Maisie Crowther
Water, in all its forms has been the inspiration for my painting for 50 years. Ice, fog, clouds and ocean interact with other landscape elements to provide the contrast suitable to this fluid medium. The drama of the day is captured in a “frozen moment” when particular relationships capture my attention such as: earth to sky, trees to field, rocks to waves, dunes to seashore. I am continually challenged by the dualities I see in land or seascapes: light and dark, large and small, sharp and soft. The intrinsic character of the watercolor medium allows me to experiment with these elements.
My preferred approach is to set the tone of a work by initially blending a variety of colors in a wash over the entire paper. More blends are applied as the paper is drying, in a wet-in-wet technique. Finally, drier pigments and layering of glazes serve to bring the composition into focus. Random brush strokes give texture to the foreground. I must work quickly before the clouds change character.
Land forms around Brattleboro, Vt and near my original home in Ipswich, Ma are favorite subjects. I see Round Mountain on Ames Hill Road nearly every day, and have painted it from memory as well as on location. Similarly, the marshes and beach near Ipswich have become iconic symbols in my work. In contrast, I hope that my watercolors painted during my travels abroad, in other milieux, invite viewers to enlist their imagination in a fresh dialog. I am energized by a new landscape, and am continually learning new vocabulary and techniques of the watercolor response.
