Rich Rawling has been exploring the elusive nature of watercolour for decades. His current process begins with a representational subject and then strays playfully into explorations of form, rhythm, tone and hue. The progression starts analytically and then finishes emotionally as the untameable forces of gravity, chemistry, and chance take over.

In addition to painting, Rich is a graphic designer, volunteer English teacher, vegetable gardener, and adventure cyclist. He graduated with a B.A. in Studio Fine Art from the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is usually based in the moist, green, mountainous environment of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, but needs to break out occasionally to find inspiration and sunshine in entirely different environments.

Recently, Rich has exhibited at venues in British Columbia and worked at creative residencies in Spain. See richrawling.com for a selection of current artwork and activity history.

Upon arrival at Hektor, I'll take some deep breaths, survey the environment, and let visual impressions come to me. Be it a clothes peg on a table or an arid horizon line, I never know where I may find an inspirational form, shadow, or hue.

The plan: Initially, it's about considering the rules, thoughtfully composing, crafting visual constraints.

The execution: Once the painstaking framework is in place, instinct, chance, and a few uncontrollable, sopping wet brush strokes take over. This is a time of excitement and fear. I do my best to blow and tilt the pigment into place. But chemistry, gravity, and accident are now in charge.

The aftermath: The watercolour dries. The masked areas are revealed. Is it a mess? Is it beauty? A few additional connecting marks are all that I can contribute now...Done!