Details of Nature

The overlooked details of the natural world inspire Rukiye Garip’s paintings

When I switched to the watercolor technique five years ago, I didn’t expect it to take up so much space in my life. There is a desire to do a new work every day, and the magic of watercolor has become an indispensable passion for me. I didn’t imagine that my love of painting in my childhood would lead me to be art teacher, and after that to become a watercolor artist. The happiest special times of my childhood were those I spent in our garden full of plants and trees. Small puddles, bark, stones, color wildflowers, the river passing near us—i was interested in all of it. More than swimming in the sea, I remember standing and watching the waves and collecting colored stones. Now, the natural areas where my childhood passed became the city center. Clean waters contaminated. Buildings replaced the wooded areas. The noise of the cities suppressed the silent scream of nature. The power and fertility of nature is about to be succumbed to the infinite supply of insatiable people. Worse, still, most people are not aware of the negative changing and destruction. I want to remind people the fertile past of clean water, of air and of soil. I paint the realistic beauties of the natural beings we lost because of the human values we are moving away from and the frenzy of consumption. By this way, my main goal is to draw attention to things we are about to lose. All beings in nature, with their vision, feelings and abilities give powerful people an idea about their life stories. Their colors, textures, locations, reflect the characteristics of geography. It is due to the details of the characteristics

that make each of the similar crowds meaningful. In this way, any stone between thousands of stones, also any leaf can express its own existence. The reason for my realistic and detailed works is to convey these life stories to the audience. I think every detail is important to create a good art language that does not have to be explained. I think the opposite of those who say it is an unnecessary effort, who says that very detailed and realistic work does not leave imagination to the audience. The details lead us to look, to look further, to look again and again. Every time we look at it, we notice other details. That’s exactly what I want to do…to make the audience notice the details. The textures, organic crowds and details that I mostly use in my paintings are reflections of interaction, of change and of transformation between beings. The transparency of water has the same meaning as transparency that is a prerequisite for understanding each other with all the entities we interact with. Reflections allow us to see the cycle of life, the truth. When we can see what is reflected in the water, we can simultaneously see wide area like as the surface of the water, as well as things in the water, the surrounding area and the sky. Seeing at the same time so many different areas that cannot be seen from the perspective of a human eye…the effect of this fairy tale atmosphere has always been an inspiration to me. Our inner world naturally determines our orientations. So the topics we choose reflect us. Our feelings, our thoughts, what we care about. The subjects that inspire me are the things that I like to see since my childhood, that make me happy and that give me peace. Some of the main and series topics I made, consist of stony creek, lonely willow, teasel, autumn reflections, sea, portraits, still life, rusty series and a few figurative works. As much as our source of inspiration and the theme of our subjects, our style and our technique are important for the transmission of our emotions. From the beginning to the end, the techniques I apply on paper must support and enhance the theme of the painting and the direct transmission of emotion. Even though my paintings are described as realist or hyperrealist, my style is not only about to painting the visible as close to the original as it could be possible. The transfer of emotion is more important to me. I need to have an emotional connection with my subject. From the beginning to the end of the painting, what I feel about the subject can turn into a different story with spontaneous changes and my contributions. It is best to use the instruments as they come from inner of us to create an

original work. Being free, original and transparent is what I care about in terms of my watercolor technique and style. I can paint outdoors or in the studio. I prefer the studio because it is more comfortable to work with music while alone. I determine the path I will follow before I start painting. I use different methods according to the needs of each subject. In some of the paintings, I can go from the whole (large areas) to the details, in others I can reach the whole from the regional details. My paths and methods may vary according to my mood as well as the needs of painting. I mostly start painting wet in wet with colors that dominate the whole picture. The salt effects I use to create textures and glitter on wet floors are a common feature of my paintings. This saves me time in areas where there are mostly organic crowds, stones, trees and rust textures. At the same time, it also provides an exciting adventure that I enjoy in watercolor but I can control it under my direction. Taking advantage of the texture of the paper, I can use different methods such as various brush drives, wiping, scraping, sanding, and masking for details in realistic looks. I don’t use black and white colors in any of my paintings. For the black color, I use the blends of the dominant colors of the painting. For example, magenta + violet + sepia; ultramarine + sienna; indigo + burnt umber; green blue + magenta + sepia mixtures or at least two or three of the other dark colors allows me to get the desired darkness. I benefit from the whiteness of paper in white areas. Dry brush drives allow this. In some cases, I use masking fluid. For gray foggy areas, it gives the effect I want to drive by diluting the grays with water I get from the colors. Some of the colors I love and always use in all my paintings are French ultramarine, opera rose, Naples yellow, Van Dyck brown and burnt sienna. Others than those colors included in my palette, the most commonly used colors are magenta, manganese blue hue, brown ochre and cobalt blue.

Fish in red basins, watercolor, 30 x 22” When I visited this village, I came across the fish auction. They had just brought the fish from the boat. I changed stony area on the floor and strengthened the light-shade effect. I started painting wet in wet. Afterwards, I have worked on the red basins, fish with fish squama that I have created with the effect of wet in wet by using salt, and then I have done fine detail and darkening studies.

Rusty Chain, watercolor, 22 x 15” Rusted surfaces remind me of experience and time passing. I took a photo of this view I came across on a ship. There were no seagulls in the photo. I wanted the seagulls to host the atmosphere that was cold, calm and lonely. I thought of strengthening sense of the ownership and hosting effect with the stance and singing of the seagull. I increased the rusty effect. By this way, I strengthened the abandoned image and owned by seagulls.

Autumn Reflection, watercolor, 30 x 22” The creek and the fallen leaves in the forest area that I live in always inspire me. The sky reflected in the water, trees, stones, roots under the water, plants, living creatures; the autumn above water emphasizes the cycle and reality of life. At the same time, it is a safe harbor for falling leaves that built a nest for creatures, and this water reminds me of feelings of peace, calm, maturation, sharing as well as meaning of life

Teasel, watercolor, 30 x 22” The thorns that we often encounter in rural areas in my geography are significant for me. They are as a source of food for birds as well as assisted in daily life at old time such as combing wool and filtering milk. I used masking liquid for light colored ones, used the salt in textures. I made for the thorns in the front by going from light to dark, I used the detailing and erasing methods.