Watercolor Artist - USA (2020-04)

64 Watercolor artist | APRIL 2020

Bright Ideas

LEFT;BELOW

A pagefrom

Schaller’s

sketchbookand

SanMartinoFrom

theWall—Lucca

(watercoloron

paper,20x14)

encapsulatethe

artist’spainting

processfrom

beginningtoend.

says. “For example, I never used to

use fl at brushes. But while in China

not long ago, I decided to give them

a try. My fi rst eff orts were atrocious,

but now I can’t imagine not using one

or two fl ats somewhere in my paint-

ings. Th ey’ve added another layer of

expression to my work that I’d never

realized was missing. Who knows

what I may try next?”

When Tanabe selects her brushes,

she takes into consideration factors

such as the type of hair, the shape,

the size and the way the brush feels

when she holds it. “To do a wash across

paper successfully, I need a large brush

that’s soft and absorbent so that I can

lay down a clean wash with minimal

strokes quickly,” she says. “To paint

details, either positively or negatively,

I like a stiff er brush that’s resilient

ABOVE; TOP

Tanabe primarily works en plein air, but jumping right into painting

isn’t always her way. She enjoys putting pencil to paper, as can be

seen in a page of her Venetian sketches.