Painting of the Month (39) May 2013: Dong Kingman

I am marking my resumption of this Blog with a series of watercolours by Dong Kingman, 1911-2000, one of my favourite watercolour artists. He was a Chinese-American painter in the style of the California School ("The California Style of watercolor painting which flourished from the mid-1920's to the mid-1950's gave the traditional watercolor medium a bold new look.This new representational art, defined by a large format, free broad brush strokes, and strong rich colors, documented scenes and activities of everyday life on the Pacific Coast. California's cities and industrial sites, its beaches and harbors, and its vast open landscapes were interpreted by hundreds of artists using innovative new approaches to watercolor painting". www.calart.com)

You can double-click the pictures for a better view

442 Combat Team at Leghorn 1976.
I like the use of leaving parts of the paper white to convey bright sunlight.

I can't find any information about this picture but I really like the use of vivid colour and the simplicity of the design.

Rickshaws Under a Tree
There is a strong Chinese influence (apart from the obvious subject matter) visible here.

South Street Bridge 1955. 

Kingman worked in the film industry and many of his images appear to be on film-set locations. Sometimes cine equipment can be seen in the paintings. I'm not sure if that applies here but it definitely can be seen in the final picture below.

Four Men on a Bicycle 

For me, these paintings convey the pure joy of simply looking at them!