I received an email last week telling me that August was Artist Appreciation Month. They asked if I might write a blog post honoring an artist who influenced me. Oh, how to choose, there are soooo many. But I have to go back to the very beginning and honor the master who inspired me to tolerate my first thousand (2 thousand?) bad paintings while I was learning. He made me want to paint well so badly. Winslow Homer.
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Homer - Fishing Boats, Key West
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When I discovered his Key West watercolors I was living on St. John in the Virgin Islands and these sights were all around me.
His paintings made me thirsty to learn watercolor.
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| Soon Start, watercolor, 4 x 7" |
This was one of my first.
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| Moonbeam at the Finish, pastel, 8 x 11 |
You can see how he influenced this one - one boat in shadow, the other catching the sun.
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| Homer - The Coral Divers, 1885 |
Without using gaudy color he caught the brilliant sun and light of the tropics.
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| Raising the Mast, watercolor, 11 x 14 |
Seeing his vision of what I was looking at honed my own.
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| Sail Abeam, oil on canvas, 30 x 30" |
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| Beach Lineup, pastel, 18 x 24" |
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| Homer - Hauling Anchor, Key West |
Even now, nearly 40 years after discovering his tropical watercolors, I am still mesmerized.
Thank you to Marietta Gregg at
Patience Brewster for prompting me to honor this giant.
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