The watercolor paintings in this group reflect my desire to capture the unique and subtle qualities of light and color in nature. These original watercolors were created using photos taken at the scene as reference material. I use photos because the expressive qualities of light, color and emotion are extremely transitory and must be captured and recorded in an instant. Light and color change moment by moment. This is why the Impressionists painted so quickly and usually at the same time of the day. They were keenly aware of how the changing light affected mood and color, moment by moment.
My artistic vision requires a careful analysis of all the subtleties in such a fleeting moment and the only way to “freeze” these qualities is to rely on capturing the “perfect” moment. Unlike a photographer, however, I am not totally satisfied with what the camera captures. The camera does not see the world the way the human eye does. Much detail is lost in the highlights and shadows, so I must restore this information in the painting. Some elements of the scene are added, deleted or simplified in order to intensify the mood or enhance my emotional response to the moment. Colors are saturated or muted depending on the type of viewer response that I am after.
The emotional impact of watercolor original paintings is achieved through the technique of digital painting. Rather than painting with traditional watercolor pigments, I prefer to paint with LIGHT. My canvas is a 21″ high resolution monitor and my brush is a stylus and digital tablet. The color gamut of light is far greater than that of pigments, therefore when I paint in this manner, the results are much closer to what the human eye perceives. Every stroke and movement of my stylus creates color in the way that the eyes truly see! When the painting is complete, I output the painting using a very high resolution giclee printer onto archival quality, acid free rag watercolor paper. This assures a longer life than watercolors done the traditional way. Every print, therefore, is an original and not a “photo copy” like most giclees. Watercolors done this way have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years!
For those art lovers who don’t understand or who feel uncomfortable with the technique of digital art, an analogy with the music world may help. A musician who plays the piano is similar to the artist who paints with brushes and traditional pigments. The musician strikes the keys of the piano and the hammers are forced to strike the strings, thus producing sounds. When the same musician plays an electronic keyboard, he is like the artist who paints digitally. The musician strikes the keys, a computer translates this into digital information which then activates a sound generator producing sounds. In both cases it is the artist who creates the music/art and not a computer. The computer simply translates the artist’s wishes (input) into a form of the artist’s choice. Why use digital tools? In music, one can create sounds which are impossible to achieve using traditional instruments. In the case of a visual artist, one can create colors, textures and images extremely difficult if not impossible with traditional paints and brushes!