Gary Tucker, a national-level artist from Boston, gave a 4-day semi-annual Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society (NFWS) workshop from 10/14-17. (The NFWS invites accomplished artists a couple of times a year to give a demonstration, teach a workshop, and jury member shows.)

Tucker’s work is informed by sumi-e conventions. Sumi-e painting is a Japanese art that is part calligraphy and part drawing. You paint on unsized paper, so every stroke has to be very direct. I’m familiar with sumi-e from a long time ago, and it has definitely informed my own watercolor style. It was exciting to revisit it with such an accomplished master of the technique.

As a long-time teacher, I continue to take workshops to find fresh techniques and ways to present material. I’ve been thinking about this concept from Gary’s workshop, that when he’s analyzing what’s happening in color in a scene, rather than concentrate on ‘warm’ or ‘cool’, he picks a ‘mother color’ and makes sure that it moves throughout the painting.

I’ve attached my value study and a more finished piece from the workshop from a reference Gary provided. I confess I don’t prefer to do buildings, but it’s always good to stretch your skills. I really admire the brush skills it takes to do sumi-e, and wanted to ask him how he encourages students to get the most use from a brush, but it was a packed workshop, and I didn’t get the chance.

Maybe next time.