Week Three and History and Gettin' Messy💗
LOOK HOW MANY TIMES I MESSED UP... All good artists have some trouble sometimes!
Right here, Although boring I'm going to give you access to the "fun" history of water color link attachment and even though you may not read it.. it's actually kind of interesting to me.
Watercolor is paining with water water-soluble pigments on paper including different
colors to add beauty and life to the art. Often the art compares to other
painting techniques but it is clearly sometimes separated by more opaque colors
and sometimes not. The water media works also utilize a combination of these water-based
pigmented colors. In earlier cultures like
Asian earlier cultures, Middle Eastern earlier cultures, and Early European
cultures, the watercolor media has very deep roots. If you look past the
watercolor medium watercolor goes back into many historical traditions and
cultures. There is also a vast influence from early on history to the classical
period of British art media to Impressionist contributions and Contemporary
expressions.
Water color art can date back to the
historical days of cavemen and cave art. Cave paintings Lascaux and Altamira
have common themes of wild animals like bores and deer and use pigments of charcoal
and dyes extracted from plants and natural minerals. Ancient Egyptians painted
with water based paints and pigments on things such as tombs and temples we
still see today, and with the dyes of the papyrus plant pulp, they produced
some of the first works on paper. These opaque colors were also in scrolls and
used materials such as ochres and siennas which came from the earth. Different
minerals created different colors on these tombs and caves. They started to
expand and play with water being mixed with these paints or as an agent to make
the paint more transparent. They used materials such as azure to create blue
dyes and cinnebare to create red pigments and orange pigments. They were also
mixed with Arabic gum and egg white to find a range of color. The Egyptians
created a technique using water to dilute the pigments hence the modern name “watercolor”.
Also, there was the tradition of work in fresco by the Etruscans and Romans
which was a technique of mural painting which was worked on upon freshly laid plaster.
Water was used to merge the pigments on the plaster causing fading and ability
to later include detail.
In the Far and Middle East early
traditions expanded and now became more similar to modern techniques we may see
today in the 21st century. Chinese and Japanese artists painted with
diluted paints on silk and on handmade paper. This was often a calligraphy and
more literature-like approach but still a clear example of water color media.
There was also a new found discovery for landscape observation and appreciation
and portrayal of landscapes. (my favorite type of water color –landscapes and
sunsets-“ This work based on the natural
environment was a movement which was up against the western tradition of water color
media. An art form distinctively proclaimed itself when an entire population
was overwhelmed with a new popular style of art and started to pursue it. This
media utilized opaque body color in the Indian subcontinent and Persia. Also
part of the Islamic world was introduced similarly. Examples of this abstract
and opaque art form are Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry from the 15th
century and The
Book of Kells. In addition, Medieval artists also
worked in fresco the plaster art as I explained before, and that tradition continued
into the Renaissance.
In Germany
and throughout the West, Albrecht Durer was an exceptional artist who has been
a role model for all modern technique water color media and opaque faded water
painting. He is often considered “the father of modern watercolor painting”. He
usually painted directly from scenes of nature and painting landscapes, natural
resources and animals for the most part. He lead many others to paint and
notice the natural beauty of nature and so without him the evolution of
watercolor in Europe and the places he traveled would have been weaker and less
prominent in today’s modern society.
Lastly, in
the 17th century many artists like Claude Lorraine, Poussin, and Rembrandt never used the
actual medium of water color but they used washing techniques created by the
evolution of watercolor. These newfound techniques include types of wash which
as I’ve tried and sometimes failed at by tooooooo much water. Wash is a visual
technique that results in a semi-transparent layer of pigment.
This week I really enjoyed playing with paints and making a landscape! Influenced by common online pintrest posts, I decided to paint another landscape as a stress reliever! Also I tried something new called mood splattering. When feeling stressed moods may come along with that. Picking colors to match you mood, taking a break from work and splattering to take you mind off things really seemed to help me focus in when I returned to my work! Here is an example of all the paint playing I did this week!
This week has been crazyyyy! But next week I plan to get #DownandDirty with real painting and my interview!! Thanks for viewing guys see you next week!



6 comments
Dang so the crayola water color kit that I have dates back all the way to the stone ages. That is pretty crazy, Anyways I love your landscape picture! It really captures a peaceful and beautiful image. You also somehow made splatter painting look good with those nice colors so congratulations on that. Wish you the best of luck on getting #downanddirty with real painting!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ahmed! I am really excited!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. Perlman! Glad you found the history as interesting as I did!
DeleteYour paintings look amazing and I especially love the mood splatter ones. They remind me of a Gifted project from elementary school where I researched Jackson Pollock's splatter paintings. As for your history research, it's so weird to think that the cavemen were painting and that nowadays we express ourselves through art the same way they did. Also, I know nothing about watercolor, so sorry if this is a no-brainer question, but is there a difference between watercolor paintings and watercolor drawings? I was just wondering since you said "the earliest watercolor drawings" when talking about its development in America.
ReplyDeleteThe splatter paintings you made look really cool! I think it's crazy that watercolor painting can date back all the way back to the 1500's, which I would've never imagined. The sunset painting is also pretty, and seemed like it would be a good stress reliever -- like you said.
ReplyDelete