Charming Three 2015

Curator: Right now, we’re looking at Bernadette Resha’s watercolor piece from 2015, "Charming Three." It seems to capture a specific moment through the plein-air technique. Editor: Oh, goodness, those sunflowers are practically bursting off the paper with sunshine! They make me feel like I'm peeking out from under a wide-brimmed hat on a summer day. A pure dose of joy. Curator: It's fascinating how she uses watercolor to convey such volume. Looking at the petals, you can see how the layering creates a sense of depth and texture. Considering that it’s a plein-air work, it probably meant that the artist captured a quick and immersive engagement with her direct surroundings, and used the fast-drying features of watercolors to finish it on location. Editor: Absolutely. And those streaks of light in the background... almost feel a bit whimsical, maybe even a little too literal? Yet they add this optimistic counterbalance, this ethereal layer, as if blessing the scene with pure summer bliss. What are your thoughts about that peculiar compositional element? Curator: Well, considering her location and time period when she created this art, the artist likely intended to capture the fleeting effects of sunlight on the sunflowers, thus emphasizing immediacy, but it still seems as if her intention has left us a lot to desire. What resonates the most to me is how she transforms something like a field of sunflowers into this figural composition. There's this dynamic exchange between the individual elements of nature and figuration, all achieved with pretty rudimentary supplies and little labor time invested. Editor: That’s lovely... and practical. Now I imagine Resha lugging her supplies out into a field, and how many quick washes went into catching the essence of those beauties. There is some beautiful textural exploration present with the stippling effect and varied brushwork for those sunflower centers. You feel the weight and pollen, really getting into their nitty-gritty of life in the height of summer. Curator: Exactly! By emphasizing material and practical dimensions, the work reflects an attitude of the artist, who wasn't so concerned about timeless universal values and more about representing a concrete impression made by reality. Editor: Indeed! I’m leaving this artwork with that sense of an actual summer’s moment, rendered right before my very eyes! Curator: I'll also cherish that image in my memory. Thinking more deeply about production and its setting really amplified how nature can act as material itself when creating artworks.