There's Something in the Watercolor

KUTZTOWN, Nov 27--“Various Watercolors,” in the Bears Den Art Gallery can be described with two words: bold and detailed. Andrew Kish III clearly has a meticulous streak that allows his watercolors to nearly come alive on the walls.

The exhibit is characterized by bold colors, like the deep orange in “Made in the U.S.” which depicts a chained gate. The piece uses various shades of orange and brown to show a rusting gate that has been chained shut in the sunset. Junior Speech Communication major Josh McKee said that it looks like there is dirt and disorder outside the gate, while inside is the freshly swept concrete of America.

The exhibit also contains meticulous detail, such as the individually painted bricks in “Bedroom Window.” The piece is simple, showing just the side window of a brick house. However, it has a great deal of depth, and the quiet appearance captures the viewer and moves the eye around the work.

“Winter Storage,” depicts the front of a barn with a second floor residence. It has a three-dimensional character that gives it the appearance of separately tiered pieces of paper on a single sheet. Viewed from far away, this piece looks like it has physical depth, the illusion of which does not dissipate until it is inspected from just inches away.

Sophomore Psychology major Kelly Henitz said, “I think its amazing how much detail he got out of watercolor.” Henitz’s favorite piece is “Made in the U.S.,” saying, “you can even see the rust.” McKee noted that even the threads on the screw are easily distinguishable.

Sophomore French Education major Jona Werkheiser noted the bold perspectives that Kish took, such as in “American Parkway.” The piece views a telephone pole from the perspective of a person looking directly up at it standing at the base. “Its one of those things you always look at,” said Werkheiser, “but it’s a new perspective to look at it. Its something you wouldn’t think would be art, but it is.”

Werkheiser’s favorite piece is “Old Bones,” a piece with interweaving tree branches entering from the left set against the sky. “I just really like how its set against the sky,” Werkheiser says. “I like the way the sky looks.” Werkheiser went on to note the bright colors in “Made in the U.S.,” and the usual association of chain link with darker and drabber colors.

McKee said that his favorite piece is “Jersey Stairwell,” saying that it “you can see each individual stone, the cracks in the plaster, and you really get the feeling your in the stairway.” McKee noted that from a distance, the piece appears to have the resolution of a photograph.

Freshman Communication Design major Geoff Reynolds agrees adding, “If you can get the details to where it looks like a photograph, that’s a good thing.” Reynolds inspected the watercolors for over fifteen minutes noting the quality, detail, and amount of work that went in to individual segments of the pieces. Reynolds was particularly impressed by the individually painted bricks in “Bedroom Window,” saying that such a feat “takes a lot of time to do.” His favorite piece was also “Jersey Stairwell,” because “you can see where the water leaked into the window [of the stairwell] and dried over time. It has the appearance that there actually was water there.”

Reynolds also noted that the composition is unique for a college student. Reynolds feels that Kish made a bold move in composition by breaking away from traditional are patterns and using a more modern approach. He says that such composition is rare among students because they still exist, to some degree, in the confines of their class art projects.