By Max Gillies
Depicting water is notoriously difficult. We take for granted those artworks that do it well, but we also shudder at seascape paintings in which the waves look more like cake frosting than water, right? Around the world, the desire to evoke water — and to see it evoked — endures.
No matter where we live, we all have a personal connection to some body of water or another, from oceans and rivers to lakes and pools. Water is one of the four elements essential to life, a symbol of diverse meanings, and a site of both pleasure (e.g., hot tubs) and tragedy (drowning).
Now combine this appeal with the equally challenging prospect of depicting some sort of figure — be it human or animal — immersed in water, or near it. Optically, water becomes a prism through which we see light, form, and color differently, and its presence has the potential to alter a scene’s lighting significantly.
Thus, it is no mean feat to convincingly integrate the look of water with the look of figures, and so we applaud the artists represented in this portfolio. Each has tackled their challenges with skill and imagination, and we truly admire the wide range of approaches they have pursued.
Enjoy, and please use the comments section below to tell us which artists you are following in this unforgiving, and deeply rewarding, arena.
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The editorial above is part of a series that spotlights the work of accomplished contemporary artists featured in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.
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Story prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Fine Art Today
