In the March issue of Martha Stewart Living there is a visually endearing article about songbirds in the garden. Illustrated by Stan Fellows, the imagery depicts some of the northeast's most prized feathered singers in a collage of dreamy watercolours. Watercolours have always entranced me, especially those that take a modern or updated approach to the age-old painting technique. I think it's the aforementioned dreamy quality that attracts me, the creation of form and shadow using as few lines as possible. Stan Fellows has been an illustrator for 35 years and works primarily in watercolour. His work has appeared in numerous prestigious publications such as National Geographic, Harper's, The Atlantic and Field & Stream. He works monthly for the Wall Street Journal's wine column as well. Stan was kind enough to let me showcase some of his work, shown below. The article from the March issue of MSL is filled with watercolour imagery of birds. Stan, who is based in Minnesota, sells much of his artwork through the Campbell Steele Art Gallery and you can see several examples of his paintings on his blog. He also gives private lessons to individuals and small groups in the Iowa City area. I love Stan's use of perspective, light and composition. His work always seems to have a sense of movement. A sample from Stan's sketchbook reveals some of his notes. The unfinished spaces lend a lot of interest to the page. Again, a beautiful use of light and colour. The space surrounding the cutting board is only inferred but you get the depiction of morning sunlight streaming through a kitchen window with just a few simple brush strokes and the use of colour. The cleavers in Stan's paintings never seem to get finished! One of Stan's wine paintings, which are seen regularly in the Wall Street Journal.
