Watercolor Artist - USA (2019-12)

ArtistsNetwork.com 47

Finding

Inspiration

“Thanks to the internet and

social media, it’s now easy to

look at the work of many

colleagues, and I always discover

something new and wonderful.

For example, Laurin McCracken

[lauringallery.com] offered his

recipe for his outstanding black

[bit.ly/painting-black] and

John Salminen [johnsalminen.

com] shared the benefits of

masking tape.

“The biggest influence on me,

however—besides German

Expressionism—is Austrian

artist Gottfried Salzmann

[gottfriedsalzmann.com]. I think

he’s the greatest trend-setting

watercolorist in Europe. His use of

constructive and formal principles

can be applied to any subject.”

—Elke Memmler

inside of the painting and moves

the soul to the outside,” she says.

HONORING THE

TRACES OF LIFE

“In watercolor, every mark leaves

traces, which I fi nd desirable,”

Memmler says. “I build my paintings

layer by layer, and each aff ects the

next. I don’t consider the spots,

drops, splashes and drying edges to

be disastrous; in fact, I think they’re

what bring a painting to life. Th ese

nuances are desirable and impactful,

whether they’re accidental or inten-

tional. Th e ‘controlled coincidence’

of mark-making can make the act of

painting especially interesting.

Painting in this manners does

require time. “My expressive style of

painting—which has a high water-to-

paint ratio—can be a disadvantage, as

letting paint dry naturally takes a lot

of time,” she says. “I don’t like using

drying accelerators, such as hair dry-

ers, because I believe they destroy the

structures that only time can create.”

“Spots, drops, splashes and drying edges don’t spell disaster to me.

In my opinion, they’re what bring a painting to life.”