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The Spirit of Watercolor Watercolor, or watercolour in British (the Queen’s) English, is the most difficult of all methods of painting. And this is why the Chinese call this style of painting, “taming the wild horses”. The challenge of painting in watercolor is almost entirely in learning how to dance with the fluid nature of water. This is not an element that can be dominated or otherwise controlled. Oil and acrylic paints in contrast, hold fast where they are applied and they dry in the same form that they are placed. Oil and acrylic are therefore much easier to handle and control. Watercolor on the other hand is extremely unforgiving as the water explodes from the brush and moves, changing the absorbency and shape of the paper as it is applied, as well as changing the appearance of the paint as it dries. Thus the spirit of watercolor is wild. It breathes its own life and dictates its own path. Spontaneity is the key. It is everything. A watercolorist cannot hide his or her mistakes in this medium. Previous efforts cannot be readily painted over, whereas an artist painting in oil or acrylic can correct mistakes by simply scraping off the wet paint or painting over the mistake when it dries. The watercolorist is not given the same degrees of freedom, the same escape, to hide painting flaws. The watercolorist has only one chance to render the piece. And so this is one of the basic reasons why the majority of artists choose to paint in oil or acrylic. As watercolor is the most difficult medium to master, so only the bravest of artists will confront this most challenging art tradition. In Southeast Asia watercolor paintings are called brush paintings. Finger painting in watercolor originated from China. And, in Japan, Korea and China watercolor has been the most preferred medium. Watercolor paints are the product of pigments ground in gum, commonly gum Arabic, mixed with water. The watercolor medium is also much appreciated because, unlike oil, it is odorless, inflammable, dries fast and is non-toxic. In the Philippines today, serious art patrons promoting Asian art and culture and who are environmentally aware and concerned prefer to collect watercolor paintings. As water is one of the five elements in feng shui, many also believe that unlike oil, which is toxic and therefore carries negative energy, watercolor art pieces will imbibe peace, harmony and balance in their home. Other misinformed art enthusiasts in the Philippines shy away from collecting watercolor art claiming that these pieces are not durable and will not stand the test of time. They forget that there are ancient watercolor artworks hanging in many museums worldwide that are many centuries old. This most especially includes the very early watercolor paintings from China and Japan. According to Wikipedia, “Modern watercolor paints are now as durable and colorful as oil or acrylic paints, and the recent renewed interest in drawing and multimedia art has also stimulated demand for fine works in watercolor. As art markets continue to expand, as painting societies continue to add members and aging Baby Boomers increasingly retire to more contemplative hobbies, so watercolor is poised to enter yet another “golden age”. There is one further, major difference between watercolor and other mediums - it is transparent and this makes it both unique and appealing. The Springfield Art Museum in Ohio stated, “Transparent watercolor allows for freshness and luminosity in its washes and for a deft calligraphic artwork that makes it a most alluring medium.” The artist painting in oil can paint one opaque layer on top of another until he has reached his desired finish. While the whites in oil are achieved with layers of opaque white, the watercolorist’s technique is very different. Transparent white watercolor does not exist so instead of building up the color the painter leaves the white areas of the painting untouched. Therefore the white parts of a watercolor artwork are the areas of the paper that were left pure and unpainted by the artist. Traditionally watercolor paint is applied using a brush but modern day watercolorists have experimented using other tools such as sponges, sticks, and scrapers. Many watercolorists are still bound by prejudices that date from the 19th century. These prejudices distinguished between “transparent” and body-color painters. To quote from Wikipedia, “Watercolor paints are customarily evaluated on a few key attributes. In the partisan debates of the 19th century English art world, gouache was emphatically contrasted to traditional watercolors and denigrated for its lack of "transparency" or hiding power; "transparent" watercolors were exalted.” Today’s Filipino watercolorists who call themselves purists like Rafael Cusi and Jun Martinez will never use white or black paint and will only use transparent color. Watercolor is an ancient tradition that dates back to the earliest of organized societies that used pigments dissolved in water to create paintings on caves with the use of their fingers, bones and sticks. In Ancient Egypt water-based paints were used to create artworks on temples and tombs. The Egyptians painted the first watercolor artworks on paper called papyrus. But it was in the Far and Middle East that schools teaching watercolor paintings were first established. These schools promoted the painting styles that emerged in today’s modern world. The predominant style that became the center of Western watercolor originated from the landscape paintings on silk and paper that the Chinese and Japanese master-watercolorists created many centuries ago. This was inspired by the beautiful ancient and Asian art of calligraphy.
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