Nude Watercolor
Dan Mccarthy’s Biography and Exhibitions at Saatchi-gallery
Dan McCarthy was born on 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Dan McCarthy’s Black Ball is captivating in its quiet simplicity. Removed from all traces of environment McCarthy’s beach girl is isolated on a fresh white background; a visual device that both heighten her allure and allows the paint itself to suggest a scene. Using oil paint with the effect of watercolor, McCarthy renders his figure in pale blue washes, allowing the subtle fluctuations of hue and intensity to replicate light and water, capturing perfectly a moment of poolside leisure. Through his articulate draughtsman ship, McCarthy’s Black Ball exudes a rarefied elegance, flaunting a sensible formalism to venture a delicate and contemplative moment of beauty.
Dan McCarthy’s recent body of paintings puts a new spin on the traditional theme of beach scenes. The paintings are populated with bathers, on the beach or in the water, often under an awe-inspiring sky radiating with sun, moon and sparkling starlit night. The fact that many of the bathers are surfers almost becomes secondary to the immediate sensation of warmth, wonder and the dream-like quality these paintings emanate. The paintings’ electric luminosity, jewel-like surface, and depth of color instantly draw the viewer into the artist’s imagined world.
Some of McCarthy’s paintings depict such seemingly mundane scenes as a nude female bather doing a pirouette on the beach, or a young couple holding hands under a white moon. Others however, display a nearly mythological temperament, such as the naked record collectors sitting in a circle on the beach, or the single female surfer riding a wave under a sky that resembles the dynamic motion of one of Saturn’s rings, or the balding surfer showing his spears in silent dialogue to a swordfish as if engaged in a timeless struggle between man and beast, or the band of surfers (closer to Jason and the Argonauts than bathers) returning from the water under a fantastic moon-lit night sky.
McCarthy leaves all naturalism behind; instead, the artist formulates a personal pictorial language of visionary painting reminiscent of the work of Douanier Rousseau and Edward Munch. Visionary in the way in which nature and human interaction are finely balanced, and secondly – and most significantly – a kind of painting that exists through pure visuality and the quality of the painted surface. This is where McCarthy’s idea of utopia exists, within the painting, inside the realm of art.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2005
• Anton Kern Gallery, New York
• I Am the Walrus, Cheim & Read, New York
• BFAS, Geneva
• Home for the Holidays, Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea, Trento
2003
• Anton Kern Gallery, New York
• Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne
• Today’s Man, John Connelly Presents, New York
2002
• Circumnavigating A Sea of Shit, Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York
• Group Exhibition, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne
2001
• Dan McCarthy, Klaus Engelhorn Contemporary Art, Vienna
• I Love NY, Benefit show, Anton Kern Gallery, New York
2000
• Dan McCarthy, Anton Kern Gallery, New York
• The Boys in Bubbles, Mark Flood, Dan McCarthy, Jack Pierson, Anton Kern Gallery, New York
• Dan McCarthy, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne
1996
• Gramercy International Art Fair, Regen Projects, Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
• Organized by Jack Pierson
Conclusions:
Dan McCarthy’s Black Ball is captivating in its quiet simplicity. Removed from all traces of environment McCarthy’s beach girl is isolated on a fresh white background; a visual device that both heighten her allure and allows the paint itself to suggest a scene. Using oil paint with the effect of watercolor, McCarthy renders his figure in pale blue washes, allowing the subtle fluctuations of hue and intensity to replicate light and water, capturing perfectly a moment of poolside leisure.
What to Do Next…
If you want any information about Dan McCarthy or looking for his paintings please visit us on http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/dan_mccarthy.htm
About the Author
View Dan McCarthy paintings, biography, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and resource of Dan McCarthy. View art online at The Saatchi Gallery – London contemporary art gallery. Dan McCarthy
Free Lesson in High Speed Watercolor Painting Demo of Nude Male by Christopher Shellhammer
|
|
Portraits in Watercolor By Charles Reid (Tips and Techniques to Sketching and Painting Human Subjects) $55.00 Accompany master watercolorist Charles Reid as he creates a double portrait in his home studio. Perfect for beginners or intermediate students intimidated by sketching and painting human subjects, this video includes easy-to-follow advice about blending shapes, choosing colors, softening edges, and measuring space. Using his wife and daughter as subjects, Reid invites you to accompany him on the… |
|
|
The Art of Drawing The Figure: Essential Exercises [Interactive DVD] $21.99 Bill Buchman demonstrates how to make successful figure drawings-one step at a time. Look over Bills shoulder-and listen-as he demonstrates 25 fundamental figure drawing techniques and reveals his methods for developing proficiency with Conté crayon gel pen ink wash Sumi brush soft pastels watercolor crayons and reed pen. This DVD presents an inside view of the creative process and shows just h… |
|
|
Charles Reid Painter The Figure in Watercolor DVD $46.95 “Charles Reid, Painter: The Figure in Watercolor” DVD This highly acclaimed watercolor instruction DVD beautifully captures a great watercolor master in action. Painting the nude figure in watercolor as only Charles Reid can do. Charles Reid begins his watercolor painting with an in depth pencil drawing, creating the foundation for the painting to follow. He concisely explains his creative process… |
|
|
Zen Breakthrough 2: Figure Drawing Techniques $19.95 This is the brand new sequel to Bill’s popular “Art Is an Attitude ” figure drawing DVD. It features 2 hours and 20 minutes of new ideas and drawing tips. Bill has made this exciting DVD to show you a way to bring your art to the next level by taking advantage of the inherent expressive power of the Sumi brush, the bamboo pen (aka the reed pen) and other unique materials. His techniques for using … |
|
|
LolAA Relaxed Sweater – Women’s You make looking good look so easy when you throw on the LolAA Women’s Relaxed Sweater. This flowing, relaxed hooded sweater makes a dramatic statement without going over the top. The open front can be fine-tuned with the tunnel drawcords, while a ribbed insert in the back defines your shape.Product FeaturesMaterial: cottonFit: relaxedFront: openHood: yesPockets: 1 front patchSPF Rating: UPF Ratin… |
|
|
Lole Relaxed Cardigan for Women Large Watercolor Stripe Nude This long-sleeve hooded little cardigan is oh-so-cute, comfy… and convertible in our chunky funky striped 100% cotton Sweater Knit. It’s the perfect, lightweight companion to take the chill out of dashing from the sultry summer air to an air-conditioned office. Detailed with a front patch pocket, drawstring a center front and a stylish rib insert at back…. |
|
|
Lole Relaxed Cardigan for Women Medium Watercolor Stripe Nude This long-sleeve hooded little cardigan is oh-so-cute, comfy… and convertible in our chunky funky striped 100% cotton Sweater Knit. It’s the perfect, lightweight companion to take the chill out of dashing from the sultry summer air to an air-conditioned office. Detailed with a front patch pocket, drawstring a center front and a stylish rib insert at back…. |
|
|
The Figure in Watercolor: Simple, Fast, and Focused (Simple Fast & Focused) $10.99 Following in the footsteps of Watercolor: Simple, Fast, and Focused is Mel Stabin’s latest: The Figure in Watercolor: Simple, Fast, and Focused. Capturing a figure’s unique personality and multifaceted quality in watercolor is challenging—but Stabin demonstrates, step by step, how the new artist can capture the figure by painting simply, directly, and with intense focus on the   |
|
|
Let Them Eat Cheesecake (The Art of Olivia, Vol. 1) $29.95 This collection combines in one book over 100 drawings and paintings, 90 in full color. … |
|
|
Painting from Life: Explorations in Watercolor $24.95 Painting from Life: Explorations in Watercolor chronicles the progression of artist Douglas Lew as he takes on the most eternal and challenging of themes: the nude. Working side-by-side with other artists in the context of life-drawing sessions, Lew struck out on his own heightened pace of exploration as he grappled with the ultimate problem: How to draw and paint a nude model accurately and expre… |