Williams God Save the Queen
October 30 - December 1, 2019
“Glimpses” New Watercolors by Patricia Williams
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 - 8:30 pm
Hang with the Artists: Saturday, November 16, 2 - 4 pm
One feels a bit the voyeur when viewing Patricia Williams' latest watercolors. The vibrant still life paintings provide a glimpse into the artist's life, featuring personal objects, such as flowers and produce from her garden, shells from her favorite beach and well-worn scarves, along with rooms where she lives and paints. The brightly colored paintings are intimate, yet the viewer is kept at a distance by transparent washes and drips of color that partially obscure the images. Slashes of water-soluble graphite define shapes that are at once abstract and realistic.
“The transparency of the watercolor gives these paintings a feeling of light and airiness. They breathe,” says Touchstone Gallery Director Ksenia Grishkova. “It is as if the work continues to evolve and change as you look at it.”
Many of the paintings are small, reinforcing the feeling of intimacy. But the abstract quality of the drawing and application of paint raises the question of what is real, what is imagined and what is remembered. It is left to the viewer to decide.
This series was inspired by a class that explored the still lifes of artists such as Cezanne, Matisse and Demuth. "I think of myself as a landscape painter," Ms. Williams says, "and I do think that many of the paintings in this series look a little like landscapes. The class made me realize that there is more to the still life genre than is generally recognized, and I wanted to try my hand."