Watercolor Cover Competition Winner:

Kory Fluckiger

Kory Fluckiger seldom paints a scene, but rather seeks to isolate the subject. "I choose a subject more for the way it interests me than for how it interacts or relates to a given environment," he explains. Fascinated by the details in natural forms, Fluckiger tries to capture an element of life and avoid, as he puts it, "artificially created things."

To begin, he sketches various compositions of the subject, usually allowing small parts to extend beyond the edge. He remains especially aware of the negative space and seeks to fill that space with "thought, not stuff, " he says. "What is the point of painting a picture of a beautiful subject without offering a place for one’ s eye to sit and rest, to process what it has seen?" Fluckiger then seeks out his reference object, sets it up without regard to the background, and photographs it.

His painting process begins by drawing the composition on stretched watercolor paper. He sometimes masks the foreground subject at this point so that he can freely explore the background, which is entirely invented. Frequently he airbrushes the background with watercolor paint to create smooth gradations that visually lift the subject off the background. "Watercolor as a medium is so inherently flat that I seek to give my paintings more depth than the medium is generally given credit for being able to produce," the artist explains. Next, he builds up the painting with a series of controlled washes in individual spaces, adding details later. "I always paint the area I am about to wash in clear, clean water first," he describes. "Then I simply touch in the colors and let the water do the rest."

American Artist Watercolor magazine, Spring 2007

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