Towards the end of August 2023, I decided it was time to pick back up my paintbrush and work on another watercolour piece – my first large one for the year. It took me just over 9 weekends to finish the piece entitled “Nature’s treasure: Three songthrush eggs.” This was based on a photo belonging to the collection from Ajoupa Gardens (Rory and Bunty O’Connor) and even though I sought permissions to use the photo during Covid, my energy levels were so depleted that I knew I should wait until I was ready to do it justice. Now that it’s completed, I can share some reflections on the work as a watercolourist.
Botanicals have always been my muses. As a watercolourist, I find solace and connection to the enchanting world of flora. With each stroke, I aim to capture the mystical essence that resides within the natural world. Watercolor, with its fluidity and unpredictability, is the perfect medium for my artistic expression. It mirrors the elusive qualities of the magical realism I seek to convey. Each layer of pigment I lay down is a testament to the hidden enchantments that lie beneath the surface of reality, waiting to be revealed. Through my work, I aim to inspire wonder, inviting you to look beyond the surface of the familiar. I hope to transport you to a place where the ordinary is anything but, and the botanicals, with all their earthly beauty, reveal a captivating narrative of enchantment.
But it looks so real…
Magic realism and hyper-realism are two distinct art movements that each have unique characteristics. I find myself leaning more towards the magic realism in my journey.
- Style and aesthetic: Magic realism is an art movement that combines realistic elements with magical or fantastical elements. It blurs the line between the everyday and the supernatural, often incorporating dreamlike or surreal imagery into a realistic setting. Magic realist works often have a sense of mystery and ambiguity, and they can evoke a feeling of wonder and enchantment. For this reason, I often incorporate some highlights with luminescent watercolours. In this piece I opted to use my Paul Rubens metallics, however in previous paintings like the Lily Nenuphar (2020), I have used the divine Duochromes from Daniel Smith – more specifically Lapis Sunlight. Think of it like fairy dust…
- Subject matter: Magic realist artworks typically include elements that challenge the viewer’s sense of reality or introduce supernatural, magical, or dreamlike elements into an otherwise realistic scene. Common subjects may include everyday objects or people with fantastical or surreal qualities. This is more obvious in my painting “Buttons and Bits” (2020). I challenge our everyday understanding of the mundane by magnifying and amplifying the beauty the lies within.
- Techniques and approaches: Magic realist artists often employ various artistic techniques to create a sense of mystery or ambiguity. They use imaginative and creative elements to weave a narrative into their works, combining realistic rendering with surreal or magical elements. In all of my pieces, I experiment with Epsom salts, plastic wrap, wax crayons, gouache, rice…nothing really feels off limits unless I think it is going to compromise my precious paper.
- Artistic Goals: Magic realists aim to evoke a sense of wonder, enchantment, or mystery in the viewer by blending the real and the unreal. They often encourage viewers to question the nature of reality and the boundaries of the everyday world.
Join me on this journey of exploration, where the boundaries between reality and magic blur, and the world of botanicals unfolds in all its splendour.