I do not make this comment lightly but it needs to be said. "Bernard Vogel is most probably the premiere Watercolor artist of the world. Most probably he is the best watercolor artist ever!"

I am completely blown away by his work. I have never seen anything so immediate, poetic, original, wild, playful, well executed and exciting.

In one word "amazing".

Here is what I have written in his guestbook:

As a fine artist and writer of a blog on “the spirit of art” I am completely immersed in wanting to learn more about your work. I have never seen anything like it. To say that I am ready to hang up my pencil is an understatement. Every Art student, collector, aficionado, and tourist should take a moment and re-learn how to see through your brush.

Under your hand shapes become volumes, volumes become diamonds sparkling, and the static image become a whirlwind echoing the universe with stars flying and planets rotating.

The only negative thing I can say is that I wish I could purchase many of your works and this short message just might make it a bit harder as the prices should soar to equate to the scope and dimension of the result.

- Shoosty 1-7-2008

This is an example of his still life work. Every formal artist knows the still life is like a pencil drawing. Since this is a limited controlled environment it is the intangible that will come out of the study. Something like a level playing field. The pencil drawing makes it easier to detect what is going on in the construction of the work. It's like a black and white photo to a photographer, or a napkin in a coffee shop to a poetic writer. Underlying Mr. Vogel's work is pure genius.
In this piece Bernard shows us his unique style in creating the still life as a series of blocks with white lines. Then he further takes the lines and creates highlights that pop off the page. At once it is architectural and poetic. It is a shape painting and a rare example of the genius that can be teased out of still life painting.

The difference between a student and a master is that each image has the unmistakable style yet the focal exercise show yet another view of how he executes the result. Here is another example of a still life with the result is nothing I have ever seen or expected prior. Here Bernard takes the shapes and like a sandstone mountain builds layer upon layer. It's is extraordinary!



More on Bernard later... you have got to visit his site or his galleries he is highly collectable in my opinion. The link is at the top of this article.

Dare I say you can compare his work to any of the old masters and it will hold its ground a stunning accomplishment

Shoosty

The above images are copyright Bernard Vogel.

Tags: Bernard Vogel, fine art