HA Printcopy Brochure Pages 30Apr17

The Technique
Watercoloring is one of the oldest techniques discovered
by man. Performed by mixing natural dyes with water and
Arabian glue, in the primitive ages, in an effort to mimic
natural visual scenery, especially on cave walls. Followed by
its use by the ancient Egyptians on catacombs and papyrus
papers, and its widespread use in the arts of ancient Middle
Eastern and South Eastern people, who used it on a highly
technical level to create artworks of applied nature, and
sometimes plastic arts too.
However the most eye-catching development in
watercoloring happened in the nineteenth century, as
it has been used in a wide scale for sketches and minor
studies meant to be turned into more strategic artworks by
many artists. Some examples of such artists are (William
Turner), implemented even before that by the German artist
(Durer) in the fifteenth century, and by (Rembrandt) in the
seventeenth century.
Despite that, usage of watercoloring techniques on a wider
scale happened in the late nineteenth century and the twentieth
century, for it has been used in the global artistic arena in
various compound techniques, which created and amazing
medium for the production of works of high artistic value.
One of these techniques is the (wet on wet aquarell).
In “Beyond”:
The wet on wet aquarell technique has been utilized in the
production of artworks for the gallery (Beyond) in many
different styles. The different treatment styles served the
notion of the proposed topic, which lead to the inclusion
of supporting elements and materials that stayed true to
the boundaries of the wet on wet technique.
Some of these materials is sugar, which has been
carefully included to provide some effects necessary for
the justification of the idea and the creation of a suitable
atmosphere, as shown in the following works:
‏,(بريق (Glitter, ‏,(عبور (Crossing, ‏,(غياب (Obscurity,
‏,(ثبات (Constancy, ‏,(هلع (Panic, ‏,(هطول (Precipitation,
‏(سياج (Fence, ‏,(انبعاث (Revival, ‏,(رفض (Denial,
Usage of sugar for the rest of the works was aimed to be
supportive rather than a radical factor, as gently spraying
water over some of the wet surfaces provided the most
critical effects.
In the wet techniques used the paper has been moisturized
despite the treatment method. Different types of paper
where used imposed by the nature of the work and the
desired effect, some of which are: 30 gram (Arches)
paper, 600 grams (Fabriano) and Russian made 200
grams (Tarshoon).
The distribution of the color groups was done in a way
which relies on the detection of moisture levels to control
the limits of spreading, mixing and color reactions in an
accurate manner. As there’s no room for technical errors in
this situation, which may lead to changing the work’s topic,
derailing it of the previously programmed state, so moisture
levels are calculated and brush strokes are limited to the
nature of the area being done, prioritizing details within the
artwork to ensure a pleasant journey of high coherence with
the atmosphere of the artwork which captures the eye of the
beholder.
In some of the works condensation was necessary, and in
others reduction was, but in both cases the aim was the
painting’s topic and what it demanded on the technical level.
In another perspective it disappears and shows the visual
element as well, based on the thought and status aimed
for the beholder, while still maintaining a state of ambiguity
avoiding directness in visual representation out of respect
to the beholder’s eye and intellect, to assure a state of free
conversation with the artwork.
Furthermore, selecting the wet watercoloring technique due
to its suitability for the topics being treated, which are mostly
of emotional consistency, as this technique guarantees a
visually comforting blend even if there’s contrast between the
color relation and the color degree sometimes, even though
scarce in some of the works, low contrast color coherence
and smooth transitions between warm and cold color
variations or bright and dark in regards to color saturation
was the case for most the works.
Every artwork in the gallery was independent in regards to
technical treatment; in some works the technical application
was similar. In others it was completely independent while
never overstepping the visual representational unit in the
gallery in general, as there are enough common technicalities
and feel which ensures this type of overlap that guarantees
the unity of the work and facilitates the recognition of the
artist’s identity and his style in treating the various topics.
All that remains is to notify that these sorts of technicalities
require vast experience, high skills and impeccable planning
prior to tackling the task, as the risks of losing the artwork at
any stage of the process are very real.