Watercolor Artist

As this publication reaches its latest milestone—our 30th anniversary—it occurs to me that Watercolor Artist is no longer a child, a teenager or even a young adult. Once you’ve clocked 30 years, you’re a certified grown-up. Such a milestone affords the opportunity to look back at the many things one has learned and accomplished over the years, before moving foward into a new age. Whether you’ve been a devoted reader of the magazine for most of these last three decades or you just picked up an issue for the very first time, we welcome you to come along as we step into the next era. We move ahead with renewed commitment to not only showcase the best in watermedia, but also to bring you the advice and expertise that will…

Winslow Homer (1836—1910) began his career in Boston, doing freelance illustration before moving to New York City in 1859. In 1861, he embedded with Union troops to cover the Civil War as a magazine artist-reporter. His paintings of the subject gained notice, and Homer was elected a member of the National Academy in 1866. In the 1870s, he summered in upstate New York and coastal Massachusetts, rural areas that provided settings for paintings of children at play. In the spring of 1881, Homer traveled to England and stayed by the sea at Cullercoats until late the following year. His landscapes became more somber, his figures more monumental. In 1883, he moved from New York to Maine. Homer made frequent trips throughout the northeast states, Canada and the Caribbean, but his studio…

One of juror Andy Evansen’s goals in selecting 75 watermedia paintings from the 664 submitted to the Northwest Watercolor Society’s (NWWS) 82nd International Open Exhibition was to pick different styles to showcase the medium’s versatility and possibilities. At the awards reception in late 2022, he explained the standout qualities of each piece. The top honor of First Place, and a $2,000 prize, went to Caitlin Leline Hatch for her equine painting Waiting Patiently (top). “The small important subtle shapes of light in the horse’s face to indicate tendons, sinews and veins, along with the strong rich colors in the neck are impressive and show remarkable skill,” says Evansen. “It was painted realistically but expressively enough that it still embraces what makes watercolor such a beautiful and unique medium.” Amalia Fisch’s Guillermo (opposite,…

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Tim Saternow Just keep painting. My younger self would stress over each painting, worrying about every next step. That threatened to ruin what I was making because I was overthinking, and it would often cause me to stop painting. My solution? I started working on three or four paintings at the same time. When I feel lost in one, I move to another—mostly to clear my mind. Nothing can improve your skills more than increasing your output. It’s like that old saying: “Done is better than perfect because perfect never gets done.” So, just keep painting. Carla O’Connor Change is inevitable and the only constant we can truly count on in life. I try to embrace it creatively and grow without compromising my own constantly evolving vision or voice. Jean Grastorf As you move along your path…

Even just a cursory glance at Toan Nguyen’s prizewinning portrait Impermanence (opposite), suggests that there are multiple messages waiting to be discovered from the elaborate, detailed portrayal of this young woman. Whether in this or other paintings in Nguyen’s portfolio, the artist is clearly after a deeply personal expression of what concerns him or matters most to him in life. “My mindset as it relates to my art is to reveal my true nature more and more,” he says. “It could be a look, a thought or a personal feeling about what I observe, care about, love or worry about in society and life. I want to express these feelings in the sincerest way possible.” The 36-year-old artist was born and raised in Hung Yen, Vietnam. He currently resides in Hanoi,…