This blog is a repository for all my watercolor painting memories of the nineteen years that I lived in the Memphis, TN area. For my contemporary work, please click on the TRANSATLANTA link just below.
Since I was a young boy, I was a fan of watercolor paintings. The transparent paint allows the light to go through it and to be reflected back to the viewer by the white surface of the paper. This results in a luminosity difficult to achieve through other methods. My favorite subjects are buildings and townscapes of historical interest. I admire many watercolor masters, especially Winslow Homer, John Pike, James Fletcher-Watson and Edward Wesson. And, from my native Portugal, Roque Gameiro, Alvaro da Fonseca and Julio Amaro. ****************
Julio Rodrigues was born in Portugal and emigrated to the United States (New Jersey) in 1978. After a career in the engineering field, watercolor painting is his favorite hobby.
He is a self-taught artist who likes to work primarily with transparent watercolor due to the freshness and luminosity of the medium. He also works with pen and ink, and pencil, sometimes combining these media.
His favorite subjects are buildings and townscapes of historical interest. In his watercolor paintings, he strives for transparency and strong light and shadow contrasts with as few layers of paint as possible. His greatest challenge is to arrive at just the right amount of detail without overworking the painting.
Exhibitions and Awards:
2020 Best Overall Artwork Award, Forks Area Art Society, Easton, Pennsylvania, May 2020;
2017 The Gallery at St. John’s, Easton PA, solo exhibition, Easton: Watercolors And Other Thoughts;
2008 Second place plus Honorable mention, Fur Fin and Feather Festival, Middleton TN;
2007 Burch Library, solo exhibition Collierville TN;
2004 Selected artist, Fedex Forum Permanent Lobby Mural, (Memphis, TN);
This Lighthouse can be found in the beautiful State of New Jersey near North Wildwood. It hints at the abundance of victorian architecture in the southern part of the state.
Today, I was rummaging through some photos from some years ago, and I found a scene that made me grab the brush. This is a quick sketch that I clocked at 34 minutes, a little record for me. Some times…rarely for me…speed lends a little freshness and spontaneity, which I think worked in this case.
This small drawing was a joint-venture between me and my wife who refuses to acknowledge her obvious talent for drawing and painting. Actually my role was very limited to some shadows in the foreground leaves. She did everything else. I happen to like this a lot.