Watercolour with Strong Colours

[zoodlemaker]

This is one of the paintings on this morning's Art Knowledge News, (a site that shows art that's being displayed in various galleries around the world).

It caught my eye, because of the strong colours used, something I tend not to see too much of in watercolour....not that there's anything wrong with that .....I just found this painting to stand out and thought I'd share. I guess it doesn't have that 'watercolour look', you know, using the medium to show that the paint was put on with water. I guess it shows the incredible versatility of wc.

[Yorky]

Amazing work!

Doug

[virgil carter]

Yes, an overwhelming use of pattern that's mesmerizing in its shock value. Nothing overworked; a technical achievement.

Sling paint!
Virgil

[Ellen in Ont]

I love the idea of the patterns on the skin. However, I find that many watercolour artists are going much more intense in saturation recently. I believe that anything you can paint in acrylic or oils you can do in watercolour.

[zoodlemaker]

But can they do the same in Acrylic and Oil as we can in Watercolour ;-)

[CharM]

I'm a fan of saturated colour... This is really interesting and quite challenging, I suspect...

[virgil carter]

I don't want to get into the watercolor vs. oils vs. acrylics vs. ... each has its own characteristics.

Painting with intensity/saturation, however, is an interesting subject particularly for watercolors which traditionally are transparent and not particularly overpowering in the strength of hues.

There are a number of respected painters, however, that paint from the tube or with minimal dilution. Their work is accentuated when they paint with hue contrast (one pure hue juxtaposed with other pure hues). It can be very energetic!

Not for the faint of heart!

sling paint!
Virgil

[karenlee]

Ah well I have to say I find it repugnant. Lady covered in chicken wire? tattoos?
To each his own.

[Barbara WC]

Watercolor is incredibly versitale. This painting shows that well- if one wants to use saturated color for an almost acrylic/oil look, watercolor can do it!

But for me personally, part of the joy of watercolor is exploiting the pigment properties- be it granulation, transparency, opaqueness or even creating blossoms or drips. Some effects can only be acheived in watercolor- granulation for example, and it's one of the reasons I love watercolor over other media. Some of my favorite watercolor artists are those that effectively incorporate the unique properties of watercolor paints into their paintings.

[Ellen in Ont]

Rather than chicken wire, I thought it reminded me of painting hands with henna.

Virgil - you can get the same strength of saturation by building up glazes of colour rather than just less diluted. That's how I work anyway. By the way, I love the intense colour in your work.

[Mayberry]

It made me think of henna too. I like the colors and patterns and the jet black background.

[painterbear]

Wish I could see it. For some reason I am not seeing any pictures, just text. Oh well, I guess I wasn't patient enough. As soon as I posted this, I scrolled up and the picture was there. I almost wish it weren't.

I agree with Karen Lee about tattoos and skin with ink marks all over it:

Ah well I have to say I find it repugnant. Lady covered in chicken wire? tattoos?To each his own.

Sylvia

[juneto]

It is both Bizarre and Exciting !.
Not sure I would want to look at it every day, as I find it Very disturbing .
But that's Art ,
June

[Sandybells]

My impression of this painting was...Is this Cher or maybe Streisand? Each being a bit over the top in their own ways...But certainly not repugnant! This is interesting to see but might have been less odd if had been just on the body and not the face?
Sandy

[Horsa]

Wow! The swirls definitely put me in mind of henna.

The purple scarf is a bit off though, the lighter designs seem to pop into three dimensional relief a bit much, although that could be an effect of the monitor.

This definitely shows that both strong colour and black can be used successfully in watercolour.