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London Fog, 2009, watercolor, 16 x 8.
All works by Thomas Schaller.
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I judge a successful cityscape painting by whether or not the architecture, the weather, and the figures—everything in the painting—combine to transport me somewhere different. If that happens and the barrier between my reality and the painted alternative gets a little blurry, letting me see different sites and locales as though I were actually there, the painting is a winner.
Thomas Schaller’s watercolors were some of the first works I saw when I came to Artist Daily that I responded really strongly to. Every painting was like a different stopover on my very own grand tour. I’ve never seen the amazing blue skies and seas of Greece or experienced London fog, but Schaller’s paintings give me an incredible sensory experience of them.
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St. Christopher's--Sienna, Italy,
2009, watercolor, 13 x 13. |
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In part, it is the medium itself. There’s something incredibly alluring about land- and cityscape watercolors. The elegance and fluidity of the forms almost seem like a painted memory—how my mind records and recalls visual information. But Schaller in particular is a master of architectural drawing, so his landmarks appear just right. When I look at his work I can picture myself walking through the city squares or side streets depicted because the space is rendered so convincingly.
Schaller makes the process of creating such a cityscape seem so easy, which is why he—along with many of the artists featured in Watercolor—is worthwhile to learn from. The artists featured in the magazine take the time to share their insights and approaches, even conducting painting demonstrations especially for Watercolor readers. With each issue I feel more confident to push myself further, and am more ready to take on new creative challenges.
