Mountain Rigi - Antique Watercolor - Turner Study

After visiting William Turner's exhibition in De Young Museum (my previous post Stormy Seascape Vintage Style showed how excited I was to go there); I became even more interested in Old Masters styles and techniques.

I have decided to study several Turner's paintings with Mount Rigi. My point was to explore the ability of antique, 1894 watercolor paint set, which I have purchased last year for this specific purpose, e.g the study of the Old Masters techniques. 

I loved to challenge myself, and paint without the limits, yet being limited by 19th century pigments and tools. 

In this painting, I combined study of three different Turner's paintings of this Switzerland mountain: Blue Rigi, Red Rigi, and Dark Rigi. 

I was lucky to see two of the paintings in the De Young Museum. I was standing for probably good twenty minutes exploring inch after inch of the Blue Rigi and the sketch of the Red Rigi, presented there at the exhibition:

Turner painted all three paintings in 1842. I have the antique watercolors sets ranging from 1894 through 1952.

The color pallet there is definitely limited, and the pigments are almost hard as the rocks. But, I love them. There was so much of excitement that was coming out or into me (or both) when I touch these paints with my brush. It is hard to explain. It needs to be experience personally :) 

The watercolor set (top left) was from 1894 and I mostly used that one to accomplish my painting.

I also looked at the print of the Blue Rigi by Turner, and the illustration in my book British Watercolors, where I found Dark Rigi:

Somewhere, in the middle of the process, something magic happened. My brush wanted to add some details that were not in Turner's paintings. 

The tour into the Old Master's masterpieces allowed me to create my own art piece, full of light, color and fresh mountain air. I felt as if I was there in 19th century; painting this gorgeous Switzerland landscape. 

Wonderful feeling!!

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