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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Be Brave. Paint with Authority.

This is a quote from one of my favorite watercolor artists....and one of my mentors, Alvaro Castagnet, who was the juror at Watercolor Ohio 2008.  Alvaro has just received the top award at the Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolour Biennial!  His winning painting "Overview" is a scene from downtown Montevideo and can be seen on his website.  He says:

     Art is totally insight.  Painting is based on intuition; it is a cosmic thing.

     Good Art goes beyond intelligence.  Be naive.

I guess that we are drawn to the working methods of those artists similar to our own, as it validates our own findings, our own problem-solving.  He relishes freedom of the brush, as well as being-a-bit-out-of-control.  He uses the hand-tied squirrel hair mop-shaped brushes that help to diminish control(thus allowing more freedom).....and.....he holds them at the end of the handle which furthers this experience.  Yeah, baby, yeah.

I couldn't agree more.....congratulations, Alvaro!!!!