Watercolor Analysis: Morning at Dukes by Eileen Mccullough

Morning at Dukes Annie Sturm
Eileen McCullough Watercolor 1
Huntington Beach Art League
Central Library Exhibition

The two main watercolor techniques used in the painting are glazing and wet into wet. Glazing is an essential part of this landscape to show deep pictorial space, specifically with the palm trees. The effect glazing and wet into wet have together plays a strong role of setting the atmosphere in this painting. Wet into wet then glazing go hand in hand by using the light washes as a good background for glazing to begin.

The vertical windows on the building are the focal point of the painting. It is located on the center of the horizon. What makes us focus on this particular area of the painting is the contrast between the white areas that are framed by the darker values such as the palm trees and other exteriors of the building.

The mood of this painting is created by, in my opinion, a thought-provoking combination. Although glazing and wet into wet is compatible couple of techniques, the usage of them in this particular painting are so visually diverse. The soft edged light pastel colors established by the wet into wet technique gives a soft and hazy mood. In contrast, the glazing technique uses bolder color with hard edge horizontal and vertical shapes, which creates an energetic mood. McCullough did an excellent job of using tone and edges to create a mood of morning at the beach.

Since the landscape is portraying the morning, I think that it was appropriate of the artist to make it high key. There are still a good amount of dark values, but the painting still appears to be dominating in light values. Since there are dark values not to go unnoticed, this creates a high value contrast. The high value contrast creates a more energetic, rather than dramatic mood, in the painting. The artist used these tools to support the morning atmosphere.

McCullough has excelled in controlling technique, color, and value to evoke an image to the viewer. More specific elements of design used are color, value, and shape. I have noticed that these design elements are commonly found in landscapes. These visual components assist the artist to successfully convey mood, naturalism, and first place recognition.