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Jozwiak's works (above, Waiting for #9, 2010,
13 x 26, watercolor, private collection) show how
color-rich and sumptuous watercolor painting can be. |
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Over and over again I hear artists cooing about the thick richness
of oil paints and its appealing spreadability, and yes, all of that is totally true.
But artist Bev Jozwiak is giving oil a run for its money in terms of buttery appearance
and saturated colors, and she’s doing it with watercolor.
“My favorite painters have always been oil painters, and
that’s the style I emulated,” Jozwiak says, speaking of her tendency to apply paint
so thickly to her watercolor painting surface that it often mirrors the look of
oil paint. Working this way, she creates brilliant, almost prismatic color
layers and darks with incredible nuance.
Jozwiak doesn’t mix colors on her
palette. She paints with pigments right out of the tube instead, laying
down color and leaving it alone to avoid over-mixed or homogenized colors. Even
with gray, Jozwiak’s “let it alone” sensibility comes through. She combines
yellow ochre, rose madder genuine, and manganese blue hue. Her black is
a combination of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.
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Even Jozwiak's darkest darks contain a lot of
color and nuance, as in this painting, Hippie
Kind of Vibe (2010, 22 x 30, watercolor). |
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Jozwiak also works quickly and decisively, and believes that
the tipping point for any successful watercolor painting she creates is confident
brushstrokes. It is that freedom and looseness, in part, that will always keep
Jozwiak a watercolor artist, not an oil painter. Where oils can sometimes feel
thick and heavy, watercolor feels like pure movement to her, and it always has
something new to teach her.
Working with watercolors is a balancing act that keeps
artists on their toes. Jozwiak excels with her chosen medium because she is
content to never stop learning from it and is open to change as she uses it. If
you want to read more about Jozwiak—her chosen subject matter, her experience
with other media, and more—plus access to the top watercolorists in the nation,
their processes, and watercolor painting lessons on how to make the medium work for you, Watercolor magazine is all that I
recommend. It has given me so much insight into the medium and a sheer love for
the art that is made with it, that I don't look anywhere else for watercolor instruction. Enjoy!
