The Magic of Water

Collector's Focus: Seascapes, Rivers & Lakes

By John O’Hern

Henrietta Benson Homer (1809-84) was an accomplished nature watercolorist who exhibited her work at the Brooklyn Art Association during the 1870s and 1880s. She encouraged her son, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) to pursue a career in art and taught him basic watercolor techniques. Between 1873 and 1905, he created over 700 watercolors, many of scenes of water from the lakes and streams of the Adirondacks, to the rugged coast of Maine, to the bright and colorful waters of the Bahamas. In his early career as an illustrator, he used graphite pencils to describe the details of his subjects—a technique he carried over to his watercolors, adding washes of paint over his drawings.Mary Williams Fine Arts, Streamside Cove VI, colored pencil and graphite pencil, 19 x 23", by Erwin P. Lewandowski.

Homer celebrated being one with nature in his Adirondack scenes. He had vacationed there in his youth and returned in 1889 to paint and to experiment with his medium—perfecting the effects of light, color theory and composition. He was a passionate fisherman and often painted anglers in their boats. The intensely colorful painting, The Blue Boat (1894) depicts anglers as they paddle up a stream, the composition of the horizontal boat slightly right of center, offset by the strong verticals of the quickly painted pines.

Joel Babb depicts a less traversable waterway in A Brook in the White Mountains, Great Gulf Wilderness, 2019. Homer warned, “This making studies and then taking them home to use them is only half right. You get composition, but you lose freshness; you miss the subtle and, to the artist, the finer characteristics of the scene itself.”

Babb says, “I’ll explore, find a brook, and bushwhack upstream until I find the perfect spot.” There he will contemplate the scene, sketch, paint and then return to the studio to finish paintings full of the freshness Homer feared would be lost. Echoing Homer’s oneness with nature, Babb says, “I derive so much pleasure going out and getting lost in our woods, getting to know the area. It’s something profoundly necessary. I can’t live without the concordance of the relationship with nature.” Clockwise from top left: Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Blue Boat, 1892, watercolor over graphite pencil on paper, 153/16 x 21½", by Winslow Homer (1836-1910); DC Moore Gallery, Source, oil on linen, 90 x 80", by Eric Aho; Janet Grissom, Night Lights, oil on canvas, 18 x 24"; Vose Galleries, A Brook in the White Mountains, Great Gulf Wilderness, oil on linen, 22 x 28", by Joel Babb

Erwin P. Lewandowski lives on the shores of the northern reaches of Lake Huron. Living with the views of vast expanses of water, curiosity often focuses the attention on the intimacy of ocean tidal pools, reflections of boats in harbors and water trickling over rocks. In the triangular abstraction of Falling Water III, water that can be solid, liquid or gas, flows over rocks seemingly as a transparent sheath before breaking up in air-filled chaos. Lewandowski graduated in fine arts from Central Michigan University but chose a career in business which lasted 25 years. A chance discovery of a set of soft color pencils changed the course of his life. Blue Rain Gallery, Down Baja Way, oil on canvas, 30 x 48", by Doug West.

“I started playing with them,” he says. “And then I started having fun.” As unlikely it is that oil and pigment applied to a canvas can assume the qualities of reality, it seems more unlikely that soft pencils can recreate the transparency, translucency and reflective qualities of water.

At 90 by 80 inches, Eric Aho’s Source, 2019, draws the viewer into the sublime origins of life.

He has said, “The landscape and nature, in general, is part of our DNA. In that way, by reconstructing nature as a painting, the artist and the viewer have a physical and emotional experience that comes from something deep within us.” Our bodies are 60 percent water and are drawn to the water. Aho experiences the intensity of nature and then manipulates the materiality of paint to create works that embody what Wordsworth called “emotion recollected in tranquility.”
Continued below are more stories and insights by artists and galleries on pieces involving astounding scenes of seascapes, rivers and lakes.Top: Janet Grissom, At the Park, oil on canvas, 12 x 24". Bottom: Janet Grissom, Glacial Kiss of Protection (on a quiet day), oil on canvas, 18 x 24"; Blue Rain Gallery, Bridge Over Low Ripples, oil on canvas, 30 x 24", by Kathryn Stedham

Artist Janet Grissom grew up in the farmland of Ohio, developing a deep appreciation and understanding of many aspects of the natural world. She acquired and refined her education in art. She traveled throughout many countries seeking a more complete understanding of the land and sky that are still her drive to create. Whether it is the flickering reflection on the water under the bridge in Philadelphia, the late afternoon sun on the coastal inlet near Nantucket or the powerful, massive rocks that protect the land along the Maine coast, Grissom works to share the sublime moments of her existence on this earth with viewers of her art. She prefers pleasures that center around the ordinary, seeking enlightenment that exists in quiet spaces. Even weeds scattered along the water’s edge, blowing in unison, bring immense inspiration, begging layers of paint to share them with the world. Blue Rain Gallery, Rio Grande Buckman View, oil on canvas, 24 x 30", by Kathryn Stedham

Kathryn Stedham, represented by Blue Rain Gallery, is inspired by the vast landscape of the Southwest, its rugged escarpments, colorful mesas, hidden arroyos and water formations. Seeking to capture this land in the rapidly changing light with a raw elegance, she puts herself directly in the middle of these spaces. There is an honesty and an emotional quality to the paintings that comes from the time she regularly spends in these landscapes and her willingness to let go and trust her eye and her memory as she visually tells the story with her alla prima approach. Emily James Gallery, Beautiful Florida, mixed media, 54 x 65", by Emily James

Emily James Gallery, Beauty in the Clouds, mixed media, 43 x 60", by Emily James

For over 40 years Doug West, also represented by Blue Rain, has painted the Southwest with an eye on New Mexico specifically. His paintings are rendered with graphic sensibility, paying great respect to light and the heroic cloud forms he experiences so regularly in this landscape. Most recently, he has expanded his oeuvres to include seascapes inspired by the Baja Peninsula.

Growing up in Florida, artist Emily James was always surrounded by water. “I never tire of painting the sea,” she says, “and my love of that subject begins with the exciting challenge of capturing yet another aspect of its fluidity, both in nature’s constant movement and the balance in the reflective calm; much like life.” James has now proudly been painting for seven decades, with the first three spent using transparent watercolors on paper. The next three were strictly oil or acrylic on canvas. “I have now evolved into combining some of my fluid watercolor techniques with my textured canvas paintings,” says James. “I paint to please myself, and I mainly opened my gallery to have a place to display my artwork and to use as a painting studio. What an unexpected joy it has been that so many people love what I create, even as I experiment in different directions.”Emily James Gallery, Graceful Landing, mixed media, 48 x 48", by Emily James

There are so many artists today, that Janine Salzman often wondered what could be done that’s new. “Early in my career,” she says, “I wanted to paint like the masters. As a result, my work seemed like imitations of well known painters’ styles. I learned a lot about fundamentals doing this, but my work was stale and lacking the depth and emotion I wanted.” In her stunning seascape paintings today, she’s started hearing her own voice flow through the colors and brushstrokes. This can be seen in her piece Breaking Waves. “Every painting I do now is an experiment in some way,” she explains. “I try to learn something from each piece and I’m learning to trust myself and my own vision.”

Watercolor artist Terry Arroyo Mulrooney expresses her art to focus on color, detail contrast and light. “I create art that captures natural beauty in architecture, portraits, landscapes or florals,” she says. This also includes water and beach scenes like in the piece Retirement, pictured in this section. “[My work] is in my own realistic style, creating luminosity and richness,” she continues. “It was precisely this affinity for light, shadow, contrast and color depth that led me to choose watercolor. The translucent nature of watercolor allows for an amazing interplay of color and light. Mulrooney also notes that a lot of her subjects are threatened by climate change. She says, “I am determined to record my subjects as they are now and hoping for the future.”Clockwise from top left: Janine Salzman, Breaking Waves, oil, 11 x 14"; Terry Arroyo Mulrooney, Retirement, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30"; Tara Will, Fall Lily Pads, soft pastel, 25½ x 19½"; Christopher Forrest, Homeward Bound, oil on Raymar panel, 18 x 24"

Christopher Forrest worked as a full-time artist for 10 years, focusing on hand drawn multi color/plate original lithographs of coastal scenes with wildlife. His more recent return to art in 2019 has him still exploring coastal wildlife, but he’s grown to include oil and acrylic work. In his piece Morning Meanders, Forrest says, “My wife’s favorite birds are the little shore birds running back and forth with the surf. I was out at dawn one day and the light was just right. Where there’s normally shades of gray birds, they were like little orange balls scampering around.” For the painting Homeward Bound, Forrest captures a gorgeous sky at the beach. “At the family’s annual beach photo session, one of the most dramatic skies I’ve ever witnessed unfolded. It seemed the perfect setting for the local birds to head in for the night, thus homeward bound.”Christopher Forrest, Morning Meanders, oil on Raymar panel, 14 x 24”

Tara Will loves painting the landscape, which also includes bodies of water. “Everywhere you turn there is something new to see and find,” she adds. “Finding that ‘thing’—that feeling that sparks your interest—that is what being an artist is about. Creating is a pursuit of finding the intrinsic value and energy of a subject. By conveying that to a viewer, it allows them to bring their own experience to join into the conversation. Going out into the landscape to find subjects that excite you is a wonderful way to share what you see and get a sincere sense of light, value and space.”

When collecting, artist Jacalyn Beam tells collectors to first consider what they like. “A painting should make you happy, resonate familiarity and arouse interest,” she says. Beam also believes that quality is important not only in what you see, but the sustainability of the medium and substrate used for the painting, so that their purchase withstands the test of time. “Paintings hold meaning and should grace the future,” she adds. In her own pieces like Asilomar Morning, she says, “It’s always fun to capture the changing tides and colors of the Monterey Peninsula. This scene is near the shoreline at Asilomar Beach, California. My goal when painting was to capture the movement and force of the water as well as the warmth of the sun on the rocks and sand. The palette knife application of impasto helps to create energy and force of the water.” Tara Will, Bass Rocks, soft pastel, 19½ x 25½”

Tara Will, Upon Reflection, soft pastel, 12 x 12”

Expressing and describing the beauty of light has been the focus of North Star Art Gallery artist Brian Keeler’s career in painting. Depicting the “topography of light” is the way he likes to describe this process, as this phrase communicates the way light plays across forms and describes their shapes. His work includes landscape, the figure, portraits, still life and allegorical work. While the subject of the painting is specific, in a certain sense the light actually becomes the subject for Keeler, and the scene or depiction takes on a secondary or supporting role. He often chooses the “golden hour” as the time for portraying the motifs he selects, as this late afternoon or early morning light accentuates the drama of any given scene. His many genres also incorporate a marvelous appreciation for the way light can reveal the world to us.Clockwise from top left: Jacalyn Beam, Asilomar Morning, oil on conservation linen and Baltic birch panel, 12 x 16”; North Star Art Gallery, Glenwood Winter, Ithaca, NY, oil on panel, 26 x 30”, by Brian Keeler; Jacalyn Beam, Beach Stroll, oil on conservation linen and Baltic birch panel, 11 x 14”; Eva Volf, Above and Below, oil on canvas, 48 x 48”

For artist Eva Volf, her whole life has been driven by a love of water. “Being a passionate swimmer and kayaker, I cherish the sense of timelessness and calmness that being in, on and by the water gives me, and I channel these feelings of tranquility and fulfillment into my luminous seascapes through oil on canvas,” she explains. “For me, the ocean contains the wisdom of life in its intricate foam patterns and secretive depths, and its infinitely changing character is a useful metaphor to keep life in perspective. I express my lifelong love for the ocean in paintings of breaking waves and picturesque headlands of the Maine Coast, dreamlike underwater scenes, inspired by snorkeling in South Florida, spectacular sunsets on the Gulf of Mexico and romantic sunrises in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, or silky, smooth water at the golden hour viewed from a kayak by Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.”Clockwise from top left: Eva Volf, Everglow, oil on canvas, 36 x 60”; North Star Art Gallery, October Etude, Salmon Creek, oil on linen, 30 x 30”, by Brian Keeler; Carolyn Hancock, Over and Above, soft pastel, 24 x 24”; Karen Anderer Fine Art, Misty Seascape, oil on board, 10 x 10”, by Georganna LenssenFrom bays and rivers to deep oceans, water has always been a part of Carolyn Hancock’s life as well. Growing up around the Gulf Coast taught her the feel of moving water. “Scuba diving and traveling in coastal countries showed me the infinite beauty and power of water,” she says. “Step into its edges and sand dissolves under your feet. Push a little further in and waves gently rock. Submerge to your neck and the force suddenly slaps over your head. Stand on a dock and soft waves hypnotize, allowing the mind to wander. I wanted to paint how water moves, believable, in my own vision of color and energy.Carolyn Hancock, Golden Sand, soft pastel, 16 x 20”

Karen Anderer Fine Art, Magic Hour, oil on board, 10 x 10”, by Georganna Lenssen.

Understanding that movement? Very complicated! But get it right and those lines and colors on a flat surface come to life.”

Georganna Lenssen’s work, represented by Karen Anderer Fine Art, is the culmination of response, absorption and interpretation of place or content. “A thread of commonality exists—from exquisitely patterned African wild dogs, to densely sensual frosted cakes, to the evocative nature of abandoned structures and the secrets within—like the multi-faceted richness of imagery of seascapes,” she says. “Opacities, transparencies and iridescences offer a myriad of painterly opportunities. Here is where instinct, memory and sensation merge for me, creating a visual language of mark-making, color interaction and finally the landscape of the painted surface.” —