Monday, March 7, 2011

More watercolor paintings

I've always done a lot of watercolor paintings. I started in high school, my art teacher, Margaret Stein, literally sat me down in front of the room window with paper, paint and brushes and said "Paint !". That got me started and Herb Schiebold, my good friend, and I would often go out and do watercolors on the spot.

Ravens
Ravens was painted in the mid 1960's and it won first prize in the Michigan Watercolor Society Show.

Khartoum1
In 1971 my wife and I took a trip to Africa, we visited Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Sudan. The above painting was done in Khartoum. When sketching outdoors I usually first do a drawing with a technical pen, then paint over it with watercolors.

Khartoum2
Another scene painted in Khartoum along the Nile River.

Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa from my hotel window.

Ngulia Hills, Kenya
A painting of the elephants roaming in the Ngulia Hills in Kenya.

4 comments:

Steve said...

Strong work here,Harry,similar in finish to your marker stuff.Bright colors and deep tones none of that insipidity that can bedevil watercolors.
Who are your favorite artists/watercolorists may I ask?

Harry Borgman said...

Hi Steve,
There are so many artists whose work I enjoy, John Marin, Elliot O'Hara, Millard Sheets and Dong Kingman come to mind and are watercolorists that influenced me when I was starting out. There are artists in every medium that I enjoy, from Will Elder to Matisse. One can't help but be influenced by some of the very greats, it can be humbling to say the very least. I also had the good fortune to work with some amazing talent when I was living in Detroit, Mark English, Charlie Schridde, Del Nichols, Jim Jackson, Dave Lindsay and others.
Harry

Vince A said...

Hi Harry,

- About how long does it take you to produce a watercolor sketch like the Khartoum one?

- What would Jeanne be doing while you were painting?

I was never successful painting or drawing outdoors. The one time I tried to do it, while on a school excursion, my 0.3mm technical pen simply clogged up on me.

Harry Borgman said...

Hi Vince,
Those sketches were painted on a 9x12" pad, so they don't take very long, I'd say about an hour. I would usually do out alone to sketch, but once in a while Jeanne would come along to watch and talk with the people that would stroll by. When I sketched in Surinam, lots of kids would watch and give on the spot criticism even in the remote jungle areas. I was sketching in a jungle village and when drawing one of the houses I didn't add the TV aerial, all the kids pointed that out to me.
Harry