MTC ART GALLERY

Watercolor Without Rules

by the Kay Russell Studio
& the City College of San Francisco Russellers

January 10 – March 1, 2013

MTC Offices
101 8th St.
Third Floor

Artist’s Statement

I am very fortunate to be the teacher of all the painters in this wonderfully diverse show. Some of them have been in class at City College of San Francisco for only two years, while others have been in my private studio for as long as 25 years. They all have in common a love of watercolor and a dedication to their work. Class becomes a community as they share ideas, problems, solutions and success. The group from City College of San Francisco, who named themselves “The Russellers,” was formed one summer when school was not in session. They wanted to stay together and paint regularly.

While classes thoroughly address the tradition of using the transparency of the paint, the main focus is to encourage personal vision and expression. “Watercolor Without Rules” refers to the fact that by doing away with unnecessary myths about watercolor process, we are more free to create. The rules are only options and they can be stifling for some painters. Examples are watercolor “must have whites,” “should be quick and light,” “doesn’t allow for any mistakes,” shouldn’t use gouache,” “shouldn’t be dark or grey,” etc. In class, we continually acquire information, but do not bow to these ideas which can be limiting in letting a creative, personal expression flow.

My students’ work varies widely as we study art history as a basis of knowledge and liberation. Well-known artists such as Homer, Sargent, Turner, Whistler and Burchfield (to name a few) did not abide by popular rules. Their work provides great evidence of personal choice used to achieve artistic goals. What great role models!

I look for the positive and personal qualities in each person’s paintings. As they progress, they work from that base to try to realize a successful, and sometimes surprising, outcome. I try to help them find the power to paint.
— Kay Russell, January 2013