When I am working with watercolour or “watery” media I always feel a little apprehensive, because deep down I know that I am not completely in control. Watery media require quick decisions and spontaneous brush movements (usually, or in my case at least) and a willingness to go with the flow. The beauty of the liquid media is that the result – if it “works” – may surpass our imagined outcome. We are surprised the moment the work “just works”; we know we have to stop immediately or we may ruin its fragile beauty.
The work I include here is called, Golden Day I, and it depicts a scene in the old city in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This work just “happened” and “worked” and I stopped to sign my name in order to freeze its moment of perfection or “incomplete perfection” perhaps. Many people enjoy this work and I am not always sure why. However, I am grateful.
I discovered a quote by Tim Yanke and he said, “There is life in movement, death in stagnation. I approach every painting with the idea that I want that painting to continuously move.” I don’t know if there is an element of continuous movement in this work, but I enjoy the idea of striving to preserve the “flow” of something that “works”. As we all know we can create a sense of movement in a work with the elements of art or with the principles of design.
To be honest, I am not sure that I understand Tim Yanke completely, because I am not sure from which perspective he regards the idea of “movement” in his paintings, but I know that one extra line or just one extra blob of paint can destroy that delicate balance (or movement) in a work, and then the artist has unfortunately answered the puzzle for viewer – which may be the moment the “movement” stops – which could be one possible view. Some viewers may enjoy opportunities to “move” with a work and they may want to imagine what those incomplete parts of the work may be asking for. May we stay amazed by the miracles that happen as we move our hands across a page.
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