KEN KARLIC

PLEINAIR MAGAZINE

MORE THAN ONE WAY TO WATERCOLOR
SIX ARTISTS SHOWCASE THE DIVERSITY AND TECHNIQUES POSSIBLE EN PLEIN AIR
BY KELLY KANE, EDITOR
07.21

KEN KARLIC
SOPHISTICATED CHAOS

PAINTING STYLE: I refer to my work as sophisticated chaos, where a structured drawing gives way to an expressive painting resulting in a beautiful mess. Drawn to scenes of complex forms, finding beauty in the city and land of everyday life. I strive to express how something feels as much as how it looks, and to capture the physicality of a subject with bold brushwork and rich textures. My paintings have a basis in the representational but often dissolve into varying levels of abstraction.

HOW WATERCOLOR CONTRIBUTES TO YOU PERSONAL AESTHETIC: For me, watercolor is an invitation to experiment. I enjoy the quality of pigments and how they behave, but I love when I can’t encourage them to misbehave, embracing how they fall apart—beautifully and often with granulating effects—to create textures unachievable by any other means or media. I mix directly on the paper, and allow the paint to drip, run, and splatter as it will. My approach is as much a part of the work as the subject is, with marks, scratches, and drips, and splatters all creating a physical presence in the final piece.

HOW WATERCOLOR ENHANCES YOUR PREFERRED WAY OF WORKING: I paint quickly and loosely, looking to achieve as much action and color variety on the paper as I can. More is more—and for me it’s watercolor that makes that possible. I wet areas, scrub them out, add and subtract, create and destroy, and repeat over and over, modifying the whole time. My painting method—and the end result—can be incredibly frenzied and frenetic.

HOW WATERCOLOR IS PARTICULARLY WELL-SUITED TO PAINTING EN PLEIN AIR: Regardless of the often-surprising nature of watercolor, I believe it’s a perfect match for painting en plein air. I can use lots of paint and lots of water, pushing the inherent qualities of the medium. And if I feel the need to step back in order to attack my painting surface with additional layers I rely on the sunshine, or the breeze, or even the heater in my car, to dry that layer and set the colors for further adventuring.