RESERVE: Watercolor Techniques (Episode 4)

In his watercolor “August Sunlight,” Charles Burchfield makes expressive use of reserves-areas where the white of the paper is exposed. Burchfield didn’t even bother to add lines to set the roofs apart from the background. Instead, the green of the trees above allows the eye to complete the picture so that the viewer doesn’t realize that anything is missing!
This “reserve” technique is demonstrated here by curator Miriam Stewart in our paper lab.
In this ongoing series, Miriam and conservator Penley Knipe demonstrate simple techniques employed by artists in our exhibition “American Watercolors, 1880-1990: Into the Light,” on view through August 13, 2023.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK:
+ Discover more about exhibition-“American Watercolors, 1880-1990: Into the Light": harvardartmuseums.org/exhibit...
+ Explore the accompanying exhibition catalog: • American Watercolors-P...
+ Watch more about American Watercolors: • American Watercolors, ...
#AmericanWatercolors #CharlesBurchfield #Watercolors #harvardartmuseums
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Support for this exhibition is provided by the Alexander S., Robert L., and Bruce A. Beal Exhibition Fund, the William Amory Fund, the Rabb Family Exhibitions Fund, and an anonymous donor. Related programming is supported by the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund. The accompanying catalogue was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Publication Funds and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
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Image: Charles E. Burchfield, “August Sunlight,” 1916. Transparent and opaque watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper. Fogg Museum, Louise E. Bettens Fund, 1930.463. © Charles E. Burchfield Foundation. hvrd.art/o/306459
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Music: "Game Hens" from album "Confectionery." © Blue Dot Sessions. Video: © President and Fellows of Harvard College. Videography: Tara Metal. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact the Department of Digital Imaging and Visual Resources at [e-mail].