Meramec Choice Art: October 2021

Think about all the places around us where we see water! I imagine many of you played in water this summer, fished on the edge of a pond, splashed in the ocean, ran through a sprinkler, got caught in the rain or you may race on a swim team. Water is essential for life. Let's look at several artists inspired by water.

David Hockney Pool

Artist David Hockney is best known for creating art of California swimming pools and backyards. They look luminous--filled with light and shining. You might see this pool with brushstrokes again. Let me know if you do.

A Bigger Splash by David Hockney, acrylic on canvas, 1967

This painting is titled A Bigger Splash. Have you ever tried to make a bigger splash?

David worked with shades of blue and sheets of paper to create pools painted on paper. How many sheets of paper did he use here?

Sometimes he painted and other times David created Polaroid Photo Collages of pools and swimmers. Remember a collage is when an artist combines materials to create their art. Here, David joined photos together to make his picture. It's the same pool from above.

What is the view point in this painting? Where would we be standing in this painting?

Japanese painter and printmaker, Katsushika Hokusai, known simply as Hokusai

The well recognized waves in this work are sometimes mistakenly referred to as a tsunami (津波), but they are more accurately called okinami (沖波), great off-shore waves.

This Hokusai print shows the Oi River, one of the widest and most difficult waterways to cross. You'll notice patterns of waves and dots of foam. Because there was no bridge across the river, travelers had to be carried from one side to the other.

Impressionists used brushstrokes of blues to paint water.

The Port of Rotterdam by Paul Signac1907 - 1907

Look closely at the dashes of paint that Paul Signac dabbed onto his canvas to create these watery scenes.

Claude Monet also mastered water filled scenes featuring floating water lilies from his garden pond.

Clusters of lilies float on a his pond's surface composed of violets, blues, and greens in this mural–sized painting by Claude Monet.

Calida Rawles beautifully captures water in these floating portraits. If Calida creates PORTRAITS, what should we expect to see?

Five years ago, Calida learned to swim for exercise. She felt lighter and better after leaving the pool, no matter what issues she was thinking out before she jumped into the water. This led her to begin using water as a way to show healing”