John Balacki
John Balacki, Watercolor Painter
A watercolorist's goals might be to create some reaction, to share a place or mood, or to invite the viewer to spend a few moments moving their focus around the painting. These are my goals as well. But, my most sincere goal is to invite viewers into the painting and, in some way benefit, inspire, and please them.
Some have described watercolor as the most difficult and challenging – even "unforgiving" – medium, that leaves little room for error. Others say that watercolor is the most luminous and transparent of the media, able to display light and its effects better than all others.
Count me among the latter: It is light, after all, that allows us to see. However; in watercolor; light also causes transformation. Even the most mundane of objects can become alluring, mysterious, even magical in appearance. Light is the dynamic force of watercolor.
Depending on the time of day, the season of the year; or the mind set of the artist or the viewer; the injection of light into a watercolor painting infuses it with energy: This energy may evoke emotions, a sense of the familiar or foreign, introspection or pleasure.
I learned about the dramatic changes in seasons and light early on, growing up in southwestern New York. My love of nature led me down the path of science. After graduating from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, I ultimately spent nearly forty years in the practice of medicine.
Tempered by that discipline, I decided it was then time to develop the right side of my brain. I had an initial ability to draw, but delved into honing that by studying drawing and watercolor with the guidance and critiques of a number of excellent painters. The results have been rewarding, as I began to enter and qualify for group shows. Among the venues exhibiting my work are the Strohl Art Center in Chatauqua, NY, and the Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College in Annapolis, MD.
I invite you to view life through the light and lense of my watercolors.
John Blacki
310 King Street, Olean, New York 14760
716.969.5224
jabalacki@aol.com
johnbalacki.com