An Elegant Dance

Rukiye Garip was the Grand Prize Winner in International Artist magazine’s Challenge No. 144 Seascapes, Rivers & Lakes.

Rukiye Garip is inspired by the natural world. Working primarily in watercolor, the artist captures intimate moments in nature, from little river rocks in a pool of clear water, to the first fallen leaves of autumn, to salmon making ripples in a pond.

Fishing, watercolor, 22 x 30"

“My paintings are inspired by both soothing and provocative aspects of nature. Tranquil elements such as still transparent water, soft sand, moss [and] autumn leaves give me a sense of happiness and peace, while the dynamism of bare rocks, steep slopes and thermal movements evoke an exciting sense of movement, energy, exhilaration and wonder,” she says. “When juxtaposed with the robotic, artificial and exhausting aspects of city life, I want to remind people of this stimulating quality of nature.” Garip adds that it is extremely important to her to evoke a deep emotional connection with her subject matter—a connection she hopes resonates with audiences as well.

Stony Creek, watercolor, 30 x 22"

Autumn Tranquillity, watercolor, 22 x 14"

Garip’s artwork is grounded in realism, but she’s not beholden to any particular style. Rather, she is guided by an emotional reverence for the earthly subjects she depicts, and her preferred medium of watercolor lends itself well to that free and spontaneous approach. “The splendor of nature, its order, its beauty…imposes itself on me to embody it in its realistic form that I feel with all my emotions. This spontaneous, innate admiration for nature makes me care about every detail. I think that what makes each one of them meaningful among the crowd, what distinguishes them from the others, is their details. All beings in nature bear all the traces of their lives on them. Every stone, every leaf, every tree, every human being.”

Stony Sea, watercolor, 30 x 22"

Boats, watercolor, 30 x 22"

She continues, “Being free, original and transparent are what I care about in terms of watercolor technique and style…The dynamism, fluidity and transparent effect of watercolor is the same as what water makes me feel. It is a beautiful metaphor that water, which is the common raw material of both watercolor paintings and the subjects I choose to paint, transforms one into the other on paper through art. Working with watercolor is like participating in an elegant dance or symphony, flowing and blending to create a harmonious whole.”

Paintings like Stony Creek, Seashore and Stony Seaeach depict the movement and feeling of water in various forms—a gently rushing creek, water quietly lapping in a shallow, pebble-filled shoreline, and ocean waves crashing against jagged rocks.