Watercolour on Location DVD, Joseph Zbukvic

"It almost hurts to see how Joseph, with a few brush strokes, delivers such beautiful watercolors, but then you are inspired to apply his many lessons. Love it."

– Michael Wilson

"WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION
JOSEPH ZBUKVIC
A Film Review by Jim Salchak

The year 2002 was the first time I discovered the work of Australian artist Joseph Zbukvic. That was the year his book, ?Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor,? was published by International Artist. He quickly became one of my favorite artists. I loved his loose landscape and city scenes that are so fresh and full of atmosphere.

Internationally renowned artist Robert Wade wrote in the book?s forward, ?All great painters have had an obsession with light and its influence and Joseph is no exception. His Ability to convey a magical mood and atmosphere in whatever subject he is painting and his great versatility in tackling many different subjects, from landscapes to race horses, has created a special place for him in Australian watercolor.?

Not long after the release of the book a very well done video was released with the same title as the book. This film had Zbukvic painting in Australia and Venice, Italy.

This review focuses on a new film featuring Zbukvic, released on both video and DVD format, entitled ?Watercolor on Location.? In the introduction filmed at his studio in Fitzroy, Zbukvic talks about the importance of working on location as much as possible and developing a visual language that allows the artist to paint a shape the quickest way with watercolor and a brush. He says, ?That is the secret of it.? He believes the economy of the brush stroke, establishing the final effect in the first stroke and leaving it, has wonderful energy about it.

In this film Zbukvic does a painting at five different locations. The first one is of an
old slipway at the harbor in Queenscliff on a very windy day. Here he paints a building on piles, boats in the water and abstracts a portion of the harbor structure showing how little detail is necessary and still have appear credible.

The next demo is also at Queenscliff and the subject is an open field with some buildings and beautiful cypress trees. Watching him paint the trees alone is worth the price of the film. The foreground field is created by dropping pigment into the first wet wash and letting the medium do its own thing and the result looks like the nature before him.

The third painting is a Melbourne street scene done near his studio. In this demo he emphasized the need for a good drawing. He did not make thumbnail sketches but relied on looking closely at the subject to plan the pattern of lights and darks before starting to paint.

The fourth location is at the Kilmore Races on Cup Day. Zbukvic sets up his easel in a field on the outside of the track so he can observe the horses and jockeys as they race by. As he has only seconds to view his subject he must lock the image in his mind and paint from memory. The painting records the field and rails of the track, buildings in the background and the horses and riders in their colors racing by. Zbukvic then goes to races and does a quick close-up sketch of a horse and jockey.

The last demo takes place in a golden field on a hill overlooking the Yarra Valley. The challenge of this painting is capturing the feeling of looking down into the valley and indicating the buildings, trees and fields as they recede into the distance.

"

– Jim Salchak

"Joseph is excellent as always in this video. The subject matter is interesting and varied. His commentary is quite candid and useful and his brushwork superb. He is definitely a virtuoso talent."

– Roger A. Schutter