Geoffrey Wynne

Impressionist watercolour painter, a member of the Royal Institute of Painters In Watercolor. Over the last 30 years this medium has taken him to many places, his aim being to try and capture the essence of what he sees and feels in each location. In the studio watercolour painting has also taken him on another journey in the sense of an exploration of the medium and its infinite forms of expression. http://geoffreywynne.blogspot.com

What is your Art background?

I was born in Stoke - on Trent, also called the Potteries. At the age of 13 i was selected to attend the small prestigious art school Portland House From 15 years of age i attended Burslem School of Art, to further my training in the arts and crafts.

For as long as i can remember painting and drawing have been an important part of my life and my passion was always for the Fine Arts.At 19 years of age i applied and was accepted at West Surrey College of Art and Design to study painting. I did experiment with watercolors in my last year, working in the style of Emile Nolde` s forbidden watercolors. The first painting i sold was a watercolour.

Geoffrey Wynne

Later i worked as a designer for Coalport China a member of the Wedgwood Group. In these years I only painted spasmodically. The frustration that i was not fulfilling my passion to paint became to much and at 32 I decided to take the definitive step in my life and dedicate it to painting.To give myself courage I enrolled on the Fine Art Course at North Staffordshire University and for the next three years i threw myself frenetically into trying to find myself as an artist. My true art education did not start until 1987 when i moved to Granada and started to paint watercolors.

Was watercolor your choice or it is the watercolor medium choosed you?

In my case the choice of painting in watercolors was a mixture of destiny, necessity and a certain impulsive trait in my character. For academic reasons in 1985 i visited Granada Spain. I became fascinated with the city and revisited again in 1986.In 1987 i sold up and moved to Granada.

Geoffrey Wynne

This old moorish town with the Alhambra Palace dominating its sky line has held a strong fascination for artists poets writers and musicians. John Singer Sergeant, Joaquin Sorolla, Mariano Fortuny,Arthur Melville, David Roberts, George Owen, Wynne Apperley RI and many more painted here. My first year in Granada i spent most of my days filling sketch books with observations of the daily life, the people in the squares and markets going about their activities.
After a year living in Granada my circumstances changed and it became a necessity to make a regular living. My paintings sold but not sufficient to maintain my new responsibilities. I tried making caricatures in the streets and seaside with some success but the winter months proved difficult. Portraits in pastel was a short lived idea as well.The only thing i hadn’t tried my hand at was painting watercolours. I decided to have a go so i bought some cheap paints paper and brushes and started painting plein air.

So was watercolor painting my choice or did the medium choose me, i would say yes to both, my destiny.

Geoffrey Wynne

Do you remember your first experience of painting on spot?
I bought my paints, paper and brushes and two camping stools, one to sit and the other to rest my palette and water.What i didn’t realize at the time that my future as an oil painter in the studio was finished and i was launching into becoming a plien air watercolour artist.

Geoffrey Wynne

I decided to sit in Bibrambla, the main square with flower stalls a beautiful fountain, bars, cafes and the cathedral as its backdrop, a daunting theme for my first attempt. After about three hours i felt a little pleased with my results, to my dismay, i didn’t realize I was being observed by a distinguished gentleman. He was a discreet admirer and only after i had finished did he approach me. His first words where that my painting for him was ,love at first sight,or better said in spanish (un flechazo).
He asked to buy the painting and invited me to his office when i had more. This gentleman was to become not only a collector for years of my watercolours but a friend, also introducing me to many other collectors.

My first watercolor on the spot opened changed my future destiny as a painter.

Geoffrey Wynne

Is there difference in approach in paimting in studio and on location?

My approach to studio painting or on location are for me essentially different. Painting still lives or flower compositions in the studio are more or less the same as painting on the spot. The differences
are basically, reference material, time lighting and weather.

Working on location is tangible reality where the elements are in constant change.It takes effort to pack my ruck sack and go in search, climate and light changes, being observed painting and knowing that each day and moment are never the same.With these in mind my aim is to capture a moment in time, to try and breath life into my watercolours.It is a short passage of time where my eye mind skill and experience are in a visual conversation with the choosen theme.

What i learned working outside is to try and breath life into my paintings. In the studio my aim is similar but with the advantages and set backs of using photography...

Extract from a new book by Konstantin Sterkhov "Masters of Watercolor. All about Pleinair"