Watercolour Landscapes
I’ve spent decades viewing, appreciating, and interacting with many genres of art. In all that time, I’ve yet to find a single artist that encompasses all that I enjoy in landscapes. While there are many experts when it comes to light / shadow, guiding the viewer with subtle high-points, or clearly delineating the fore-, mid-, and background, I have yet to find one that manages to surprise me on a regular basis. All those I’ve seen—and there have been many—seem to fall into … sameness … when they find a style that suits them. In the end, I find myself missing a new story with most landscapes, while also understanding how very difficult it is to tell “a story” when there are few characters in a piece.
Below, you’ll find examples of some artists—and their works—that I have found engaging.
“Dock I”
Liron Yanconsky is an Israeli artist that is well-known for his landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, and more. I originally found him through his YouTube channel, and have since followed him elsewhere in social platforms. His works are expressive, limited in palette, and indicative of an artist that “paints what he knows”.
While I appreciate the peaceful quality of many of his pieces, I long for something that scares, energizes, or angers me. There’s only so much peace that I can take in one sitting.
“At Rest, Mevagissey” : 2018
Oliver Pyle is a prolific UK artist with works in many galleries, private collections, and a wide variety of websites. Many of his pieces are available as print through his FineArt America site.
Much like Yankonsky, I appreciate the gentle ease that Pyle seems to imbue in each of his pieces; many of them have a calmness that is missing in our modern world. However, I miss feeling the tension that I find so captivating from other artists I’ve mentioned. Where Pyle invites the viewer to “sit a spell”, I sometimes feel more inclined to run towards a distant horizon.
Japanese “Sumi-e” Landscapes
“The Japanese term “sumi” means “black ink”, “e” means “painting”. It indicates one of the art forms in which subjects are painted with black ink in all possible gradations ranging pure black to the lightest shades achievable by dissolving ink in water. However, this does not mean that everything painted in this way deserves to be called sumi-e.” (source)
Like any other genre of painting, there are variations on any technique from purist to experimental. I am in no way discounting the right of Japanese artists to define a style that originates in their home-country. That said, I tend to categorize (for my own uses) Sumi-e as a style of painting that honours the philosophical foundations of this technique: simplicity, spontaneity, and beauty without unnecessary embellishment. I tend to be less concerned with the colour of ink that was used—as do many Sumi-e artists.
My problem with finding a specific artist in this genre is that there are so many of them!!!