Watermedia Works

Sunday, February 23, 2025

New Work

Hobby Horse - 24 X 24 Inches - Acrylic and Collage on Canvas

Coastal Anxiety No.49 - 15 X 15 inches - Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Windowpane No.125 - 15 X 15 inches - Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Loner No.44 - 15 X 15 inches - Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Loner No.41 - 15 X 15 inches - Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Recent Work

Windowpane No.104
15 X 15 inches
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Windowpane No.105
14 X 14 inches
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Windowpane No.106
14 X 14 inches
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Franciscan Life Process Center Workshop
Instructor/Students Collaboration


Windowpane No.100 14 X 14 inches Watermedia and Collage on Paper

Windowpane No.101
14 X 14 inches
Watermedia and Collage on Paper

Windowpane No.103
15 X 15 inches
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Windowpane No.102
14 X 14 inches
Watermedia and Collage on Paper

Friday, May 5, 2023

Some New Work

Coastal Anxiety No.42

Windowpane No.99

Windowpane No.98

Windowpane No.97

Windowpane No.72

Windowpane No.77

Windowpane No.84

Windowpane No.89

High Bot Eye Bare

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

This painting (Windowpane No.75) was started in Montreat, North Carolina as a demo during my workshop at Kanuga Watermedia Workshops, then finished in the studio in Peoria, Arizona when I got back. Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper, 15 X 15 inches.

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Windowpane No. 54
15 X 15 inches - Acrylic and Watercolor on Paper

Windowpane No. 58
21 X 27 inches - Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Windowpane No. 55
15 X 15 inches - Acrylic and Watercolor on Paper

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Some Recent Work

Windowpane #41
24 X 24 inches
Mixed Media on Canvas

Butterick
36 X 36 inches
Mixed Media on Canvas

Loner #26
14 X 14 inches
Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Windowpane #35
15 X 15 inches
Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Windowpane #36
15 X 15 inches
Ink, Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

Thursday, April 27, 2017

New Work

Coastal Anxiety #19
21 X 14 Inches

Charcoal, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Loner #14

21 X 14 inches

Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Crayon

Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

The Loner

"Loner"

by Neil Young

He's a perfect stranger,

Like a cross

of himself and a fox.

He's a feeling arranger

And a changer

of the ways he talks.

He's the unforeseen danger

The keeper of

the key to the locks.

Know when you see him,

Nothing can free him.

Step aside, open wide,

It's the loner.

If you see him in the subway,

He'll be down

at the end of the car.

Watching you move

Until he knows

he knows who you are.

When you get off

at your station alone,

He'll know that you are.

Know when you see him,

Nothing can free him.

Step aside, open wide,

It's the loner.

There was a woman he knew

About a year or so ago.

She had something

that he needed

And he pleaded

with her not to go.

On the day that she left,

He died,

but it did not show.

Know when you see him,

Nothing can free him.

Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.

Loner No.8

21 X 21 inches

Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Windowpane #3

In the days of my youth I was told what it means to be a man,

but now I know there's a better plan.

My instinct, my heart, my purpose,

There is no better path traversed.

Back then, two hits of Windowpane to see,

but now, I know the way.

Windowpane #3
14 X 21 inches
Watercolor, Acrylic and Gesso on Paper

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Recent Drawings

"Drawing makes invention more accessible for me. Faster. Immediate. I start a drawing and I start to invent. I am always destroying the drawing’s status quo. I guess you could say I practice my own form of larceny. I sabotage reality, otherwise its like kissing without using your tongue. I can’t even cook a hamburger without messing with it… Before, often I lay down everything in a realistic way, but now, I have less patience for realism, my heart is too full. I need to release more emotion. I want more emotion and that gets in the way of realism. I want to cut the realism. Now, I’m letting off a lot of firecrackers, and I’m putting down a lot of ideas as though I was building with ideas. Things are coming up. Things are coming up and I have no way to speak about what the things are, but things are coming up that wouldn’t ordinarily grow next to each other. The depiction of physical energy on the paper and the disturbing of the paper’s surface are other ways to bring the drawing to life." Jim Dine

3.1.2015

3.1.2015A

3.15.2015

3.21.2015

3.22.2015B

3.29.2015

3.7.2015

3.8.2015A

4.11.2015

4.12.2015

4.18.2015

4.26.2015

4.5.2015

5.2.2015

5.3.2015

5.3.2015A

Statement

One definition of intuitive includes words like feeling and instinct. These terms are mildly interpretive, and who can argue with artists who “feel” their way through paintings. My definition of intuitive painting is beginning the work without any preliminary thoughts or plans for a particular object or subject as an end, but rather starting on a blank substrate, making marks with a variety of tools, creating a library of design elements and applying design principles until a personal aesthetic is achieved. I do not use any external reference.

Marks are mostly random early on, but sometimes lines or shapes of thoughts occur during the process. Many of these are repetitive, my archetypes. It is not uncommon to find vague human anatomy, non-specific animals, interiors, buildings, furniture, vessels, surreal botanicals, automobiles/parts and a multitude of objects I have found interesting over the span of a lifetime. Some of these shapes may look familiar but are ambiguous enough to allow the viewer a personal narrative. This may be intentional or not on my part. I prefer mystery and intrigue over the obvious.

As paintings progress, more elements including color are introduced. These are random at first but as the process continues a shift towards design takes place. A dominant color temperature may emerge, or a glaze might unify colors beneath it. Values can shift to dominant light, mid or dark. Elements are enhanced, obscured or covered up. There may be multiple layers and quite often evidence of the beginning will peek through. I use a variety of tools to apply pigment or remove it in varying degrees. These tools include brushes, palette knives, scrapers, sticks, sandpaper, my hands, my fingernails and more. Gradually principles such as rhythm, harmony, unity, pattern, gradient, conflict, dominance, contrast, balance, repetition, alternation and movement coalesce into a composition I find esthetically pleasing.

It is one thing to make a pretty picture with good composition, but quite another to bring the viewer into a painting by such means and hold their attention with content. My objective is to evoke a pleasing visceral response from the viewer.

"There's a complex simplicity in Stan Kurth's paintings that is both paradoxical and straightforward. As he works with multiple layers of watercolor and gesso, his provocative images emerge. Ambiguity and form coalesce into a singular, cohesive vision that holds the viewer spellbound"

Betsy Dillard Stroud - Watercolor Masters and Legends: Secrets, Stories and Techniques from 34 Visionary Artists

About

"Artist and workshop instructor Stan Kurth has drawn and painted most of his life. An aunt, who was an artist and art instructor, became a big influence even before he began school. Stan lives with the conviction of “fear not” and that same attitude permeates not just his life but his art. His focus and dedication to his work have earned him signature member status in several watercolor societies including the National Watercolor Society, San Diego Watercolor Society and the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies - Master. He currently lives in Arizona."