Watercolourists – by Alex Purves

Alex Purves gave an illustrated talk on watercolourists to over thirty members of Pateley Bridge Art Club . He ran a slide show of over 70 watercolour paintings, many influential from the 16th century to modern times covering a wide range of styles and subjects.

Durer was one of the early landscape painter in watercolour, most paintings being in oils or body colour. Alex showed two paintings from 1502/3, Young Hare and Great Piece of Turf.

Alex illustrated a landscape by Claude Lorraine, a Rembrandt pen and wash and buildings by Caneletto.
Another artist, Paul Sandby from Nottingham, was a major influence in the 18th century. He painted this view of a scottish castle.

The artist James Gilray painted satirical cartoons, like this famous political one of Pitt and Napoleon carving a Plumb-pudding representing the world.

Alex illustrated watercolours by Thomas Girtin and his rival JMW Turner. Turner experimented many techniques including applying paint and ink to very wet paper and used tinted papers.
He painted Norham Castle several times. His later paintings became less detailed.

Many watercolour artists had the profitable follow up market for engravings when creating their paintings, including Turner.

Alex also showed paintings by John Ruskin in Venice and the major watercolourist, John Sell Cotman, with his famous view of a river bridge.

He alsso showed paintings by Henry John Boddington, Samual Palmer and John Constable. This is Constable’s painting of stonehenge.

Alex talked about Arthur Melville, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Russell Flint, Ron Ransom, Rowland Hilder and John Yardley.
He also discussed the war artists Albert Richards, John Worsley, John Piper, Edward Wesson and Norma Bull. He showed their varied work in two wars.
This is a painting by Norma Bull of a war damaged hospital.

He showed painting by modern artists, William Heaton Cooper and Len Tabner and many others. This is one of hundreds of Tabner’s images of Boulby Potash mine.

Alex also brought some of his own paintings.

It was another interesting talk by an expert in painters and paintings.

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