Shadow of Yellow, red, blue
Abstract Watercolor
To subscribers of Joel’s Creative Garden,
I find myself drawn into a world of mystery and intrigue by https://substack.com/@georgebothamley. George's Substack site, Art Every Day, unveiled a captivating post on May 24th: Wassily Kandinsky—The sound of colour. Among the featured artworks was the enigmatic Yellow, Red, Blue, a masterpiece crafted by Kandinsky in 1925 (Oil on canvas).
I wanted to understand it better, and for me, understanding this work of art required doing. Kandinsky was inspired by Monet and commented on Monet’s masterpiece, Haystacks.
“That it was a haystack the catalogue informed me. I could not recognise it. This non-recognition was painful to me. I considered that the painter had no right to paint indistinctly. I dully felt that the object of the painting was missing. And I noticed with surprise and confusion that the picture not only gripped me, but impressed itself ineradicably on my memory. Painting took on a fairy-tale power and splendour.” 1
— Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky says, “… the object of the painting was missing.” He painted Yellow, red, blue in oil. My feeble attempt at understanding was painted using watercolor. If you do not know, let me be the first to tell you that watercolor is unforgiving. Water moves. Watercolor is not the medium to use, but I’ll give it a shot. I attempted an abstract, which I call Shadow of Yellow, red, blue. But enough about my attempt.
George Bothamley titled his post The sound of color. Go to George’s site, Art Every Day, to see the painting. When I finished my watercolor, I returned to the Kandinsky painting, Yellow, red, blue, and I saw it with new eyes. I saw the explosion and then heard the explosion. Take a closer look. It radiates outward in an explosion of primary colors. Notice how the objects get larger as they move out from the center. There is an attempt at control using architectural lines, circles, and semicircles. It cannot be controlled as the colors mix to form new colors. It appears to continue to expand as I the viewer of this work will be forever imprinted by this masterpiece.
Lindsay, Kenneth C. (1982). Kandinsky: Complete Writings on Art. G.K. Hall & Co. p. 363.