Sargent and my favorite art blogs

Ah, today is the last day to see the Sargent watercolors at the MFA. Lucky as I am to live near enough to one of the best art museums in the world, I have to admit that this time I missed the boat. What with work and holidays and now a devil of a bout with the flu, I'm not going to be able to see these gems in person. Luckily my friend and collaborator Joni Parker-Roach made it in to town twice for this exhibit, and brought back the catalog! I'm not sure that I'll ever love the watercolors as much as Sargent's masterful oils--satin drapery! glowing skin!--but looking at details of these sketches just shows what a master draftsman can do with any medium. I love that the transparency of watercolor allows us to see the painter's sketchy graphite lines, it's like watching his thought process unfold. I also love that Sargent was apparently willing to use whatever he needed to achieve the desired effect--translucent color, opaque gouache, wax, whatever. I love that about Degas, too--a great experimenter. 

One of my favorite art bloggers and a supremely talented artist in his own right is James Gurney, artist and author of Dinotopia. He manages to write about art EVERY DAY on his blog, and far from running out of things to write about, he just keeps coming up with great stuff to share. Here's a link to his post about the Sargent exhibition, with his typically fantastic observations. 

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/01/sargent-watercolor-techniques-five.html

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