New Works in Ink and Watercolor

There are artists who stay loyal to a particular style, medium, and subject matter throughout their careers. I’m often a little envious of such artists, because they can get very good at what they do. Getting very good at it is what we’re all aiming for in one way or another, but much as I admire that kind of steady focus, I think I’m just not made that way. After pursuing a particular direction for a number of years, I become restless, and ultimately bored by my efforts, and start yearning for a fresh, new challenge.

So it happened in the course of my latest episode of ennui that I thought it might be fun to do a drawing in pen and ink. My love of architectural subjects was reawakened with this effort, as it seemed a more suitable subject than the atmospheric landscapes I’d been doing of late. And because I do love color, it was only natural to add some watercolor to my drawing, which really brought it to life. I was happy with the result and had so much fun doing it that quite a few ink and watercolor drawings followed in quick succession. That’s really the best part of the artist’s life….

This doesn’t mean I am abandoning landscape painting altogether – in fact, I had a great time painting landscape at a plein air event last weekend, about which more soon – but I like to mix it up a little. It keeps me inspired and energized, and it also offers my fans and collectors more of a choice. These drawings are a bit more decorative than the landscape watercolors, almost like illustrations, but that’s also something I thoroughly enjoy.

I’ll be adding the ink and watercolor works to my shop in a few weeks, but wanted to share a few of them with you now as a kind of preview of coming attractions. I’d like to know what you think, so please let me know in the comments!