Leah Van Rees

The Seasonal Silhouettes Series

The Seasonal Silhouettes project began with intent to explore the technical possibilities of water-soluble oils. After the paints arrived at my doorstep it took weeks/months to decide what the paints would be used for. I didn’t want to create my usual series, not knowing much about these water-soluble oils, but I knew I wanted to try something new and experiment with the new medium. It wasn’t until a quick walk away break/ look at my paintings from a distance that the full realization of my project with these paints came to light. It was in the action of walking back to my in-progress work that I saw a shadow of intriguing shapes and values spotlighted on a blank canvas that I just happened to have on an easel.  It seemed like that was the perfect place to start. Each day I would lay or hold the canvases in a position to catch the shadows created by outdoor growth and layer these shapes and colors until a composition came forth. I was so thrilled with how the oils were coming along I decided to do watercolors alongside. These particular paintings depict summer growth and I hope to extend this project into the fall, winter and spring to see how the shapes and colors change with the natural change of the seasons.