BERNARD MARKS' WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS: LANDSCAPES

MARTHA MARKS WRITES:

BERNIE’S FIRST ARTISTIC LOVE WAS WATERCOLORS. He enjoyed the spontaneity, the challenges and the artistic rewards of this medium, which is said to be the most difficult to master. You can’t rework or scrub out a mistake in a watercolor; you have to get it right the first time. And over the years — as you can see by the many superb watercolors on this site — Bernie perfected the art of getting it right the first time.

Starting in the late ’70s and running through the ’90s, Bernie’s vividly expressionistic watercolors were popular at northern Illinois art fairs and shows. Then, for years after we moved to Santa Fe in 2002, he was active with a local plein air painting group, which improved both his style and his subject matter. He kept painting on our trips around the Southwest and Mountain West, constantly honing his techniques and developing his bold color style.

In 2005, his watercolor “The Colorado in the Canyon“ was a published finalist in a worldwide “RIVERS” competition sponsored by International Artist magazine. That success landed him his first spot in a gallery in the highly competitive Santa Fe market.

Lennon Fine Art sold that painting and many of his other Western and Southwestern watercolors until its owner’s focus changed to Russian art. To get into another gallery, Bernie switched to acrylics and oils—and did very well with them, too… but watercolor secretly remained his favorite.

Not only did Bernie produce remarkable watercolor landscapes, but he did portraits and scenes including people and wildlife, too. See the “Watercolor Figures” page.

Please read these Important Notes about the prints we sell and the way Bernie’s paintings look to you on this website.