26 Watercolor artist | AUGUST 2019
says. “Th ey’re just moments in time within a landscape.”
If there’s any narrative to draw from Bartholomew’s pieces,
it can be found in the changing weather conditions. “A nice
bright day has a bit more of a hook: Strong light and bright
sun and colors make the picture more dramatic,” he says.
“Th ere’s something compelling about the moment when
I’m walking on a gray, miserable day, and the sun rushes
out from from behind the clouds, and I suddenly can see
all the color fl ooding the landscape.”
It took Bartholomew a long time to accept that the
weather dictated his work. Th ese days, he tracks the fore-
cast before booking his fl ights or travel plans. For example,
with his sights recently set on a trip to Hawaii, he spent
weeks tracking a surfi ng website to monitor weather condi-
tions for just the right combination of big wave swells and
bright, sunny weather. At the last minute, however, he
noticed that there were huge sea swells, combined with
a perfect mixture of storms and clear skies, off Ireland’s
southwest coast, so he immediately changed his plans.
Th is pivot turned out to be one of the most fruitful trips
he has made, all because of his willingness to stay nimble