THE ARTIST BEHIND WATERCOLORWALL
Hi, my name is Ricardo and i am a graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, owner of a design agency in the Netherlands and the artist behind 'WatercolorWall' were i present and sell artprints of my watercolors.
I have been painting with watercolor for over 25 years. and i love to travel and discover our world. I have made travels to New Zealand, North and South America, Australia, Scandinavia and many European countries.
My paintings are mainly focussed on landscapes and (medieval) cityscapes. On location i develop a sketch or photo. And the composition that appeals to me most, i turn into a painting in my atelier. In addition to still lifes, i also create modern abstract paintings that often have a connection with nature, an emotion or a location i have visited.
Maps
Due to my interest in travel, topography and modern art, in 2016 i started making Artistic Cartography. This collection contains unique World Maps, Country and City Maps that i have drawn and painted by hand in modern, artistic and digital styles.
Even though my passion lies mainly in watercolor, i never stick to one medium or style. Instead of repetition, i always look for new ways and surprising angles to translate my ideas into unique and timeless walldecorations so that you can enjoy these work of art in your home or business interior.
As an illustrator and painter, i do all my creations by hand, and therefore i do not make use of software that generates images with Ai (Artificial Intelligence).
MY METHOD
'In order for me to create a certain atmosphere on the paper, i must have tasted the atmosphere first'. In my watercolors i show the location as i experienced it at that moment. I capture these moments by making an sketch or a photo.
'Realism in an illustrative style'
I do not paint in 'plain-air', but in my atelier. Here i have the space and resources to be able to paint (in large format) and, 'not unimportantly', to take the time to create a work. Because i spend an average of 20 hours painting a cityscape in a size of 70x50cm. I paint in a style that I call 'Realism in an illustrative style'.
I start a watercolor by stretching the watercolor paper. I do this by completely soaking the paper with water and then placing it on a plywood sheet. I stick the edges of the watercolor paper to the plywood with gum tape. After an overnight stay, when the paper and gum tape have completely dried and feel tight, i begin by sketching a detailed pencil drawing that i apply lightly to the paper. Once the lines are on paper, i then apply masking fluid (liquid latex) to the parts of the painting that should remain white. Once the masking fluid has dried, painting can begin.
I usually start by creating the sky, such as a blue sky with clouds, a starry sky or a beautiful sunset. I like to paint heavens with the wet-on-wet technique to create beautiful color transitions. When the paint has dried, the first transparent brushstrokes of the cityscape follow. My color palette consists of dozens of color shades, but in recent years i have delved into mixing colors. And that is why i find it very interesting and educational to be able to mix certain colors from the primary colors.
Watercolor has a typical transparency and always dries a lot lighter than when the paint is applied to the paper. It is therefore important that when painting the first layers, the elevation between paint and water is correct and the paint is properly diluted.
I mainly paint cityscapes using the wet-on-dry technique, where I apply wet paint to dry paper. I also like to work from light to dark, where a new layer of pigment is applied with each brushstroke to make the color increasingly intense.
Once this phase is completed it is time to paint the shadow areas. I mainly do this by applying cold colors such as blue and purple tones.
When the shadow areas have dried completely, it is time to paint the smallest details and thin lines. Consider, for example, the electricity cables above a farm road in France. Once the painting has dried, all that remains is to remove the masking fluid and erase any pencil lines.
Watch two making-of films of the painting process below.
The painting is completed and ready to be digitized in high resolution. Because the painting is still attached to the plywood and is still completely smooth, this is the moment to photograph the work. I digitize my work so that I can sell it in my webshop as a high-quality Artprint. In my webshop you can order my work as high-quality Art Print on Canvas, Aluminum, HD Metal, Framed Photo Print, Acrylic Glass, Seamless Airtex Wallpaper or as Art Frame (Print on Canvas with or without acoustic function).
WatercolorWall stands for creativity, originality and graphic excellence. Because I want to offer my customers the best quality and most beautiful wall decorations, i work together with the Dutch company Werk aan de Muur / Art Heroes who takes care of the production, shipping and customer service.
Creative greeting!
Ricardo Bouman
