certain attitudes of mine have either shifted one way or the other, or have been completely abandoned. It seems providential that

change may now be proclaimed more vigorously than Artists

young and old need

to

my

premise of

ever.

compare viewpoints and share experiences

continually, which explains in part the traditional congregations of artists in the

major urban areas of the world. However,

this autobiographically flavored essay

109

is

not to be construed as a blueprint for others;

comparison, which

for

pictorial it

will

document.

have served

If

its

I

it

resorted to with

it

merely serves

some reluctance

another basis

in order to

amplify the

underscores the need for continued search and inquiry,

purpose. Further,

interlaced with frustration

and desire

work, there will be added merit to

such exposure of intimate concerns

are helpful to others in reassessing their

my

The form of tomorrow's painting

if

is

thesis.

unpredictable.

New

exploration of outer space as well as the destiny of the

undoubtedly

as

affect artists'

work. The only safe prediction

is

discoveries, the

human

race will

that there will be change.

Swamp 15x21

Note. 1950. Watercolor on paper. inches.

Rebirth (opposite). 1954. Watercolor on paper. 19'/2 x 28 inches.

The

paintings in

created

for

but instead were

from work done

painstakingly

selected

over the years. to note

section were not

this

essay,

this

change

It is far

in this

perfect chronology

is

more meaningful manner, even

if

a

not always present.

Since valid change rarely follows a time schedule, the

most

I

have determined that

effective

The two

and

fitting

this

is

approach.

paintings facing one another

here were executed fully five years apart. It is

in

obvious that identical shapes appear

both works, although in Rebirth

has been added. the earlier lence,

The

work has given way

gained mostly by a

110

to turbu-

drier, spattered

approach. In Rebirth there

COLLECTION OF MR AND MRS JEROME ANDREWS PHOTO DON GARBER.

much

tranquil nature of

is

a story of

But art—society

will always provide

room

separate to be replaced. Painting has a

others to experience: an event of the

doing and

in the seeing

—

there

is

for life

painting

of

mind and

the

its

—

own.

soul.

moment and

it is

far

It is

There

is

eternity.

too personal and

an experience for

magic

in

both the

As Gautier wrote:

All passes. Art alone

Enduring

stays to us:

The Bust outlasts the The Coin, Tiberius.

nipotent regenerative force of nature.

omThe

splintered tree also offers refuge for

two

fury and devastation, along with the

throne,

—

Swamp Note

birds huddled together. In

the brittle winter trees play against the

early-morning light patterns and their reflections. All

is

would be convenient

It

own

peace and calm. to state

that

these paintings differ because they seek

separate esthetic goals, but this

would be

only partly true. At the time Rebirth was painted,

was

I

netics; that

is

largely involved with ki-

to say, there

searching

for

things.

was my

It

was a constant energy

inner

the

of

all

desire to exptess the

condition of an internal life-force, and so a

new examination

matter

took

things that

place.

of I

familiar

would lend themselves

goals, such as the shattered birth.

One

painting

ther advanced

has

and

its

own

fruitful

is

subject

even sought out

tree

to in

my Re-

not better or fur-

than the other, but each

message, and was investigative

when

painted.

COLLECTION OF MR AND MRS. RUBIN

R.

URETZKY. PHOTO DON GARBER.

Ill

COLOR INSERT

which each painting was originally found

in

accompanying

has been noted in the text

each work.

Some of

the images presented in

significant color.

They

Our

color

full

have been selected for their obviously also verify pictorially

color section begins, appropriately,

with the spectacular work of Paul Jenkins (opposite page). Jenkins

the color premises offered in Chapter 2,

finest sense of the

"The Background of

doubt. But he

the Artist."

Other works shown

designed

in color are

enhance the various chapters from which

to

they were drawn In .

Phenomena Appeal

all

to the

instances

the section

,

Sun by Paul Jenkins

1923). 1979. Watercolor on paper.

(b.

31 X

43 inches.

is

a colorist in the

word; of that there

little

is

much more. One

is

of the

most noted American painters working with

commentary

watercolor, his personal follows reveals far

the evidence of

draw me

they

me

more than author

that

or critic.

a hazardous world, but because

closer to the wonders.

not just to accept change but to

Marvels

induce

incite /'/.

phenomenon which springs forth from the that which happens,

Watercolor is like entering into slow motion with

a dam breaking from within. flow.

.

I counter the flow,

.

tension evolves from. There

is

I

like

warm

entails its

a spring-fed lake in Maine.

and running

a sensuous experience which

a paradox: the purity of the medium with

the body

.

.

is

.

the paper,

through a state of

the sense of secretion

.

.

And then

which when moist,

to be or

"Watercolor

me has

wet, or dry grasps

and makes

is

mean something.

the sensation of

color,

an incantation. To

world ofphenomena which

is

collide

with

involved with the

capture of ever-changing reality. I

am drawn

ever-changing realities not because they seem

112

and

to

to be

a true

it is

work. That

eyeball-

color unto itself and not just

what

to

make

the color next to

cheating inter-

surrounded by air much the same as a fish

is

vening space between the two

colors, or the

of the intermediary color just

to

light, or the

sun with

its

own

color insists that I take on

radiance. Water-

a particular

state of

being.

I

move toward that become and

form. One

is

radiant, luminous light

ment which has orb.

Luminous

place

do

colors

I call "the

it

misuse "

together.

cheating with analagous

I confuse this

—

pull

they are part of the whole of that single

element.

"There are two kinds of light in painting

which

Nor

is

not

don't

color, as

it

and

light

its

—

relate to

that

ele-

from within, as in an

light comes from

exists

a

central source or

independently.

The

other

is

which appears as a mysterious

reflected light

substance on the surface.

the outside source reflection.

a form of breathing

what? I find out by seeing watercolor the

oils from

there is the binder in

the delicate substances of the pigment

them come

.

the fine granular pigments of the

watercolor itself

to

It is

an

color,

taxing primary; even an indeterminant long as

—

to it. I

it

surrounded by water, the moon with reflected

it

an odd, strange

it is

if

upon the color next

that

I realize

nothing preliminary

strict limitations pulsate

being. There

work on watercolor,

I

is

water from the Caribbean or dive head

legs. It is

"When

entirely dependent

mind

a constant

place. It becomes

its

some tone of another color

and this is where the

blood pouring out of your fingers

down your

something we must con-

is

tinually strive to perceive.

don't go with the

about starting a u 'ater color. You don 't ease into

first into it like

A

real,

can take

When

It is

which

these

a

light coming from

creates

constant

two kinds of light inter-

penetrate, I discover unique forms

which have a

psychic substance; forms which build, hold on to one another,

become alive

and

Like

certain.

psychic substances, the color becomes what

I

call

"Color

a fact of science:

is

psyche

it is

an abstrac-

not

Color

is

the hidden fact of your

and you make

it

real or not.

tion in itself.

your own or fingerprints.

No

not.

You make

it

two people have the same

No two people have the same primary

colors even if they

Winsor Newton

should come out of the same

tube. Color becomes the

evidence of the individual which

factual

not discovered

is

through theory or found through osmosis.

"Watercolor has a look back

I

originally

drawn

sense

and when

of wonder,

I

think that one of the reasons I was

alchemist's task:

to it

was because

refining until

it

it

became an

takes on

psychic value which you cannot give a

name

a "

to.

nonalternate color: color that cannot be any other color

than what

it is

on the canvas.

No other color

(Paul Jenkins)

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST

COLLECTION OF MR, AND MRS. ROBERT A ROWAN.

Winged Hue by Morris Louis (1912-

the

resin)

in

1962). 1959. Acrylic resin paint on can-

order to thin his paint further. In this

we

vas (mixed media). 96 x 96 inches.

discover a specific kinship between Louis

either or both at various times.

and the Oriental masters. Louis, however,

pression of a microcosmic world enlarged

Nowhere

continues on to present a

in

the world of contemporary

original

medium

(acrylic

mammoth,

in-

we find more staggering exthe new plastic-base paint than

trospective spectacle, and subject matter

in the oeuvre of Morris Louis. Louis not

referred to as "veils," "drapes," or "flor-

painting do

amples of

only employed a special version of

Magna

color (a paint miscible in water or tur-

pentine), but added a great deal

more

of

is

non-existent.

als,"

His paintings are often

and Winged

Hue

is

indeed well de-

scribed by the last term.

While some

artists,

such as Tobey,

ject intense color, line,

Louis's

still

others abandon

to extraordinary

to

The im-

proportions overwhelms

the viewer standing before a Louis painting.

Never has

the sheer beauty of trans-

parent wash been so eloquently presented; apropos, the detail has been omitted in order to present

re-

and

work may be devoted

possible.

Winged Hue

as large as

The Drift of Summer by Mark To bey (b. 1890). 1942. Tempera. 28 X 22 inches.

Mark Tobey once it

stated,

would seem, has

the magnificent Drift

"My

imagination,

own geography."

its

of

Summer one

is

In

trans-

ported on an exclusive tour of that terrain. Originally apart of Chapter 5, "Related and

Other Water-Soluble Media," Tobey 's work is

shown here

in

order to be seen in

distinctive color

and

Tobey has

been

spiritualist,

referred

to

as

a

It

is

symbolist, and mystic.

significant that

work of such deeply

philosophical nature flawless. Artist

and

its

detail.

is

also

medium

technically

are inexorably

welded, thus eliminating mechanical procedures and allowing accident and discovery to follow. terns

The

detail reveals the striking pat-

formed by multitudes of crossing

lines

that flood the surface. Because of the trans-

lucent quality of tempera, the soft, its

work

inherits

persuasive depth layers, which add to

intrigue.

Tobey 's work of this period has

been called "white line" or "light

however we choose fluidity of his brush

to describe is

line":

it,

the

enchanting. COLLECTION OF WRIGHT LUDINGTON PHOTO KARL OBERT

Homage Reep

Gaudi—Jupiter Amnion by Edward

Paint by Paul Hartley (b.

1918). 1977. Watercolor on ges-

Mixed media on paper. 30 X 40

inches.

One

working

to

(b.

2Wi X

soed paper.

"In tribute

Gaudi,

the

to the

1943).

1982.

28V2 inches.

gle to

renowned architect Antonio

work above

to be perceived as

pigment

signature

represents the

of the

mote inventive

artists

within today's expanded parameters of watercolor

is

On

Paul Hartley.

the page

—a

make a painting

on

its

exist as

own. This strug-

a new and worthy

reality is present whatever the

media used and

however abstract the image or nonsensical the subject matter. It

is

a perpetual which, if it is to be demands an attempt to

piece of a series often. Serpentine benches from the

opposite, the image entitled Paint employs

even partially solved,

Park Guell (an enormous housing development of

watercolor as a spontaneous, unruly base,

understand how people look at things.

Gaudi' s) lead us

paradoxically played wirhin an all-over cir-

is

to

central theme of the

the

medallion of Jupiter Amnion, Below the medallion is

Gaudi's

The border surround-

signature.

ing the painting

is

suggestive of

Gaudi' s

mosaic patterns formed with ceramic

appear in all of the images in the

tile.

series

other reason than the notion that

I

,

series

Ammon

Borders

and for no wanted

produce some paintings with borders.

Jupiter

use of

reference than the others,

contains more nostalgic "

Color in chroma and tone

mounds of polymer emulsion punctuate grid crossings. The abounds

viewer

as tiny, circular

prodded by word and symbol

is

Finally, Paint culminates in a typical life

still

of artists' materials found on an elegant,

green brick

enigma

wall.

Surprise, adventure, and

world,

but creating something with enough of

nature's attributes,

Planned

as

"When we

along with the

from contrast

work

into the sequence of Chap-

of Change," attests to

a continued interest in careful structuring

seen here in

artist's

combined with

a livelier

ing paint surface.

and more enterpris-

combinations of materials

making marks. The hope

and mark

ual variety struggle to

world we are

Confronted with incred-

our attention

is

moved and we

change our focus from one potent aspect

to the next.

commen-

every blade of grass or loop in the carpet

adds

substance to our impressions. The immense variety

of visual elements leaves no sense of chaos but all

7 like experimenting with media

materials

to contrast.

ible visual variety,

are related

"A Chronology

look into the real

portion of the visible particulars before us, but

is

tary.

ter 6,

re-

an integtal part of

,

Fitting this

visual complexity, to

We are able to attentively observe only a minis cule

The Contemporary School Paint

'

its

ally involve a viewer in looking,

superb

are characteristic of this

full color

My interest

in creating something, not representing the real

constantly distracted from one thing to another,

artist's efforts.

(Edward Reep)

at

every turn.

to

Oddly,

was completed at the end of the

and understandably

cular pattern.

and

something beyond marks

sort of reality

,

trying different

and different is

methods of

that nontraditional

characteristics will

and complexity and,

add vis-

and made orderly by the rational and gravity. If these attributes

efficiency of light

of looking at the real could be transformed ascribed to solved.

my

paintings, the problem

and

would

be

Attempting the solution will keep me oc"

if so, help in the

make a painting with enough substance

cupied.

(Paul Hartley)

RASCH. COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST. PHOTO ROBERT

COURTESY OF KORNFIELD AND KLIPSTEIN

Untitled by

Sam

Francis (b.

1923).

1953.

Watercolor on paper. 20J4 X 255^ inches.

ward a thunderous crescendo. His control so

complete that the experience

is

is

relived

with each viewing. This glowing statement by Sam Francis underscores the modest

commentary on

color

found on page 44. However, none of the color

images included herein has been

selected because

it is

singularly extravagant,

but of more import to present a cross-section

While trum,

Francis exploits the full color spec-

it is

rewarding to note

he distributes viewer

is

At

how

first

carefully

glance, the

aware of a large, essentially cool,

blue mass space.

his hues.

moving against

a

red-orange

Yet within the warmer and lighter

of color ranging from chromatic to neutral or

spatial areas are countless

explosive to reserved; and in a truer sense,

cents which activate and provide fuller

highly personal.

Sam

Francis has long been recognized as

one of the most dramatic of contemporary colorists.

His work rings with vibrancy. His

minute cool

ac-

meaning. Sunken into the major blue mass are the

most exquisite nuances of warm and

cool greens,

pinks, violets, and rich ul-

tramarine blues, again completing the

brush darts furiously over the surface, joins

warm-cool balance so desirable

with splatters and drippings, and builds to-

color temperature.

in

gaining

Jardin Nacre by Jean Dubuffet

(b.

1901).

1955. Collage with butterfly wings and watercolor. 9>Vs

X

ll'/s inches.

Jardin Nacre, originally used as part of the

of the Artist," remains a

"The Background commendable foil

Sam

Francis opposite.

color essay in Chapter 2,

to play against the

Dubuffet's singular goal

Jean Dubuffet

is

represented here by an ex-

quisite example of his

work

in watercolor

with butterfly wings. When his good friend Pierre Bettencourt developed this approach, Dubuffet openly expressed

his

fascination

with the method and produced many small paintings.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

is

bound up with dom-

the premise of a delicate, restrained, inating light-warm color; yet

he

feels

compelled

we

note that

carefully to fit a few

small, cool grays and blues into his scheme.

Jardin Nacre (Pearly Garden) re-creates for the viewer the same magnetic powers that initially enthralled

Dubuffet.

Illegal Flight over the Renaissance

Reep (b. 1918). 21 X 24 inches.

by Edward

1980. Mixed media,

anonymous naval pilot along

—smack

is

cruising right

over the Renaissance,

and

vying

for attention with our archangel.

(Edward Reep) "The alternate

title for the

painting below

is

The

Archangel Raphael and the United States

Once again

Naval Air Force.

paper surfaces provide countless variations

/

was admonished by a

tressed viewer to include the title,

which had

word naval

dis-

into the

been carelessly omitted at first.

A 11 this is indicative of the lighthearted attitude 1 maintained throughout the work. Surely, reasoned, there isn't

a soul living

or

witnessed the Archangel Raphael airborne see

how famous

he

is.

I

dead that

—

yet

Meanwhile, our friend the

combining of gessoed and raw

subsequent washes of color.

for the lifting

a

of paint

is

in evidence, as are

Much both

opaque and semi-opaque accents.

Along with the paintings Cycle and to Gaudi—Jupiter Amnion (see last two

Homage

pages of color section), these images cap the

chronology presented in Chapter

6.

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST PHOTO ROBERT RASCH

COURTESY OF THE PASADENA ART MUSEUM. PHOTO

I.

SERISAWA

A

(1925-1969). 1956.

by John Altoon

Gouache on board.

29%

by 40 inches.

tinually serves as a springboard

for the

individual imagination and occult appetite.

Always There are no any,

to

rules,

explain

nor

we

siderations of surface light,

there need for

exquisite

this

John Altoon. Here

is

find the

work by same con-

and plane, dark and

and form and space that appear in

the preceding paintings in this book. ever, there

is

no

How-

trace of subject, apart

from insinuations, and the painting con-

offers

a

his painting.

seem

brilliant

an intriguing

craftsman,

tactile

Altoon

experience in

Enormous, monolithic masses

to float weightlessly in space, sug-

gesting form through essentially flattened shapes.

of

The painting

is

not a depiction

some object or person, but the begin-

ning of a new and private point of departure for each viewer.

,

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST PHOTO ROBERT RASCH

Untitled by Clarence

Morgan

(b.

6X8

Although deeply interested

1950).

1982. Mixed media on watercolor paper. inches.

raphy the dynamic ,

is

artist

,

iconog-

in

Clarence Morgan

not consciously attempting to reflect any

particular symbology, culture, or ideology.

This handsome statement attests to the

mutual advantages watercolor

in store

when

transparent

Paint

is

used as the poet plays with words

or as the musician

—

is

played against accents of col-

ment

lage, acrylic,

and other opaque watercolor;

noteworthy

as the artist explains, "a

rough energy op-

is

is

is

one with

totally

his instru-

intuitive.

Most

the artist's control of the

difficult realm of dark, clear color.

posed to a more refined or traditional spontaneity."

the act

Small in size in

as a Klee, Untitled

both color and structure.

is

potent

Horizontal Still Life by Jo Rebert (b. 1915). Watercolor on paper. 27

X 40

Rarely are

we

inches.

treated to the sparkling beauty of the unclut-

tered transparent watercolor as with the

While

this sensitive colorist paints in

work of Jo Rebert.

many

other media,

Horizontal Still Life has been carefully selected for

mastery

its

Removed from Chapter 4, "The Dynamics of the Medium," it is shown here with its detail in

of the glazed wash.

order to be fully enjoyed in color.

Jo Rebert

is

when

an exquisite composer, especially

in-

volved with chromaric energy. Her work maintains a seemingly effortless structural dominance, while relying

upon the

accidental overlappings of washes to secure patterns in place

and give a deeper dimension artist's

to her orchestration. In the

own words, "Watercolor

ideas because

it

lends itself to a rapid flow of

can be so rapidly and easily destroyed." This

firm control over a spontaneous, transient surface in

both the painting and

its

detail.

COLLECTION OF LYTTON SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION

is

evident

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST

Matsumi Kanemitsu

by

Untitled

(b.

1922). 1967. Ink wash on paper. 15 x

17Vi inches.

By

the most reductive or minimal

far

statement to be shown in this section

is

this painting by Matsumi Kanemitsu.

It

was produced

as

series of ex-

one of a

periments with ink and wash on paper,

which was often cut apart and remounted on new surfaces. Untitled, however, is on the drifting

single surface, although

a

patterns

to the left

suggest another ma-

terial.

The enlarged

readily demonmore lurking within

detail

strates that there is this

simple yet powerful statement than

first

meets the

eye.

While

a

shimmering

force appears half-coiled and ready strike, we are allowed to examine

to its

hide and anatomy. This method of ink

and wash application, which

is

ultimately

washed away, leaving only stained pat-

on the paper's

terns

surface,

is

most

effective, and the results are highly un-

predictable.

Kanemitsu

readily confesses

he discovers as he goes, yet the

that

viewer senses that he

is

in full control

of his search.

Rancho de Taos and Mountains by Keith

Crown

(b.

Watercolor on

1981.

1918).

paper. 22 x 31 inches.

Few

artists

to

my

knowledge

are as

inti-

medium of waterKeith Crown. You need only refer

mately involved with the color as

is

to his statement

on page 68

in

order to

appreciate fully his reverence for watercolor

and

its

inimitable qualities

point where he

The

is

subject, so vital to

to fruition

— but not

to the

governed by methodology.

Crown, only comes

through the struggle

to liberate

the unseen. In his dramatic painting to the left, dar-

ing color combines with the controlled accidental in a vivid interpretation of the

New

Mexico landscape.

Crown once wrote, "Everything is color. The slightest nuance has another precise meaning. Color

is

a

language of the poet.

Anything can be any color

at

any time de-

pending on what color everything the time."

else

is

at

COLLECTION OF EDWARD REEP

How

to

Mclvor

Paint a (b.

Victorian

1931).

Garden by John 30 x 30

Watercolor.

inches.

it

seems to rule out other things.

people

armed with my own walls

and them

What's

worse,

then fence

me

in

"I've taught some sixteen courses of watercolor.

ment, originally

a part of

Chapter

state-

3,

"The

Contemporary School," appears here

in

order to be seen in full color.

anyone

its essence

this themselves.

transparency, other things

—

hand I'm

not sure I ever taught

successfully; I think they learned I

taught them

white space,

to be sensitive to

drawing,

but these other things that

a watercolor are all mediawide and this ,

"/ color

would is,

like to tell

you what

except every time I nail

I

think water-

an axiom

in place

the art is

lies. It

for me

250

words

isn't just

I

a

might sum up why watercolor craft,

thousand words define why

out.

but on the other

The Mclvor painting and personal

"In

and

where

seems obvious, then, that watercolor

very personal

and

not categorical.

art,

and craft

fortunate,

painting.

I

is

is

it's

that craft

of little

is

couldn't in

I

an

a

art. I guess,

craft

comfort to me.

and art

is

When I'm

sometimes can define the other with a

"

the

make up is

then, the cateogry

but

(John

W.

Mclvor)

Homage

Gaudi—Casa

to

by Edward

Vicens

1977. Mixed media.

Reep (b. 1918). 29 X 35 inches.

The unusual Casa Vicens, above, a summer house for rhe tile merchant Manuel Vicens, is

used only

painting. faithfully

Long fascinated by Gaudi, while the

summer

of 1976,

nity to visit

America,

I

the architecture of Antonio

visiting Barcelona,

enjoyed the rare opportu-

I

and view

his efforts.

produced a

series

and

exploited color, form,

and

his work.

innovative genius,

and

to

A

Gaudi

texture as no other

architect in recorded history.

COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST PHOTO ROBERT RASCH

Returning

of paintings dedi-

cated to this esteemed architect

master craftsman

Spain during

as a

point of departure for the

There has been no attempt

document the

to

structure, but to

capture the essence of the rare forms, patterns,

and textures which abound. Note how

the strong dark green and black border virtually

becomes a part of the

edifice as

it

invades the image. Resist effects over various tapes

which have been

left in

the painting,

plus the larger acrylic surfaces, are relied

upon

to rival the spirit of Gaudi's remarka-

ble creation.

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COLLECTION OF THE EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PHOTO ROBERT RASCH

.

Dream by Edward Reep.

Pipe

tercolor

and ink on

1967.

Wax 12

rice paper. 8'/2

inches.

by Edward Reep

Cycle

(b.

1980.

1918).

Watercolor over gesso and paper. 2

1

X 29

inches.

"Having

nn

dealt with the landscape most oj

Cycle combines that experience and

career.

affinity with

a

recent interest in

a

stratified,

mirrored or time-lapse circumstance, particularly in larger oils

' '

and

acrylics,

The appearan ce of sun and moon ortu