artists statement

‘diad series’ by hendrik dijk

the ‘diad series’ is a search for subtle secondary and tertiary colors by superimposing two different watercolor paints.

the search is for a sense of light emanating from the individual fields while making them “float” in a deep black. 

a sheet of arches 300-gram watercolor paper is mounted on a wood panel.

extensive testing of the colors and their tonal values precedes each piece.

the areas to be painted are taped off and with a 75mm sable brush a color is applied with one stroke.

once the first layer is dry the second one is added. 

when the second layer is added it dissolves a slight amount some of the underlying color, creating subtle tonal and chromatic differences.

the edges are painted with flat black gouache in order to obtain a deep matte non-reflective surface.

as the last step the piece is carefully sprayed with fixative for waterproofing and protection.

‘diad series’: the search for luminosity.

the series was started in my studio in kingston, ny, in 2012.

it was a time when i was preparing to repatriate to the netherlands after having lived in the usa for 30 years.

i have begun to work on then again this year, inspired by gallery nine owner dick bouwma.

the two opposing colors that create each of the fields symbolize the two worlds i was living in at a time of drastic personal changes.

the work is difficult to make.

watercolor is a ‘controlled accident’ (nathaniel hawthorne).

so many things can go wrong.

on average two pieces will fail for every one that leaves the studio.

the work is done on watercolor paper mounted on a wood panel.

they are a search for luminosity that arises from applying two opposing colors, like orange and blue, red and green or yellow and purple.

the two colors neutralize each other and create a soft tertiary ‘glow’.

each color field has two side stripes that show the applied colors.

all of the work has the same form and all nine color fields are surrounded by matte black paint so as to let the color fields ‘float in space’.

hendrik dijk