Watercolor Artist - USA (2019-12)

ArtistsNetwork.com 53

Befriending

Black and White

Hansondoesn’tspendmuchtime
mixingcolorsforhispaintings.“Ifind
if I mixtoomanycolorstogether,they
lose theirintensity,”hesays.“Also,
colorsareeasiertoreplicatewhen
they comeoutofa tube,soI buy
every colorI canget.”
OnetubecolorHansonrelieson
regularlyislampblack.“IfI don’tget
my blacksblackenough,thepainting

will look fl at and unrealistic,” he says, “so I use a lot

of lamp black, which seems to provide the right dark.”

Caravaggio and other Renaissance painters inspire

Hanson to be bold in his application. “I really like his use

of contrast, as well as Rembrandt’s,” Hanson says. “I look

at the paintings of the Old Masters, and that’s really where

I get the idea for my high-contrast work. I paint the black

quite dark to create a very strong contrast.”

Using black gives Hanson’s work a unifying eff ect.

“It draws the painting together and leads the eye around,”

he says. He also uses the color to mix grays and to darken

other colors, including browns such as burnt umber and

raw umber.

Hanson relies on one-

point perspective to

lure the eye in Late

Evening in Rome

(watercolor on

paper, 18x25½ ).

“The refl ections on

the cobblestones

and the recession of

the lamps into space

present a natural

appeal,” he says.

The silhouetted

fi gures create a

sense of “isolation

and mystery.”

“I do whatever a painting needs to make

it work. I don’t care to be a purist.”