The art of watercolor cityscape 002

Cityscape - by Corneliu Dragan-Targoviste © 2015

Corneliu Dragan-Targoviste watercolor cityscape

Corneliu Dragan-Targoviste is a Romanian artist, born in Bucharest, in 1956. He comes only lately to watercolor, but he has rapidly gain worldwide recognition.From the International Biennale of watercolor to Zhujiajiao to the International Watercolor Society (Birmingham Watercolour Society) in the UK, his work have been hold in high regard by many prestigious organisations. 

In most of his painting we immediately feel the eastern european inspiration sources. 
That is the case with this beautiful watercolor cityscape.

I like this painting because of the nice balance between warm and cold colors. There are also some effective interactions of shapes with the roofs, light/shades and brush works. All the little extra feature (such as tram cables) contribute to an overall graphic coherence that make this peace of work a great one.

The art of watercolor waterscape 001

Ine, Kyoto, Japan VI, by Keiko Tanabe © 2015

Keiko Tanabe watercolor waterscape

This waterscape from Keiko Tanabe is really well balance. All elements from the painting bring our eyes back to the main element of the art work: the fisherman boat. Whether you follow the mountains line, the reflections on the water or the fishermen houses, your focus will be brought back to the fisherman boat. It is a delightful application of the famous rule of third. I also like the earth tones subtly contrasting with some cooler blue brush stroke in the middle ground. Finally the roof pattern of the houses provides a nice contrast to the loose strokes from the water reflection.  

Keiko Tanabe is a great watercolorist from Kyoto, Japan. She now lives in the USA, and is full time professional watercolorist since 2005.

Keiko says about painting on the spot:

"A painting done on location is my direct response to the landscape.  I attempt to capture the whole experience of being there.  For that purpose, I need to concentrate intensely to work fast.  I so enjoy getting absorbed in the environment when the inspiration cannot be any fresher.  As a result, the painting may look looser, more simplified or sketchy, and perhaps more impressionistic."

I think that it is just what we get with this Kyoto waterscape...

To find more about Keiko, visit her web site. 

The art of watercolor cityscape 001

Rainy Day, Dusan Djukaric © 2015

Dusan Djukaric watercolor cityscape

I feel this watercolor by Dusan Djukaric is very representative of his work. Like many of his cityscape, it is soft and poetic, with an atmosphere of immediacy and warmth. There is a good balance of lost and hard edges throughout the painting that give the overall a good rhythm. Dusan lives in Belgrade, and in most of his cityscape, we really get the feeling of that former Yugoslavian city.

Dusan on his own work:
"I liberated watercolor painting from the ultimate verism, I am not interested in making my work only a mimetically true reflection of reality in the manner of (hyper)realism, but wishes to emphasize some features characteristic only for this art, to thereby separate and elevate it." 

So lets enjoy enjoy all the atmosphere, sfumato mists, evaporations, water steams, rains or smog from his watercolor cityscapes. To see more of them, just go to Dusan web site, where you can enjoy many of his great works.

The art of watercolor landscape 001

Icy Clearing Watercolor by David Adams © All right reserved

David Adams watercolor landscape

I like this watercolor landscape because it is quite spontaneous, fresh, and almost abstract. Textures are strong and the natural tonality is enchanting. There is an overall sense of mystery and peacefulness that is quite pleasant to look at. David has spent 36 years as a music teacher, and I think that it shows through the overall rhythm of this nicely balance watercolor painting.

David says:
"I come from a family of artists, and only began doing my own graphic work in 1995 six years before his retirement.I studied pen and ink drawing for 6 years, then did a couple of years of watercolors..." 

To my opinion, it looks like if he has been watercoloring all his life! He basically craft his own style that might be recognizable as art by nkimadams.

You can see more of his work on flickr.

The art of watercolor sketch 001

Watercolor by Charles Reid

Charles Reid Watercolor sketchbook

Here's a watercolor sketch from a Charles Reid sketchbook, created in Italy, 2013.

As all of Charles Reid works, it is fresh, spontaneous and vibrant. Despite the fact that his works always look as if they were paint in a hurry, Charles state that he always works slower then we can image. Each brush stroke is part of a reflection, base on his artistic goals...

As Charles is the author of many books on watercolor, I discovered his works around 1987, through one of his first book (Painting what you want to see, ISBN-10 0923038793). More than 30 years later, I still find his work inspiring.

Charles advice on focus for watercolor:

"One of the hardest thing to teach is selection – choosing what's important in a picture and what's not. Less is more is an excellent credo. Three shapes are better than four, two better than three. What you leave out of a composition is at least as important as what you put in..."