I came across Lea Nixon’s work through his posting to the Facebook group “En Plein Air Paintings”. Watercolours are not very often posted and I’m always attentive when some appear. These caught my interest because I found them technically very well executed and highly characteristic for a particular watercolour painting style. I don’t know if this style has already a name. I think it is very British and old school, and definitely like it.

Looking at these three paintings, I had some lightbulb moments about watercolour painting.

Work with the silhouette!

In this painting called “Behind hotel Le Negresco”, the building to the right is created as a blotch of watercolour in different tones from dark to light. What makes it look like a row of buildings is the silhouette, which follows the contours of those buildings in linear perspective. The second important element is the black detail for windows etc which is only suggested. Of course there are more interesting aspects in the painting, but the silhouette is what caught my attention.

I think I was sensitized because I made the first sunflower drawings this afternoon. I realized the contours of the flowerheads are important and I was collecting ideas how I might go on to paint them. One idea was to use a linear medium to draw outlines of leaves, the other was to work with intense yellow against a different coloured background. Maybe I can try the silhouette technique: Use much water and make sure that I get the silhouette of the yellow leaves in the flowerhead right, then add pigment and let it run through the wet area.

The similarities between using coloured paper and using washes for background!

It actually occurred to me somewhat earlier that painting on coloured ground is nothing else than painting over a wash. The main difference may be the intention in which it is done – washes seem to be used for skies or other backgrounds that are part of the picture, and lighter areas are protected with resists. But an artist will paint over his wash and so in effect he’s painting on coloured ground. He or she can then employ the techniques that were introduced in the previous project, like lightening up areas with gouache and creating new colours through layering.

I recognized the principle in the rose background colour of this painting titled “The carousel”. The rose hue is overpainted with trees and foliage. I think this painting is less successful but it contains nice elements, like the white roof of the carousel which is spared out.

I’ll just keep this in mind for the future when I consider using a wash – it has the effect of a coloured ground and is open for techniques to play with that.

Using dull colours makes the bright colours shine!

A principle that I’ve already heard of, but not applied myself and not recognized in other paintings. In this view, the technique is used to emphasize the yellow and red colours of the buildings in the foreground by placing them adjacent to a muted grey area.

I think I can make use of this technique of colour contrast for my sunflowers to bring out their intense warm yellow colours

The painting again has “important silhouettes” in the center area: The shadows of the group of trees, the truck and the building.

The purpose of art making

These paintings by Lea Nixon are not modern art and are not meant as political statements. They are very classical in approach, simply and skillfully representing a view the artist found interesting and inspiring. I wish I’ll arrive at that level of skills with watercolours one day. But having rejected “politics in art” so vehemently, I’m now realizing that I want to go beyond making nice paintings. I think I will not be satisfied with pure representation and building up technical skills, there has to be more to it.

Looking at Anselm Kiefer’s work in the previous research has triggered another lightbulb moment. I understood how Kiefer incorporated his personal concern with German history into his artwork. It made me realize that part of my journey will be to discover what my own concerns are. In German, deep concerns that are rooted in one’s past are called “dead bodies in the cellar” and they are something one has to come to terms with at one point in life. I think art making is a good way of doing this. That said, I still want to be enjoying myself and not overindulge in the dark side of things.

Sources:

Lea Nixon Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/leanixonwatercolours