Voices of Experience - Mort Solberg
Mort Solberg understood that accidents can lead to wonderful paintings. He learned throughout his artistic career how to embrace the mercurial characteristics of his primary medium of watercolor that resist the control of the artist and that can produce those “wonderful accidents”. Within a wash of colors flowing together he was able to see a stream edge or a roaring waterfall. And with his very deft hand, he was able to pull out the rocks that edge the stream and add the moose lit by late afternoon sun wading in the water.
The technique requires a keen sense of timing and patience. Solberg called it a “happy way to paint” His paintings with their sense of mystery invite the viewer’s participation and interpretation. Although he also worked in oil and acrylic, watercolor held his greatest fascination.
Tarzan was his childhood hero, presaging his lifetime love of nature and wildlife. Solberg began his paintings by creating a loose design on the paper with w…