I have been painting most of my life, let’s say since I was a child first experiencing finger paints and how much fun it was. I started to develop my unique style of painting with watercolors in high school, and through the many years as a hobbiest I began entering exhibitions and selling my work. The paintings have evolved through years of work where I can make a substantial living by their sales and traveling to more shows.

How I Paint
Since my paintings today are of nautical themes, I visualize what we see when we are diving or snorkeling with a mask on swimming with fish. When you have a mask on you have no peripheral vision, the image is in your face. In that context we see fish swimming from side to side, intermingling colors and patterns.

 How I approach my paintings is unorthodox because I paint each from the foreground working towards the background. My images are created from an imaginative point of view, utilizing colors and patterns. I work from one area to another creating the foreground one fish at a time. I do not pre-draw the image I am painting; it evolves as I see the color develop. This process involves layers of transparent watercolor, gradating from light to darks. I achieve this with no frisket masking fluid which can be used to block out areas from unwanted paint. I am able to control the lines and intensity of color working from the foreground towards the background because I use more paint than water to make a hard edge. These images can take from two weeks to three months depending on the amount of detail and pattern I am trying to create. I am often asked what medium I use because the intensity and hard edge are atypical of watercolor, but it is all transparent watercolor with no opaque paint such as gouache or acrylic.

I have fun creating the images and watching them evolve through this process. My goal is to convey the fun I experience while painting in the finished work.

Russell Yerkes, AWS, TWSA, WSNC