Marilynn Webb

Marilynn Webb has been exhibiting her work nationally and internationally since the 1960s. Her work is held in many private and public collections in Europe, America, Asia and New Zealand. She has also been in the forefront of New Zealand art education and was recently awarded the status of Emeritus Principal Lecturer, Otago Polytechnic School of Art, for her contribution to research and teaching at the institution.

Marilynn Webb's style and technique

Marilynn Webb uses watercolours, pastels and chalk to combine simple outlined shapes with strong solid colours. She uses water saturated paper and bleeding colours. She also uses many printing making techniques including embossing. Some of the prints have pressed flowers in the foreground.

Many of her landscapes appear as though one is on the edge of it, on a precipice. The effect is of creating a distance making you look as though you are alone.

Some of her landscapes have a political message such as the landscapes on a bleeding sky series, held at the Hocken Library, which were created in response to the prospect of a smelter being built at Aramoana.

Layering techniques

Wet the paper

Let it dry
Paint on solid blocks of colour and then go over with chalk giving some texture
Use wax crayon first and then paint on top
Use watered acrylic for the skies
Finish with dry brushing (in Webb's work this technique makes the skies look more stormy)
Webb also uses a wet brush dragged across the bottom picking up paint as it goes along

Saturated paper technique

Put plenty of newspaper on the table to soak up water
Use cartridge paper of a reasonable thickness
Paint paper with lots of water
Add a variety of colours of water-soluble paints on a palette
Paint on to the saturated paper
You will find it easy to control the paint on wet paper
Try another colour and see how it bleeds and runs
Incorporate a lesson on primary colours

 

Internet resources

Examples of landscapes at the Gallery De Novo

The Salisbury House Gallery has some wonderful examples of Marilynn Webb's hand coloured engravings of Lake Mahinerangi. Note the subtle colour differences in the series.