Horizon Series
Growing up on the East Coast near the ocean and subsequently moving to the land of lakes and prairies in the Midwest, I find I am drawn to the openness, space, and light these areas have in common. A body of water, a strip of land, and lots of sky never cease to fascinate me and my eye is always drawn to the edges where the land meets the sky or is reflected in the water. I love the variety of these connections: hard-edged, diffuse, or multi-layered, depending on the light and atmosphere. The fluidity and transparency of watercolor makes it a perfect medium to explore these qualities of light, atmosphere, and connections.
My Horizon watercolors walk the line between representation and abstraction and my intention is to convey the sense of these spaces rather than a literal interpretation of the landscape.
I love working with color, from very subtle variations of grey to brilliant combinations of hues. I begin by layering multiple washes, typically twelve to twenty or more on each piece, to progressively build depth, intensity, and gradual transitions of color. By layering transparent pigments, I create subtle changes and gradations from wash to wash; keeping the paper wet avoids a hard edge where one color transitions to another. The ‘horizon’, in contrast, is more spontaneous and here I intend to leave evidence of the action of the blending, backruns, and flow distinctive to watercolor. Once the paper is wet, decisions must be made quickly and finding the balance between control and the magic of freely flowing pigment is the challenge for me.
