Watercolor Artist

editor’s note

While working on the article, “Inspiration In Bloom” (page 14), which explores the infinite potential of flowers as a painting subject, I immediately noticed some commonalities between the four featured artists. Even though their stylistic approaches to the subject are quite different, the artists’ comments reveal similar reflections, including a recognition of the power of flowers to evoke memory. While the beauty of the subject is certainly inspiring, it’s notable that flowers can also stir nostalgic recollections of gardens we once knew and trigger an appreciation for the natural growth cycle of the gardens we love and tend today. “ The most fascinating thing about flowers is that they’re universally loved by everyone. ” —SOON Y. WARREN Perhaps the accessibility of flowers is the subject’s most practical asset, but it’s the infinite…

lynn d. pratt

Architect and artist Lynn D. Pratt founded Women in Watercolor (womeninwatercolor.com) in 2020 after noticing that the majority of the students signing up for her classes and workshops were women. “Instead of the often competitive environment,” she says, “I hope that we’ll learn to work together and build each other up and learn from each other in order to help increase our individual and overall success.” The organization held its first online competition last year, gathering 1,200 entries from 50 countries. This year’s competition runs from April 1 through June 8. Pratt was so impressed by the quality of last year’s entries that she asked several of the top winners to serve as jurors for the 2021 competition. The jurors were a great help, and not just for picking winners. “They…

new + notable

/ STUDIO STAPLES / Iris Painter’s Palette [$54] Made from sustainable maple wood harvested in the United States, this palette’s design was inspired by the ivory palettes used by the ancient Egyptians. The leather is vegetable tanned, and the palette is finished with tung oil.ETSY.COM/SHOP/PEGANDAWL Watercolor Postcards [$22] Use this convenient set of 30 acid-free, 4x5¾ postcards to create snail mail featuring customized, small works of art to delight your friends and family. Printed on 140-lb. cold-pressed cotton, these postcards are the ideal surface for watercolors, brush pens and more.ARTEZA.COM…

a new way of painting

London-born William Henry Hunt (1790–1864) was an influential and popular watercolor painter in the first half of the 19th century. The fineness and complexity of his technique, especially his use of body color, and layered and scraped surfaces, presaged the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. Hunt mastered different aspects of watercolor, from loose atmospheric landscape effects to meticulously rendered still life. For his facility with the latter, he came to be known as “Bird’s Nest” Hunt. He was equally proficient as a figure painter, producing a series of rural British genre scenes that chronicled the lives of country folk. The scope of Hunt’s skills was perhaps a deliberate response to his physical limitations. Hunt was born with malformed legs, and since the disability precluded physical work, he chose to study drawing and…

what’s your best advice for ensuring a positive plein air experience?

Brenda Swenson When you’re setting out to sketch or paint on location, be sure to factor in your available time. If you allow enough time and set realistic goals, you very likely will be able to complete what you start. If you don’t, you could become frustrated and decide your skills are lacking. So, be realistic. Consider how much time it takes you to make a sketch versus a finished painting, and plan accordingly. I’m not a fast painter and don’t aspire to be. I’ve learned that slowing down makes me a better artist in terms of design, shadows, edges and color. For occasions when time is short, keep in mind that watercolor sketches can be a goal in and of themselves, or they can be used as a resource for…

inspiration / in bloom

Claude Monet, whose beautiful grounds at Giverny provided the Impressionist giant with creative nourishment right up to his death in 1926, once said: “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” In this, Monet is certainly not alone. Flowers have served as a dependable muse to countless artists over the centuries, and—given all that attention—a contemporary painter might start to wonder whether there could be anything left to say on the subject. A quick bit of research offers abundant evidence, however, that flowers continue to inspire unique, complex and personal expression from artists all over the world. We asked four artists who are well-known for their floral paintings what it is about blooms and blossoms that captivate and excite their creative imagination. Their insights inspire new enthusiasm for the subject,…