Watercolor is uniquely suited to portray the landscape because of the magical way the colors come together on the damp paper and blend to form new colors. The suggestion of a landscape
is what I am painting: the impression of a tree, a field of grasses bent by the wind, the distant mesa. My work is considered expressionistic and abstracted. As Van Gogh said, “the real artist paints not what he sees but what he feels.”
I do not plan a painting or even begin with a sketch; I do, however, decide on a format and tape off the edges to give me boundaries to work within. Next, I dampen the surface and apply the first pigments. Intuitively, I react to the blending colors as the next strokes are revealed to me. I know I am finished when a visual balance is reached. The viewer is invited to become part of the process by using his or her own memories and experiences to interpret the painting.
Click on images to enlarge.