5 BEST Watercolor Painters & Why | Painting Masters 30 SPECIAL

Sup Liron here and to celebrate episode 30 of Painting Masters series in this video I'm gonna talk to you about my top 5 favorite watercolor painters. Now a bit of a disclaimer before we get started. Number one, this is my personal list It will not represent probably anyone else's list because this is so personal. And disclaimer number two These aren't necessarily even the most technically skilled artists But these are the artists whose style I like and connect with the most. With that being said, let's get started So let's get started with my number five and for this one I will admit I cheated a little. For five I chose Jasmine Huang and Qian Chung Wei. Now I know I know these are two artists, not one But they are married and their styles are so similar that I just had to include them both Really it's hard for me to make that differentiation What makes them both make the list for me is the combination of incredible skill and technique combined with a very interesting Vision. I just love how they represent the subjects in their paintings There's a high level of finesse when it comes to the composition. Every element is unique This is especially notable in their urban paintings you can just see how much thought was put into placing all the Electricity poles in different distances to avoid repetitiveness Another thing I absolutely love about their work is the impeccable sense of light and shadow Which is one of the things I enjoy the most personally in painting and also in Observing art. If I had to make some distinction between the two of them It would be difficult But I will say that Qian Chung Wei tends to have a little more sharpness To his works and you notice it in his use of dry brush as well as how he Scratches out a lot of highlights for wires and things of that nature Jasmine is a little more fine-tuned when it comes to that and her paintings seem to flow a little more in that regard Her subject selection is also a little different She goes more for florals, still lifes and interior scenes than Qian Chung Wei does. At least That's how it seemed to me based on the sample of paintings I personally looked at. But regardless these two artists have really impressed me and Expanded my perception of what is possible with watercolor painting and for these reasons this Watercolor powerhouse of a couple takes the fifth place in my list. Now on to number four Taking number four in my list is Wendy Artin and when building this list I found myself constantly returning to her. This surprised me as I only discovered her art Recently, but I couldn't ignore my intuition and had to include her here. For me Wendy's art brings something a little different to the table. Something in her interpretation of scenes Fascinates me. Her representation of her subject matter is very pure I'm not 100% sure what it means But that's the word that comes to my mind when I think of her art She represents her subjects in a clear manner and with little stylization But the subtle abstraction she does utilize leads to a beautiful result One thing I really loved about her art is the range. She paints subjects that greatly vary in complexity Some of the cityscapes she paints are very complex while others are rather simple such as a few trees only But in all examples, she skillfully handles it. I also love her work process She does a lot of figurative work that's very on point and the way she approaches these fascinate me as well She doesn't do a preparatory sketch for the most part She says she observes the shapes created by light and shadow and then paints them as she sees them I think that's why I believe her impression is pure and clean She also works mostly from live models. Now when I first stumbled upon her cityscapes and landscapes I was amazed at the level of details and accuracy and then when I figured out how she does it I was even more impressed. From a short video I watched on her She mentions she doesn't finish her plein air work in one sitting She actually goes back to the same spot at the same time of day and continues developing it That's the first time I heard of a watercolor painter doing that. I'm sure others do too But for me, this was a first. This was a new discovery and it made me think Why shouldn't I do the same thing? And one last point to wrap this up regarding her impressionism She represents scenes very accurately, but looking at them doesn't feel like you're being spoon-fed She still leaves a lot out in order to allow us, the viewers, the opportunity to take part in her art and fill in the details for ourselves. And for all those reasons, Wendy Arden takes the fourth place on my list Third place Joseph Zbukwicz. What can I say? The Z Master is quite special and you probably guessed he's going to be up there on my list Joseph Zbukwicz is one of my personal all-time favorite watercolor painters I remember discovering his art for the very first time and knowing immediately That's what I want to do. Up until that point you have to realize I didn't even know I was going for impressionism I simply painted. I had no idea this is the style or genre I want to paint it Yep, that was quite early on in my watercolor journey What makes Joseph's work unique in my opinion is the incredible sense of detail, scale, and weather He represents all of these beautifully and very accurately I know he gets a lot of criticism for his overly gray style But I actually prefer that over his more recent more colorful work. Now as I mentioned I think he is a master of details He always says that the details are only the final touches of the painting and what makes it look good is the large shapes and Composition. And while I agree with that I do want to give him due credit for his excellent detailing skills The way he paints tons of small chimneys on top of buildings rooftops is such a beauty or how he represents old European architecture alongside its impressive statues Dormers and curves. The figures and cars in his drawings are very interesting and distinct as well He's also probably one of the artists who makes painting look deceptively easy And one last bit about his weather, mood, and atmosphere. His ability to tell a story in that regard is stunning You can immediately tell what's a sunny day, hazy day, rainy day, all kinds of days And when you combine that with his excellent composition and sense of depth you get a winner Joseph Z is one of my first watercolor loves and for that reason he takes the third place on my list Number two, Alvaro Castanet This is another no-brainer for me that I'm sure you expected on this list I learned so much not only from his work, but also from his words I listened to a couple of interviews with him on podcasts and you can easily tell he is dedicated to depth in art Painting for him is a means of searching for and perhaps expressing the ideal, the epitome of human accomplishment It's both the chase after that perfect scene and the success of capturing one that's congruent with your vision That seemed to lead him. He taught me that an artist must have above all Sensitivity to their subject matter. The painting process is actually a communication process between you and the subject Now technique-wise, he's definitely among the more impressive artists I've seen. I view him as kind of a more abstract and more colorful version of Joseph Zbukovic He tells the same quality of story, but with slightly fewer details He's a little less literal, so to speak, than Joseph Zbukovic Interestingly enough and unlike Joseph Z, my favorites of his are the more colorful scenes I think that's where he's at his best You want to check out his older works from Havana, New York and Antwerp to see what I mean as well as interiors of Cafes. One of the things I love the most about his artwork is the efficient and effective brushwork He clearly makes every brushstroke count and nothing is in excess These skills alongside his unique flair and charisma make him a very unique artist and an interesting teacher Just like the other artists on this list He also opened up my eyes to what's possible in watercolor painting and also the type of art I personally want to make and for that reason he takes the second place on my list And now drumrolls, please. It is time for the first place the artist that makes number one on my list is Me that's right. Number one on my list is Leroy Jankowski. Let me tell you about this artist. I love his paintings I love his pencil pen sketches his YouTube tutorials, and that's my message for you today It's great to get inspired by others to adore and worship Quote-unquote other artists But the main thing I think is to love your own art and to become your own biggest fan You know, the golden rule is do unto others as you would have them do unto you Well in today's society I feel like many people actually have more compassion and more kindness and patience with other people and not enough with themselves So if you're one of these kind souls I want you to reverse that today and give yourself as much credit patience kindness as you give to others So this is my positive message for you today If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and also subscribe I have tons of videos like this one and I'm posting three a week. I have for you tutorials everything fresh So thank you so much for watching and I will see you again in another vid real soon