J.M.W. Turner – English Romantic Landscape Painter

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January 7, 2011

Whilst Joseph Mallord William Turner (or J.M.W. Turner for short) is perhaps more renowned nowadays for his oil paintings, he is also regarded as one of the founders of English watercolour landscape painting. His entire life was devoted to art; he had the rare honour of his work being exhibited when he was still a teenager and unlike many other artists of his time, he was successful throughout his whole career.

He was born in London on April 23rd 1775. His mother died when he was still very young and Turner received very little education apart from the study of art. At the age of thirteen he was making drawings at home and selling them from his father’s barber shop window. He was accepted into the Royal Academy of Art schools in 1789 at the tender age of fourteen and as we have already mentioned, one of his watercolour’s was exhibited in the Summer Exhibition of 1790 after only one year’s study.

By the time he had reached eighteen years of age, he had built up such a fine reputation that he had his own studio and print sellers were keen to buy his work to reproduce.

Though all of his early works were watercolour landscapes, he was painting in oils by 1796 and in 1802, when he was just twenty seven, he became a full member of the Royal Academy.

Strange Sun After Rain

Having been trained academically, Turner seemed to spend the rest of his life developing a painting technique all of his own. Instead of merely recording factually what he saw, he relentlessly studied nature and light and translated scenes into an expression of his own romantic feelings.

As he grew older, Turner became quite an eccentric and allowed no one to watch him while he painted. He continued to hold exhibitions, but was reluctant to sell his paintings; if he was persuaded to sell one, he was known to track it down and repurchase it! Upon his death in 1851 he left nearly 30,000 pieces of work to his country.

Turner’s reputation is as one of the most important British painters of all time and he remains a towering figure of British art, 150 + years after his death and his work is more popular than ever now.

Blue Rigi: Lake of Lucerne

Categories: European Artists.

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Sergei Andriyaka – People’s Painter of Russia

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December 25, 2010

When we think of Russian art, we normally think first of the great oil paintings from the last few hundred years.  A stroll through The Hermitage in St. Petersburg will show any visitor that oil on canvas is the dominant medium.  However Russia also has a rich history of watercolour painting and one such artist is the contemporary Sergei – or Sergey –  Andriyaka.

Andriyaka was born in Moscow in 1958.  He has worked in various different media, including pottery and and prints, but he is most renowned for his watercolour work. Growing up in the communist era did not affect some aspects of Soviet life and Andriyaka studied art as a student first at the Moscow Surikov Art School and then, following graduation from this facility, at the Moscow State Surikov Art Institute.

Sergei Andriyaka

He held his first private exhibition in 1985 and to date has exhibited more than 200 times around the world.  Following graduation, he stayed on to teach painting techniques at the Institute before becoming a senior teacher there in 1985.

The title People’s Painter of Russia, or National Artist of Russia is an honour awarded to Russian citizens distinguished in the field of art.  Andriyaka was awarded this title in 2005.  His work is currently exhibited in galleries in numerous countries around the world.  In 1999 Andriyaka, supported by the city of Moscow, founded the Sergei Andriyaka Watercolour School which currently teaches this medium to around 700 students.

He became noted for developing individual techniques to surmount problems that arose when painting and some of his best work centres around Russia’s smaller towns and Russian nature.  Still only 53 years old, in 2001 he became Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts and in 2007 became a full member of the same organisation.


Two of Andriyaka’s most notable works.

Categories: Asian Artists, European Artists.

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Vincent Van Gogh – Dutch Post-Impressionist

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December 19, 2010

Some of the most prolific artists work in many different mediums so we cannot say they

Vincent van Gogh, aged 18

are purely watercolour artists or oil artists or whatever else they may specialise in. Vincent van Gogh was one such artist, born on 30th March 1853 and dying tragically young at the age of 37 on 29th July 1890.

Van Gogh had very little critical acclaim during his short lifetime, but following his death his paintings have become some of history’s most sought after works.  His oil paintings are his most widely known works, Sunflowers and Night Cafe to name a couple but he also painted some 150 watercolour paintings.

It’s difficult to squeeze a biography of van Gogh into a precis sized article such as this but his early life in Holland was already marked by a kind of melancholy which would later influence much of his work but would also lead to his eventual attempted suicide and subsequent death almost certainly caused by depression.

In his early working early years he travelled to London, The Hague and Paris while working for a firm of art dealers.  He was always a religious man and eventually, in 1879 he took work as a missionary in Belgium and it was here he began to sketch scenes and characters from the local community.

After his art became the focal point of his life, he moved to Paris to concentrate on this career but was also drawn to the south of France to where he eventually relocated.  The rural scenes and strong colour so familiar in van Gogh’s work were clearly influenced by this region and he remained here largely for the rest of his shirt life.

Vincent van Gogh’s watercolour works grew from his use of the medium to prepare him to paint in oils but gradually his talent in this area also forced these works into becoming masterpieces in their own right.  Van Gogh has described in letters to his brother Theo how he himself saw improvements and perfection in these paintings.  Theo, a successful art dealer, also financially supported Vincent, allowing him to paint without concern for the necessities of everyday living.

Fishing Boats on the Beach, 1888

Cafe Terrace at Night, 1888

Categories: European Artists.

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