I ventured into a second-hand bookstore three days ago and I bought a few imported watercolour manuals which were printed in the United Kingdom. In a few of these books one sees the picturesque scenes for which water-rich countries are famous. South African watercolour scenes do not have the marine scenes we see in these books, unless the artist is living at the coast. When I was a high school student in Kimberley (1983), I went to visit the Northern Cape artist, Walter Westbrook. His works depict the dry simplicity of the region. If you want to see examples of his works, please click on the link provided below.
Seeing that I naturally lean towards bolder media and larger works, I often neglect watercolour as a medium. However, whenever I see a watercolour manual, I have to stop and then I marvel at the simplicity of the medium. It is just water and pigment. Sharon Crosbie says, “Water supports all our endeavours, from the simple task of making paint flow, to sustaining life. It is the common denominator that all humanity shares.”
I discovered a little scene I made on our farm more than 20 years ago, which I included for this post.
I love watercolour too, the simplicity is deceiving though and one has to learn to either live with the mistakes or see them as part of the story.