If you love watercolor and you can’t get enough of whales, you’ll want to check out these fine art prints by Rachel Byler. The Pennsylvania-based artists creates lovely paintings of whales playing just under the surface of the water.
Byler states why she loves to work with watercolor on her website, “Although I love all types of art, I am particularly drawn to watercolor because of the versatility that it allows as far as being able to pick up and paint wherever. I love having to work with the flow of the water. The most beautiful washes and blooms come about when you give more control to the movement of the water.”
Using only black and white watercolors, Jakarta-based artist and graphic designer Elicia Edijanto creates breathtaking paintings that show the unique connection between children and animals. In her dream-like scenes, small, young children stand alongside wild animals like bears, elephants and buffalo. The juxtaposition makes each painting feel surreal in a tranquil, contemplative way. “There’s an innate relationship between children and the animal kingdom,” she states. “Our children sing songs about animals, they have toy animals, they have books about animals and they dream about animals.”
I got the rare chance to interview Edijanto on her background and technique, which you can read about below.
How did you learn how to watercolor? Are you self-taught?
I learned it all by myself. I practice a lot, and I try and explore different things. I sometimes like to watch YouTube or other artists’ paintings to know more about their techniques.
How many years have you been painting?
I’ve been painting since childhood. As I grew up, I painted occasionally. I majored in design at my university so that kept me close to art and the creative world. It allowed me to have more time and a chance to work on paintings. Slowly but surely, it got more and more serious, and now I thank God that I’m able to do what I love while supporting my life as well.
How has your watercoloring changed over the past year?
Actually it hasn’t changed a lot. The concept and message, even the style are still the same. There are still a lot of things that I can explore, and I don’t want to rush to move into another different ground. However, for the past year, I’ve tried to picture different kinds of atmosphere in my paintings. From silence to chaos, from mild to wild. I’ve also learned more about many animals, their characteristics, and what they represent.
What are some of the special techniques you use?
I’m depending a lot on watercolor’s fluidness. In fact, I don’t do much, I just wet the paper with water, put on some amount of watercolor, and then just let it flow and make its own shapes. Just like in real life, we can’t control everything. Sometimes we have to let things go their way. Let it be. Sometimes I like using a sprayer and other tools to achieve particular effects.
Why do you only paint in black and white?
Colors can have both its advantages and drawbacks. I believe that the effect of colors on people is subjective. It can enhance the beauty and message of an artwork, but sometimes, it can also mislead you. In my case, I want people to focus on the essentials in my paintings, the emotions, the atmosphere. I want to focus on those things and leave out the colors. But this doesn’t mean I won’t use colors on my paintings in the future. I love colors. It’s just how you carry it out with the message you want to send.
You can find more of Edijanto’s art on Behance or buy prints of Edijanto’s paintings over on Lumarte. Love her work.
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
