In the world of publishing, there are people who believe that white space is to be avoided and abhorred. White space is space where nothing is happening; white space is a waste of space. It is negative space.
Watercolourists have always known what nonsense that is.
Artists who work in watercolour learn quickly how and where to apply paint. Theirs is a medium which has to be used with a certain kind of restraint. Where you don't apply the paint is as important as where you do. The unpainted surface not only frames and gives identity to the coloured surface, it has work of its own to do. Other cultures have more readily embraced this truth than our own. In Zen, the space between the snowflakes is as eloquent as the flakes themselves.
Take a look at this exquisite painting by Nicky Bell.
Nicky has created one of those paintings which rejoices in being what it is. There is no attempt at illusion here - the sense that we just might be looking through a window at a distant landscape. But we know without doubt that this is somewhere. The artist has been there and has brought us the experience.
For me, the great strength of this painting is that we think we know how she did it.
The medium doesn't hide or disguise itself. This is watery pigment brushed onto paper. And even despite that, we know that this is the experience of being there. We've stood in a field or at a roadside and watched the treelines recede. We've watched clouds as they leave us guessing what is land and what is sky. I mean, look at that break of blue. Doesn't it lift your heart, just like it does on those few occasions when we notice it above us?
But of course, we've only seen the half of it as far as this painting goes. Unless we have ever picked up a paintbrush, we probably have no idea how headstrong watercolour can be; what a mind of its own it can have. But here it is: at one moment sharply defining shade and shape, at another hinting at distance and reflection. These are not happy accidents. The artist has made this happen.
And then there is the white space. Often in watercolours, this allows the paper room to speak of reflected light. But for me, it also creates a surface of its own - somewhere immeasurable between the paper and the pigment - on which the image floats. Positive space. As vital to the image as the colouring.
Nicky Bell works from the Drift Studio on East Worthing Beach which is often open (literally) to the public. You can also find her work here:
I like the airy lightness of it. The atmosphere. And the word headstrong!