+Dragonfly+

Nov 25th 2008

It isn't often that I see watercolor handled with such precision as Tankero has here, in +Dragonfly+.

What immediately attracted me to this piece was how well-handled the background is, in a combination of wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry painting techniques, allowing different pigments to weave in and out, and yet feel like a continuous, dynamic expanse. The impressively rich purples and blues are complemented by the central figure, haloed in golden hair in order to stand out. Again in the face, we have another complement going back to the purple which decorates the eyes. Throughout these color changes, Tankero still manages to keep her image incredibly neat, without any bleeding or muddiness despite the delicacy of her lines, and she successfully keeps her white areas clean and bright. Actually, she manages to go through the entire value spectrum from pure white to pitch black, with an excellent variety of tones in-between, keeping the elements distinct and energetic. With the brightest area being the rich rose of the lips, the eye continues to return to the focal area of the face after spiraling around the circular composition formed by the dragonfly, circumference of the moon, and flow of the hair. As the finishing touch, Tankero demonstrates a very masterful control over the dangerously chaotic technique of splattering, when she filled her night sky with galaxies of bright white stars. This painting is really...stellar.