Ruination by Ron Morrison, of Courtenay, BC

Thanks go out to Ron Morrisson for sending the FA blog his most recent work. Ron continues to delight and surprise viewers with his mastery of colour and light as a watercolourist.

Ron begins by hanging a canopy of blue sky and trees at the top of his work,almost as a theatrical backdrop for the drama that unfolds on the stage below it.

Note how the blue sky, blends into the peaked silver roof of the larger of the two buildings. The slope of the roof is like a ski run, where the eye slides down and leaps high in the air and descends upon the drama below.

The peaked roof of the building to the left, has an almost liquid sense of light and this is enhanced by the shadowy black forest that surrounds it. There are also reflected highlights which sweep like a spiderweb along the left side.

Ron's work, like this one, appears spontaneous and right hemisphere driven. And Ron is the first to admit that he makes decisions as he works. But that isn't to say that what you see is what you get. This work is the result of careful examination, and several reworks.

I like the way Ron connects the elements of his works. Slide down the building to the lower roof. You find a waterblossom, then a streak of light and then what looks like a pair of crossed 2x4's. And the lower part of this opens into the part of the picture where the action is.

At first glance it looks like a jumble of old cars. Right? Well, look again. The X at the bottom of the peak, takes the eye to the top row of the centre car. Look now at the bottom row and you will find the centre car facing it and sharing some of the same colouring.

Its all part of a wonderfully designed and orchestrated work. Right hemisphere work? Maybe. But there is also a lot of order and control going on.

Ron does things with colour that sets him apart from the watercolour community. Ron's signature is his advanced use of strong contrasting values, advanced understanding of colour, and his effective picture construction skills.