PLEINAIR TODAY
STEP-BY-STEP WITH KEN KARLIC'S SOPHISTICATED CHAOS
BY ANDREW WEBSTER, EDITOR, PLEINAIR TODAY
DECEMBER 6, 2017
STEP-BY-STEP WITH KEN KARLIC'S SOPHISTICATED CHAOS
Ken Karlic, “GAF-On-Ponca,” watercolor, 36 x 72 inches
Prolific artist Ken Karlic recently teamed up with Daniel Smith Watercolors to offer a comprehensive step-by-step look into his creative process. There’s lots to learn here.
“My style of watercolors can best be described as sophisticated chaos, where an accurate drawing gives way to an expressive painting to create a beautiful mess,” writes artist Ken Karlic.
Karlic begins designing and drawing his composition
The talented, award-winning painter recently got together with his sponsor, Daniel Smith Watercolors, to offer readers a detailed look into the creation of one of his large-scale paintings. “I’ve recently begun painting large-scale works in the studio,” Karlic continued, “which allows me to magnify my style to a whole new level, more like mammoth chaos. I can push everything about my work — more design, drawing, painting, paint, and effects.
Karlic’s first washes
“In this step-by-step, I’d like to share the process of creating a large-scale work that was inspired by a large-scale site. I focus on design, drawing, and painting — regardless of the scale of the piece. Within the tight structure of the design and drawing, there’s great freedom to expressively apply paint — and lots of it.”
The shimmer effects of iridescent watercolors
While we can’t reproduce the entire article here, we’ll note that it includes several videos along with seven easy-to-follow steps surrounding Karlic’s painting, including Design, Drawing, The Paints, First Washes, Maximizing Effects, Shimmers of Metals with Iridescent Watercolors, and Refinement. It’s truly worth a read!