A Stunning Range of Styles and Approaches

The subtitle of this 19th edition of Splash is "Illusion of Light", and the works displayed in it have been selected to illustrate, one way or another, how the illusion of light "gives a painting its soul". The book includes paintings from more than 125 contemporary artists, selected from thousands of entries. Each painting is accompanied by a caption that briefly discusses the artist's inspirations and techniques.

While all of the work in this collection is worth being studied and admired, (the index in the back makes it clear that each of the works was declared best in show at different exhibitions all over the country), there is one section in particular that just floored me. About a third of the way in is Chapter 4, "Faces and Figures". This chapter is intended to be about the emotional effects of light as an aid to expressing something about a human subject. Fine, I got that. But what most impressed me was the incredible range of representations that were displayed by virtue of application of different paints and techniques. A few portraits are almost photorealistic, and the collection moves from there to impressionistic works, and everything in between. The array of different techniques on display is almost mind boggling.

And that's just Chapter 4. Another favorite was the chapter on "Vehicles and Devices", which lent itself nicely to the the book's lighting theme because so many of the surfaces represented were highly polished or reflective, which created great challenges and opportunities for playing with intense or shifting light and shadow.

Additional chapters were themed around cities and towns, (which included a number of nocturnes), fur and feathers, inside scenes, landscapes, and of course fruit of the shiniest varieties. There was something in each collection to inspire and delight. These watercolor artists have proven themselves true "painters of light" and this collection will impress and inspire any admirer of the form.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)