Naturalistic Still-life Drawings and Watercolors

This exquisite watercolor by Swedish artist Olle Hjortzberg is a testament to the beauty that lies in simplicity. Depicting a modest bouquet of summer flowers, this piece evokes a se...

'Blue Bowl' by JACQUELINE RIZVI born 1944 NEAC, R.W.S., R.B.A. Pencil, watercolour, bodycolour on paper, 4.75 x 6 ins, titled and artist noted verso. Provenance: Ex Collection ...

Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo creates dynamic compositions of people and places that communicate a rich commentary on the world around him. Depicting trees from personal encounters, Surdo’s latest body of work entitled “Tree Spirits” takes us on a foray into the forest, where leaves, branches and burls express something deeply personal. Applying his mastery of figurative realism to the natural world, he experiments with form and texture to uncover the intangible spirits of trees. This charcoal drawing entitled “Memory of Leaves” beautifully illustrates the branching form of a mature birch tree. Loosely drawn with informal, sketch-like linework, the tree is shown in the middle of winter, bare of leaves and white with frost. Surdo’s skillful placement of shadow illustrates the forking branches with incredible texture and effortless realism. The intricate play of light and dark is accentuated by the stark white background, a negative space that isolates the tree in space and time. Restricting the composition to only a portion of the tree trunk, Surdo accentuates the tree’s abstract form, lingering on areas of unusual shape or texture. Seeking to convey the strong emotional response elicited by his initial encounter with the tree, Surdo focuses on the tree’s sculptural form, contrasting the strong trunk...

Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo creates dynamic compositions of people and places that communicate a rich commentary on the world around him. Depicting trees from personal encounters, Surdo’s latest body of work entitled “Tree Spirits” takes us on a foray into the forest, where leaves, branches and burls express something deeply personal. Applying his mastery of figurative realism to the natural world, he experiments with form and texture to uncover the intangible spirits of trees. Entitled “Faith,” this small-scale charcoal drawing depicts a tree trunk carved with two deep cuts in the shape of a cross. The carving has healed over, assimilated into the bark as just another interesting detail. Up close, the work is loosely drawn with a heavy hand, but from afar, the natural scene still achieves a sense of realism. The tree trunk is conveyed through chaotic scribbling and aggressive strokes of light and dark charcoal, resulting in a pattern that simulates the rough texture of bark. Light falls softly on the tree, illuminating its form against the dark, atmospheric surroundings. The striking imagery of this work conveys the strong emotional response elicited by Surdo’s personal encounter with this tree. Restricting the composition to only the scarred portion of the tree trunk, Surdo focuses on symbolism of the cross carved into the tree’s side. The carving was inflicted upon the tree by an individual, whether as an act of graffiti or the object of adoration. Despite this wound, the tree persists and grows, adapting and changing until the mark is but another interesting detail. The tree’s spirit endures and speaks to the strength it takes to heal oneself, whether physically or mentally. Charcoal on paper...

Hans Richard von Volkmann (1860 Halle (Saale) - 1927 ibid.), Clay jug on a bench. Pencil and Watercolour on paper. 20 x 26,7 cm (visible size), 37 x 45 cm (frame), dated and monogrammed lower left "Februar 1890 - HR. V. V." - Minimally tanned. Framed behind glass in a passepartout. About the artwork Using the technique of his early youth - pencil and watercolour - Hans Richard von Volkmann depicts a still life. However, this is not a conventional indoor still life, but an open-air depiction, painted outdoors and not in the studio. It is therefore an open-air painting, characteristic of von Volkmann's oeuvre, which could have been painted in the Willingshausen colony of painters, where open-air painting was programmatically practised there and the artist stayed there that year. And indeed, this painting is a manifesto of open-air painting. Von Volkmann demonstrates that leaving the studio for the light of nature leads to an entirely new quality of art. To prove this, he uses the genre of still life, which can be described as the studio subject par excellence. Moreover, light plays an essential role in the classical still life. It is the real protagonist of the still life. And it is precisely this moment, essential to the still life, that von Volkmann exploits to demonstrate the potential of plein-air painting: He presents the objects as they appear in the sunlight. The date of February and the bare branches in the foreground make it clear that this is a clear winter day in bright sunlight. The delicate plant in the foreground casts a clearly defined shadow, as does the jug. However, the shadow is most pronounced on the jug itself: The underside of the handle appears almost black, making the top, and therefore the jug itself, shine all the more brightly. The shining of the objects in the sunlight is also visible on the bench. As complementary phenomena to the shadow zones, light edges can be seen on the boards of the seats and the upper foot of the bench shines entirely in the light. To achieve this intensity of light, von Volkmann activated the bright white of the painting ground. By depicting the objects in glistening sunlight, von Volkmann demonstrates that this quality of light is only to be found outdoors. And this light leads to a new way of looking at the objects themselves. The jug on the bench seems like an accidental arrangement, as if the artist had stumbled upon this unintentional still life and captured it with fascination. And in this fascination there is a moment of realisation that refers to the objects themselves. It is only when they shine brightly in the sunlight that their true nature is revealed. In this way, sunlight allows the objects to come into their own, so to speak. Sunlight, which is not present in the studio, gives the still life an entirely new dimension of reality, which is also reflected in the colours interwoven by the sunlight: The bench and the jug stand in a harmonious grey-pink contrast to the green of the implied meadow. The emphasis on the jug as the central subject of the picture also implies that the watercolour has not been completed. This non finito inscribes a processuality into the picture, making it clear that something processual has been depicted, the temporality of which has been made artistically permanent. This is why von Volkmann signed the painting and dated it to the month. About the Artist Von Volkmann made his first artistic attempts at the age of 14. He painted many watercolours of his home town of Halle. This laid the foundation for his later outdoor painting. In 1880 his autodidactic beginnings were professionalised with his admission to the Düsseldorf Art Academy. There he studied under Hugo Crola, Heinrich Lauenstein, Johann Peter Theodor Janssen and Eduard von Gebhardt until 1888. Von Volkmann then moved to the Karlsruhe Academy, where he was Gustav Schönleber's master pupil until 1892. In 1883 he came for the first time to Willingshausen, Germany's oldest painters' colony, at the suggestion of his student friend Adolf Lins...

Delicacy by Jo Haran [2020] original Watercolour, gouache and gesso Image size: H:36.5 cm x W:49 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:38 cm x W:50.7 cm x D:0...

Woodland Stems on Dark by Jo Haran [2021] original Gouache, watercolour ink and gesso. Image size: H:64 cm x W:47.3 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:67 cm x W:50.7 cm x D:0.01cm...

Charles De Wolf Brownell (American, 1822 - 1909) Watercolor on paper depicting a pumpkin on a flowering vine Hand dated and inscribed "Lyme ...

Charles De Wolf Brownell (American, 1822 - 1909) Watercolor on paper of maple leaves against the sky, Hand dated and inscribed "Papaw - E.H....

Charles De Wolf Brownell (American, 1822 - 1909) Watercolor on paper depicting several plants in close proximity Hand dated and inscribed "Br...

Artist Commentary: Delicate Texas wildflower. Keywords: Landscape and Nature Artist Biography: Judith grew up 15 miles north of Milwaukee in the town of Mequon, Wisconsin, an old ...

Dancing Stems by Jo Haran [2020] original Gouache, watercolour ink and gesso. Image size: H:53.2 cm x W:62 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:56 cm x W:64.5 cm x D:0.01cm Sold Unframed Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look 'Dancing Stems' by Jo Haran is an original paitnng of lively rose stems and dark inky leaves in a dynamic composition. I used touches of neon pink acrylic...

Artist Commentary: This painting was generated purely by imagination and imagery that I am drawn to. Keywords: Landscape & nature Artist Biography: Judith grew up 15 miles north o...

Janet Skea (born 1947) Still life of strawberries Signed Watercolour 10.75 x 12 inches 19 x 20 inches with frame An incredibly highly detailed still life of a bowl of sumptuous stra...

Muted Cascade by Jo Haran [2021] original Gouache, watercolour ink and gesso. Image size: H:53.5 cm x W:38.4 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:40.5 cm x W:56 cm x D:0.01cm Sold U...

Christoper Ryland (born 1951) Still life of freesia Watercolour 16 x 23 inches Christopher Ryland's flower paintings are in collections all over th...

[CHINESE SCHOOL]. Group of Eight Exotic Fruit. 19th century, c.1880. Group of eight watercolour and gouache pith papers of Exotic Fruits, edged in turquoise silk ribbon and laid ...

Signed lower right, 'Laura Hills' for Laura Coombs Hills (American, 1859-1952) and created circa 1915. Laura Coombs Hills first studied at the Cowles Art School in Boston, the New Y...

Christoper Ryland (born 1951) Three yellow tulips Signed Watercolour 15½ x12¼ inches A really striking example with the eye-catching contrast of the brilliant yellow tulips against an inky blue background. Christopher Ryland...

Flowers is an original orangish drawing in pastel realized by Gustave Bourgogne, Hand-signed by the artist on the rear. The State of preservation is good. Sheet dimension: 59 x 46 ...

In this drawing, Sylvia Spicuzza presents the viewer with a dark, subtle view of a milkweed pod, bursting forth with cotton. Examples like this show the ...

Flowers in a bowl original watercolor English 1905 Signed with the initials JCB 1905 One of two we have by the same artist which is listed separately By an accomplished artist very w...

Flowers in a bowl original watercolor English 1905 Signed with the initials JCB 1905 One of two we have by the same artist which is listed separately By an accomplished artist very w...

'Mademoiselle' is a sophisticated subdued, yellow and cream with green and brown still life orchid composition. The botanical watercolor created by a...

Sophisticated contemporary floral botanical watercolor of a Bat Flower crated by Adrienne Sherman, whose poetic floral series is at once modern, f...

White Emblem Orchid featured in a sophisticated monochromatic grey indigo botanical watercolor crated by artist Adrienne Sherman. Her poetic floral series is at once modern, fresh an...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remarkab...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...

A Collection of Botanical Watercolours: Drawings of British Plants Emily Stackhouse (1811-1870) perfectly illustrates the Victorian fascination with the countryside in this remark...