Alex Hillkurtz is a watercolour artist born in England and currently living in Paris, France. He is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society (USA), an associate member of the California Watercolor Association, and a member of French Plein Air Painters. After many years as a renowned storyboard artist for feature films with credits that include “Argo”, “Almost Famous” and “It’s Complicated”, Alex now draws upon cinematic language to inform his paintings. He believes that plein air painting invites us to connect deeply with a place and reveal hidden stories, and that watercolour in particular possesses a unique quality for expressing emotion.
In addition to group and solo exhibitions of Alex’s paintings in Europe and the States, he also conducts regular demos, workshops, and master classes on watercolour painting, teaching students of all levels and backgrounds how to infuse their paintings with life and light. His on-line course with Domestika has reached over 160K students worldwide, and his book “Sketching Techniques for Artists” was published in 2021 by Quarto Publishing.
Artist Statement:
In a dusty drawer of my parents’ house I once found a torn and weathered sheet of paper. Carefully unfolding it revealed pencil sketches of British soldiers and American Jeeps during WWII done in my grandpa’s hand. Until finding this I had no idea my grandfather had any artistic inkling. He certainly didn’t speak of it. But then, my mother didn’t speak about her talent either, and growing up, the walls of the house were dotted her framed pen and ink sketches. Grandpa was in no position to pursue this interest; he worked for British Post his whole life. And my mother was too busy raising two boys to attempt anything as incomprehensible as an artistic pursuit. But here I am, the third generation in my family to inherit this spark.
This is a conversation started long ago. This pantheon of artistic voices reaches further back. It’s a wave behind me, and I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. It’s now my turn to translate light into paint, to transform emotion into imagery. Watercolour in particular possesses a unique quality for expressing emotion; it’s the voice I choose to speak with.
Surrounded by these whispers of the past, this dialogue takes the form of architecture. Beyond descriptions of elegance, grace, or mystery, the physical city, its buildings and squares, are characters come to life. They speak to me. They move! Old souls reach for sunlight, young upstarts thrust into intersections, and a grande dame embraces a neighbourhood square. Places have souls, there’s spirit everywhere. With a little water, some pigment, and paper, I’m here to listen. My brush is the tool I use to translate what I hear.
This echo has been resonating for a long time. From unknown generations to my grandpa’s pencil, my mother’s pen, to my brush…I’ve been handed a baton. Given a boost into a larger community of creative’s, I’ve found home. This is my family now. It’s an on-going conversation and I’ll carry this torch as best I can.