https://stankurth.com
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Watercolor Artist Magazine article by John Parks
Watercolor Artist Magazine Article by Ann Hevener
The Art of Watercolour Magazine Article by Sarah Winkler
Intuitive painting, for me, is about embracing feeling and instinct. I begin my work without any preliminary thoughts or plans for a specific object or subject. Starting with a blank substrate, I make marks using a variety of tools, creating a library of design elements and applying design principles until a personal aesthetic is achieved. I do not use any external reference.
Early marks are often random, though lines or shapes of thoughts sometimes emerge. These repetitive forms are my archetypes. You may find vague human anatomy, non-specific animals, interiors, buildings, furniture, vessels, surreal botanicals, automobile parts, and various objects that have piqued my interest over a lifetime. These shapes, though familiar, remain ambiguous enough to allow the viewer to craft a personal narrative. This ambiguity, whether intentional or not, invites mystery and intrigue over the obvious.
As the painting progresses, more elements, including color, are introduced. Initially random, these elements gradually shift towards a cohesive design. A dominant color temperature may emerge, or a glaze might unify the underlying colors. Values can shift to dominant light, mid, or dark tones. Elements are enhanced, obscured, or covered up, often revealing glimpses of the painting’s beginnings through multiple layers. I use various tools—brushes, palette knives, scrapers, sticks, sandpaper, my hands, my fingernails, and more—to apply and remove pigment in varying degrees. Over time, principles such as rhythm, harmony, unity, pattern, gradient, conflict, dominance, contrast, balance, repetition, alternation, and movement coalesce into a composition I find aesthetically pleasing.
Creating a pretty picture is one thing; engaging the viewer with a dynamic composition and holding their attention with compelling content is quite another. My objective is to evoke a pleasing visceral response from the viewer.
"There's a complex simplicity in Stan Kurth's paintings that is both paradoxical and straightforward. As he works with multiple layers of watercolor and gesso, his provocative images emerge. Ambiguity and form coalesce into a singular, cohesive vision that holds the viewer spellbound"
Betsy Dillard Stroud - Watercolor Masters and Legends: Secrets, Stories and Techniques from 34 Visionary Artists
Coastal Anxiety #24
Coastal Anxiety No.42
Windowpane No. 75 - 15 X 15 inches - Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper
Coastal Anxiety No.35 - 21 X 24 inches - Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper
Windowpane No.36 - 15 X 15 inches - Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper
Windowpane No.37 - 15 X 15 inches - Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper