Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Look At Water Color Artists

By Amber Winters


The first recognition of water color artists was around the medieval period. They produced opaque illustrations coupled with gold leaf. Around the late 1400s, an artist by the name of Albrecht Durer began using and developing watercolor on a larger scale.

A German artist named Albrecht Durer started producing this type of painting as large pieces. He also tried a technique that he featured in his body of work. These were called washes. These sections of color and varying degrees of water became lighter in value the more he added water

Every country can boast of having painters that have created beautiful pieces using this medium. Some of them have become known worldwide. They each have captured something that reflects their culture and its people, and this is the perfect paint to use.

The Victorian era was the hallmark of showcasing these paintings and the artists who created them. It was not difficult to recreate the images of previously made works of art. This appealed to many individuals and they often requested water colors.

Great painters such as Claude Lorrain emerged. He was born around 1604, and it is during this period that landscaping art reached a golden age. He is best known as the master of ideal landscape painting. One of his earliest works is called, Landscape with Cattle and Pheasants. Claude had a passion for the simple beauty of nature in the landscape.

Another noted artist from Nairobi, Kenya has produced some wonderful landscapes using his homeland as the setting. His father was the first one to recognize that he had the talent and he encouraged his son to pursue this talent.

He spent a lot of time painting the Maasai and their lifestyle. He showed through his pieces the majestic beauty of the Savanna plains and the people who lived there. Maasai at Sunset is just one of the works that showcase his talent.

A professor Emeritus, Cheng-Knee Chee has been called a master watercolor artist. He has been given this title by American art critics. He has mastered the skills that include the ancient Chinese dry brush technique. He created a process that is called the splash color process.

It is called splash color. He specializes in paintings of fish and birds. The painting simple called Koi shows a remarkable depth and an example of the saturate wet process. This method allows the artist to paint negative background first. The artist then can pull out any other shapes he wants.

The medium is created by taking pigment and putting it into a water soluble agent. It has gone through changes over the years. There was a brief time during 1850s that led to watercolors to lose some of it popularity. They used pigments the cause it to fade when exposed to light.

Over the years this problem has been eliminated. The modern versions are more stable, and they are able to keep their brilliance throughout. In addition, they can produce a variety of very interesting finishes. This gives the modern day artist variation and limitless possibility.

The list of water color artists is so much more extensive than this article can show. This is a medium that most artists have tried at one time or another. The artists today are trying new and innovative techniques that give this versatile way of painting new life.




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