On My Stand - April 2024
What I'm Enjoying This Month
Quick Recap: I decided to have a local artist build a book display stand for me so I could view my collection of artbooks throughout a given month: selecting one each month and then periodically turning the pages to see more of the content. This publication is a brief snapshot of what’s “on my stand” this month. See the genesis of this idea HERE. See last month’s book HERE. And to be clear: Unless otherwise identified in the text, I do NOT own any of the images you’ll see in this publication nor am I claiming any credit for having any part in producing them. You can subscribe to On My Stand for free by hitting the button below.
March 2024 - Julie’s Choice:
”Watercolor Road” by Wyatt Waters
As a note, my wife does not typically get involved when I’m purchasing artbooks for my collection. Inevitably there are some she likes and some she doesn’t. However, every few months or so, I ask Julie to select a book to go “On My Stand.” This is her choice for April 2024.
I can't take credit for discovering the artist Wyatt Waters or his book, The Watercolor Road; Daryl gets the credit for this. However, from the moment I saw Wyatt's work, it resonated with me, uniquely presenting realism with soft, impressionistic colors and form.
Appreciating Wyatt's work begins with knowing he paints almost exclusively en plein air, which means outside and on-scene. I find this to be a simultaneous display of vulnerability and courage. Wyatt's tales of comments, stares, complements, and critiques of passers-by are entertaining and interesting, to say the least. The simple act of setting up his easel, whether in his home town in Mississippi or a sidewalk in southern France, allows him to absorb all that scene has to offer and manifest complex beauty in the finished work.
Wyatt's paintings often reflect everyday scenes in common places (stay tuned for a mid-April post), yet the images I selected for this post are all scenes of nature, with minimal people or structures. Beyond painting en plein air, I am captivated by Wyatt's use of color. Most adults have (hopefully) grown beyond believing that trees are only green or water only blue. Yet, his skill with color is masterful. At first glance, one might see a tree, grass, rock, or sky. A closer look draws the viewer into the scene with the variety of color used to create the illusion of depth, the dappling of sunlight through trees, shadows on the ground, and movement of water. And before long, I can almost sense the temperature and sounds in the scene as I find an imagined bench or large rock and sit a spell, taking it all in. Now when I look at a tree, I think differently about colors...the shadow has hues of blue, the leaves reflect yellows, the sun striking the trunk might just have a tinge of pink.
I was drawn to watercolor more than a decade ago, aspiring to paint with this medium that offers transparency and layering that others do not. This same beauty also produces intense jaw-clenching, struggle, and frustration when the water and paint do what THEY want, despite where they were supposed to go in my vision. I am awed by Wyatt's work and remind myself that he has also struggled with this sometimes finicky medium. The only way to become a better painter is to paint. Wyatt inspires me to keep painting my way down the Watercolor Road, pausing to gaze longer and think differently about colors and light that intersect the path.
“Look twice. Paint once.” - Wyatt Waters
Look at the colors in the trees, moss, and shadows in the image above. Look again, closely and deeply. Now look with that same depth at a natural scene in your own environment.
Wyatt beautifully captured this play of water, sky, and light from coastal North Carolina. Can’t you feel the warmth of the setting sun and hear the lapping water?
If this is your introduction to Wyatt Waters and his artistry, welcome. I hope you will see the beauty, reflect in awe, and read the mid-month post that will offer a additional reflections on Wyatt’s work.
See more of Wyatt’s work from Watercolor Road with Julie’s next post in mid-April!
Purchasing Note: You can purchase this book from Wyatt’s site HERE.
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His choice of colors makes light sparkle. Beautiful.