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About the Artist
| ~ Some thoughts on my painting ~ My interest in natural science art began when I started coming up to the Delaware River valley area from NYC on weekends 10 years ago. I lived in the city since graduating from Pratt in the 60’s and had a career primarily as an abstract painter. I worked in oil, exploring the perception of form, space and color. It was an inner view of personal experience developed by seeing and being influenced by color and form. Two years ago I moved to the Delaware River valley permanently and all that changed. This fantastically beautiful area drew my perception out of myself and into the live forms around me. Being close to nature again had a strong effect on me, I grew up in Maine and I guess the pull of my roots brought me back into the country. So I began painting in watercolor, very small landscapes, postcard size. Then when I developed a garden, the magnificent colors and shapes of flowers attracted me to paint a series of botanicals. From there I went on to birds and insects and then to larger landscapes. I like the watercolor medium because it’s non-toxic and easy transport when working outside. It’s also an agreeable medium for layering and fine detail. Painting ‘plein air’ is very exciting and frustrating, the shifting light is so dynamic it’s hard to capture a look. However, when painting the botanicals, being able to look at all sides of the plant and watch the plant make subtle movement shifts as the light changes, is enchanting. All the interaction of shapes are there to be selected, like a raw file to choose from in constructing the composition. I find that doing a fairly detailed sketch in the beginning allows me more freedom to paint intuitively with the color. Generally, I work with the traditional watercolor techniques of light to dark, wet-in-wet and dry brush. However, as I get to the middle stage of the painting, I will often wash in new, sometimes lighter colors over the already developed areas which adds more complexity and depth to the overall painting. At this point in the painting my eyes are exploring the scene more than the painting and the process becomes intuitive concentration. Later on, I will lift paint out with a wet brush to add highlights, texture and more color. I sell both originals and prints of my watercolor paintings. The prints are Giclee printed in pigment inks on a heavy archival watercolor paper and they look virtually like the originals. For purchase of an originals or to order a custom size print, please contact me: rhodgkins@hvc.rr.com. |