Matthew Cook is a British soldier serving in Afghanistan. His watercolors are simply superb. There is currently an exhibition of his work at the Ministry of Defence in London.
Watercolor is a non layered medium, paint is applied with one layer and complemented with a layer or two of accents. You suppose to see nd feel the paper texture through watercolor. Matthew Cook never fills his margins. This is creates a beautiful internal sub-frame outline.
Matthew Cook uses ink to complement watercolors. Interesting not even to add structure to watercolor but bravely for complimentary elements, like fishnet of the electrical grid. Thy ubiquitous Afghan blue is a branding thread in these sketches.
Matthew Cook obviously is a great draftsman; he really knows how to draw. There is certain realism in his sketches. But like a true art this superior to a photograph. A good photographer filters the reality by choosing what to see. A good artist takes it one step further by choosing what elements to bring to the foreground, what to highlight and what to downplay. I learned from Matthew Cook’s watercolors to what extend a modern shipping container is part of the infrastructure, not only for the military.
An artist can focus the light and contrast it with deliberate gray and blue evening.
A study in contrast. A soldier with a gun and a merchant with a cart. Hardened concrete with exposed brick wounds and laundry in the wind. Contrasting gray and bright color.
You can give a feel of a very bright sun by accentuating dark on stucco shadows and highlighting the contrast. Note red color used only for the book.
Sun is most difficult to paint. This is an amazing work, just a touch of concentric yellows and a brave spill of darkness to make it shine.
Matthew Cook’s watercolors would have been masterful even if he was not soldier on active duty, but it transforms the remarkable story and the art. Hence a large number of sketches that he already sold, marked with a red dot on his web site.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Having in the last few years visited the moving memorial wall for veterans I find your art to be among the best in a soldier, you seem to look beyond the current situation and take from a perspective not many soldiers can. You are a credit to soldiers and artists everywhere.
Darrick Bria
601 MWRS SQ.
DOD EMPLOYEE
civilian and loving it.
I simply love you work, every singly time when I get fed up with my abstract, a quick glance through your work gives me energy to paint more.
by the way I’ve sent you another message, asking your permission to re-produce some of the work, as I’m working with a non-profit youth led volenteeer association, where we need to sell my work to raise some funds for the association, but haven’t recived any feedback.
peace,
amazing renditions by the artist , great work keep it up