Gary Curtis

My watercolor still life paintings are reminiscent of 17th century Dutch oil paintings. The attention to detail is an effort to bring the viewer intimately into the work and emote a shared familiar experience. The subjects are carefully selected from the artist’s own collection of favorite things and carefully arranged in a dramatic design.

The paintings are unique since what has been traditionally produced in oil has been interpreted with watercolor paint. I work in traditional transparent watercolor on D’Archers 140lb. Rag paper. The painting is produced with natural kolinsky sable brushs. Since no opaque paints are used in the process, the white areas of the painting are simply the unpainted white paper that has been carefully left untouched. Each painting requires several layers, or glazes of color that creates the intensity of the objects painted. Each layer has to dry completely before the next glaze is applied. The process proceeds from the lightest colors to the darkest. The dark background is the last stage of the painting and must be carefully, yet quickly applied around the objects in the foreground. Because of the difficulty in making changes in the medium of watercolor, each painting has to be carefully planned and executed. In order to assure the quality of each piece, I work on one painting at a time from start to finish. I also mat and frame each finished painting.

I have recently added giclee reproductions to my body of work. I do a high-resolution scan of my original watercolors and then print the editions on 100% rag Somerset Velvet paper. The work is done on an Epson 7600 digital printer with pigmented Ultrachrome inks to guarantee the archival longevity. Each work is signed and numbered.