The Art of Watercolour Magazine 59th issue PRINT Edition

Across Cultures, One Passion: Watercolour Each new issue of The Art of Watercolour is a journey across borders, styles and sensibilities.

What unites our pages is the conviction that watercolour is not only a medium of infinite subtlety, but also a living language spoken all over the world — from Europe to Asia, from the Americas to Oceania. In this September issue, we invite you to rediscover its diversity, its vitality, and above all, the community that keeps it alive.

Artists and Inspirations

Our cover story celebrates the refined poetry of Junwei Dai, whose luminous paintings bear witness to memory and fragility. Echoing him, Lai Young-Lin opens the doors to a pictorial universe infused with both delicacy and strength, where nature and imagination intertwine. The dialogue continues with Canadian artist Jennifer Annesley, whose meticulous work on architectural atmospheres confirms the timeless resonance of watercolour. Matthew Bird, meanwhile, pursues a demanding realism imbued with serenity, while Bénédicte Stef-Frisbey reveals her sensitive exploration of misty landscapes. From the United States, we bring you the moving testimony of James Maria, who confronts the passage of time and spirituality in his evocative works, and the lyrical abstraction of Robin Erickson, a hymn to colour and energy. In Arizona, Stan Kurth cultivates intuitive gesture, reminding us that watercolour is also an open field for experimentation. In Britain, Peter Cronin revisits the grand tradition of plein air with a rigorous two-wash method that combines directness with depth.

Global Perspectives and Technical Insights

China is particularly well represented in this issue. Yan Liang pursues his vast anthropological portrait project, where each face embodies both an individual destiny and the memory of a people. Xiaochang Zhang, for his part, paints the vanishing towns of his childhood, capturing the traces of forgotten places with extraordinary emotional resonance. Their works remind us that watercolour is also a medium of transmission and testimony. Beyond encounters, you will also find analyses of outstanding works, such as those by Ambrin Ling and Peter Jablokow, which invite us to look closely, to penetrate the secrets of composition, light and meaning. Our technical features on choosing the right paper and exploring brush types will provide concrete guidance for your own practice, while our International News section highlights the effervescence of exhibitions, festivals and workshops across the globe.

Community and Participation

Because watercolour thrives on sharing, we also dedicate space to opportunities to get involved. In our Call for Entries, discover the most important international competitions and workshops open to you in the months to come. These are not only occasions to show your work, but also to meet other artists, to learn, and to feel part of a worldwide family. This is the essence of The Art of Watercolour: an open window onto the world, a mirror of its diversity, and a bridge between creators and enthusiasts. But it is also a collective project, nourished by you, our readers. Many of the artists featured in these pages were once participants in an open call, or took the first step of sharing their work with us. Why not you? If you are organising an exhibition, a workshop, a society event, or if you would like to submit your portfolio, do not hesitate to contact us. Your passion deserves to be shared. With each issue, we are reminded that watercolour is more than a technique: it is a community without borders, a conversation carried by thousands of voices. May these pages inspire you to paint, to explore new directions, and above all, to join us in this collective adventure. The Art of Watercolour team, with you and for you