WELLENREITER

I'm working on so many things at the same time that even for me it's a surprise which will be finished next XD. After ACEO-commissions I was craving to do some personal work on a bigger size again. This sketch seemed to be promising so I thought I'd give it a try. (There are still so many sketches with parts I don't like and which need to be reworked so I can't color them....sniff)

I sketched it one morning, after I saw works by Utagawa Kuniyoshi the evening before. Kuniyoshi was, among Hiroshige and Kunisada, one of the masters of Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing. I can't help but feel very inspired when I look at his works, they are full of life and detail, a perfect capture of the moment, with beautiful and precise lines. A true master!

For a long time already now I'm working with watercolor. I feel like I begin to understand their true nature. Bit by bit, with every picture I paint and with every brush stroke they reveal more of themselves just to surprise me again within the next second. While painting this picture I came to the decision that watercolor is the medium I truly want to master. People say though, that watercolors are hard to control and really unpredictable, and I'd sign that without a second thought. However, maybe I should put it differently and not say I'd like to master them, no, I'd like to know them inside out and make them my good friends, so that we'll get along well and I'll be able to use them to their full potential. And I'm not angry if they surprise me from time to time with things I didn't plan, because this is the mystery and spontaneity of watercolor that I love so much.



Media & Data:

Pencil, watercolor, structure gel and white ecoline on 300 g/m² watercolor paper

Size about 24x30 cm