Painters Online Logo

Login/register

Studio

Inspiration from Artists Wk 102 Bonus Artist : Harold Sutton Palmer.

Welcome to the forum.

Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.

Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.

Hang on Studio Wall
Author
Message
IMG_3630

Paul (Dixie) Dean

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 21388
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 6938
Posted
Welcome to this weekend’s bonus artist thread the featuring artist this week is : Harold Sutton Palmer 1854 -1933, Kown as Harry , born in Plymouth was an English watercolour painter and illustrator. Harry specialised in idyllic rustic landscapes he lived in London but painted widely in England and Scotland. He married Maud Moore in  1889 at San Jose California, he resided in California for short periods and painted a series of Californian scenes. His work can vet found on several museums and private collections. I know many people have a thing about Victorian paintings been to unrealistic and did not reflect the actual lives etc of the time some are definitely OTT. I have spent several months looking at the landscape painting of Victorian artist in both oils and my preferred medium watercolour if you can get past the bias of critics and what you may have learned at school or college there are some wonderful examples of paintings . What cannot be  doubted is the skill of a lot of these artist , and I know a lot are photo realistic but it was the demand of the day and in lots of cases pre camera.  I hope you enjoy  my selection of his excellent paintings.
profile

Tony Auffret

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 714
Posted
Despite the undoubted skill, this style of painting often leaves me cold but.....that second one down, the river scene is just stunning.

Diane Boswell

  • Forum Member +
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 191
Posted
I love these paintings because they make me feel as if I am there, in a strange way more than a photograph might. Perhaps they convey more feeling than a photograph?

Tessa Gwynne

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 8477
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 3435
Posted
I think you’ve made a good point there Diane. He captures a feeling of loveliness and peace, partly by his compositions and also his obvious skill. I wouldn’t mind being able to paint like that!
IMG_3630

Paul (Dixie) Dean

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 21388
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 6938
Posted
I do believe that a painting give more feeling to a scene don’t get me wrong there are some wonderful landscape photographs but sone how they don’t have the same feel about them . Having thought about it several times over the years to me it we know a camera has captured the scene albeit due to a person choosing it in some cases with a great deal of skill . A painting in contrast is created by a person from a blank background with using some sort of medium, watercolour, oil, acrylic etc and to me it’s the knowledge that it’s was created that give it the feeling of being more personal. Please don’t think I knocking photography I’m not I have a couple of decent cameras that I love to use to capture scenes and often use them or part of them in my paintings. I think we’ll for me anyway it’s the knowing that many of the  older landscapes and paintings in general were done in situ or by making lots os sketches .  I do realise that many people today like to paint on site as it where , some like myself use photos we have taken or are available on line due in my case to my mobility and lugging all the necessary equipment. I do like to get put with a sketch book and then I feel like in really doing something more creative. Sorry rabbiting on a bit . 

Jenny Harris

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 4711
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 1900
Posted
A very skilful artist - and his work does invoke a feeling of warmth and peacefulness that you probably wouldn’t get with a photograph, to pick up on Diane’s comment.

Edited
by Jenny Harris

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 24823
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 8653
Posted
I wonder if anyone else looks at paintings like these and says to themselves - "I could live to be 250 and never be able to paint like that"?  Because, even leaving everything else aside - e.g. yes, they are mostly very detailed, in the Victorian/Early Edwardian manner, and that's not popular these days - the level of sheer skill involved in all of them is phenomenal.  It's just as well if we think we don't want to paint like this - the chance would be a fine thing.... I think it would be totally beyond me.   I understand that they're not everyone's thing - Tony's for instance - and to be honest, they're not mine, either; but I look at them and wonder... again, apart from anything else, the colour: I'd love to know what his palette consisted of, but whatever it was, he knew how to mix - we're accustomed to thinking that painters of years gone by had a limited palette to work with, and those who took up new, brighter colours often suffered badly for doing so; e.g. chrome yellow turned brown, rose madder faded, alizarin faded even more, carmine and other lake colours just vanished; in oil, pigments reacted chemically against each other; in watercolour there was less of that, but far more fading.  THIS artist knew his colours - he'd learned his business; and on top of that, his brushwork was just inspired.  I imagine he used a little body-colour, as most of the best watercolour artists, including Turner (a very different painter) did.  I don't know when this prohibition of white first came in, the "oh my dear, we don't use WHITE!", shudder, nonsense; but the subtlety of colour was greatly aided by the very thoughtful addition of a little Zinc/Chinese white - in the right places: to enhance greens and yellows particularly: very important in landscape painting.  You might not want to paint like Palmer, but his technique was flawless. 
IMG_3630

Paul (Dixie) Dean

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 21388
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 6938
Posted
Robert you have said everything I would like to have said far better than I could . I’m not over fond of a lot of Victorian landscapes but some are just so beautifully done it quite breathtaking, one example is the second of my posting as the one that  Tony mentioned. I look at some ant think I better put my brushes away, I’m far to old to even try to emulate them and even if I started as a infant I don’t think I would be anywhere near as good even now .  The think I get a lot of pleasure from doing this thread is introducing such superb artwork, and get a bigger buzz if they are new to people as well , I try to offer modern artists but do think we should look at the older stuff as well I certainly learn from them and gain a great deal of satisfaction from looking at the artwork on offer . Four more from me 
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 24823
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 8653
Posted
Flooded with light, especially the last one - and the one above it.  Because of course he DID allow the white paper to do its work - the careful use of Chinese White would not have been in the sky; that's where the use of white in watercolour got its bad name, I suspect: when people started to try painting white clouds with white paint - which in watercolour is a terrible idea, almost if not entirely without exception.  I rarely try to paint big watercolours - they can run away with me, and leave me bereft and heavy with child.... Forgive that analogy....  I was just thinking of some of the horrible messes I've managed to create using too large a sheet of paper: which is one reason why I so admire artists who can pull off a big watercolour - it's really not easy.   Thanks to you again, Paul, for searching out these fantastic painters for us.