Art Of Watercolor

Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Nanjing International

The “Third Invitational Exhibition of contemporary International Watermedia Masters” Successfully Opened

The “Third Invitational Exhibition of contemporary International Watermedia Masters”, sponsored and organized by the Jiangsu Watercolor Research Institute, was opened at 10:00 am on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at the Nanjing City Planning Exhibition Hall. Over 70 renowned watercolorists from 5 continents attended the opening ceremony.

Full group of artists, Nanjing

They signed the guestbook and entered the exhibition hall on red carpet.

The Institute President Professor Chang Houxing welcomed the exhibiting artists for their support, and stated the purpose and progress of this Exhibition.

Professor Cheng Khee Chee presented a greeting message to congratulate the Institute for the success of this Exhibition and to thank the Institute, especially President Chang for working very hard to provide a platform for international artists to exchange creative ideas and establish friendships.

After the speeches, 5 artists representing 5 continents cut the ribbons to signify the official opening of the Exhibition: Americas - John Salminen, Australia - Louise Foletta, Europe - Konstantin Sterkhov, Asia - Cui Yuzhang, Africa - Alichati Mohamed.

Nicholas Simmons`s painting Jiansu Dream in the back)

K. Sterkhov (Russia) and Ev Hales (Australia), (Joseph Zbukvic`s painting in the back)

Piat Lap (Nethelands)

Ev Hales (Australia)

Lars Lerin (Sweden)

Janine Gallizia (Australia-France)

Konstantin Kuzema (Russia)

Mark Mehhafey (USA)

Alvaro Castagnet (Urugway)

Konstantin Sterkhov (Russia) (with Cheng-Khee Chee, USA)

Elena Bazanova (Russia)

David Poxon (UK)

Ted Nuttal (USA)

Vladimir Yackobtchuk (Russia)

Cheng-Khee Chee (USA) (with Ev Hales, Australia)

Ping Long (China)

Milind Mulick (India)

Ng Woon Lam (Singapore) (with K. Sterkhov)

John Salminen (USA)

Luise Foletta (Australia)

During the Forum artists gave reports about situation in watercolor media in their countries.

Katherine Chang Liu helped me to interpret my report and PP presentation into Chinese.

The members of the event had a chance to enjoy the suburbs after the official part.

The Exhibition was a great success!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Watercolors of the Week

Camilo Huescar

Chan Chun. Swamp

Deborah Walker

Eugen Chisnicean. Butuceni Moldova

Francisco Castro. 195x100

Gregorz Wrobel

Ilya Ibryaev

KosukeWat. 30x40. 2012

Thomas J. Owen

Oleg Kozak

Paul Dmoch

Ping Long

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Michal Jasiewicz

How did you start painting with watercolor?
I have painted since childhood. My parents have encouraged overall perception of nature during many cross-country trips. Also, my father, as an architect, taught me a lot about
drawing and basic painting skills. The serious painting started during my architectural studies in Krakow - about 10 years ago.

Michal Jasiewicz, 68x52

Do you perceive the painting through architecture? Do you mind if architecture as a profession influences my painting?
Yes and no. As far as workflow is concerned, there are many possible approaches which I have tried. One of them is working on a picture in the same way as working on an architectural design: planning every single stage and trying to control every aspect of my work. But for the time being, I prefer a looser painting style. It must be fun. This is the essence of watercolour. Of course, architecture can help a lot in the field of perspective and correlation between different forms and shapes. Even in classical landscape paintings without any buildings it is very important to find good-balanced composition and be aware of the way in which our sight ‘penetrates’ the picture. It is crucial to perceive the picture as a collection of abstract elements which not only create an illusion of reality but are also in harmony with each other and form a coherent composition. That’s what architectural studies are about.

Michal Jasiewicz

Who is your highest authority in watercolor media? There are many sources of inspiration, both historical and contemporary painters, but it is
difficult to say who is the highest authority. Each of them may be great in a particular aspect and be a model for me at a given moment. Everyday on the Net I come across something amazingly painted and an artist of whom I have never heard so far. In this respect the Web is a mine of inspiration. And yes, I admire Alvaro:]

Michal Jasiewicz

Where does your aesthetics come from? That’s a very tough question. As I have already mentioned, my overall perception of the
world was deeply affected by the early age trips and observations made by my parents who were very sensitive to the beauty of the world and mechanisms governing it. I was born in a very picturesque region and have always devoted a lot of time to observing it. Besides, obviously the way I define reality evolves all the time: I change some part of my lookout on reality consciously, other parts unconsciously, but, still, it is a continuous process.

Michal Jasiewicz, 33x45

How long do you work on a painting? Usually 1-4 hrs. I even complete big formats in a one, few-hour session. Occasionally I resume some parts next day, but in most cases it does not seem to be the best idea:]

Michal Jasiewicz

What is of more significance for you – color or tonal value?
I find the tonal value as a correlation between applied colors. It is very important to have a good recognition of the lightest and darkest areas in your scene before starting to paint and be aware of the way in which way the light falling on the scene determines the hierarchy of elements. This is the key to achieving the sense of reality: what is lighter and what is darker. That’s it. But it all boils down to applying the right colour in the right place.

Michal Jasiewicz, 34x51

What is your attitude to masking and opaque materials in watercolor? I keep off from any dogmas and uncompromising claims. I occasionally use both masking and opaque colors for small details as well. In some cases a small touch of white gouache could work better than masking because of its spontaneous nature. Some of my friends say that using all that stuff contradicts the idea and kills the watercolour effect but for me it is more important to obtain a good painting rather than the ‘pure watercolour’ label.

Michal Jasiewicz, 35x55

How do you manage so many commitments as an artist, designer and architect?
Piece of cake. The problem is that I’m also a father:]. Here the hard part begins. Anyway, I try not to burden my family with my painting too much.

Michal Jasiewicz, 35x52

What is more important for you in painting works – preciseness or imagination? It’s not easy to determine. It depends on the theme. But generally imagination is necessary to obtain paintings, not a reproduction of reality

Michal Jasiewicz

What is the significance of watercolor media for you? Well, some unpredictability, spontaneity - it’s difficult to say precisely. For me, in a good
watercolour the joy of creation and a fascination with the subject must be seen. Even when it requires attention and concentration. But this could be said about any technique.

http://jasiewicz.weebly.com/