Cara Brown’s luminous watercolors of flowers, fruit, grapevines and other subjects are awash in sunlight, and resonate with vibrant, but never overdone color.
Many of her compositions are closeups of blossoms or fruit still on the plant; in essence they are treated like in-situ still life subjects. She often uses soft edges in her backgrounds to suggest depth, portraying her intimate subjects with harder edges to bring them forward.
Seeing her work in small reproductions, one might be tempted to think of some of her paintings as “photo-realistic”; but to do so, I think, is to do them a disservice. That effect is likely a function of the relatively large scale of many of the originals. In the generously sized reproductions she has provided on her website, you can see how true her rendering is to the inherent nature of watercolor.
Though there is a section of available originals, most of the paintings on her site serve as samples for the purchase of reproductions. You will find them listed by subject in a drop-down from the “Gallery” link. Be aware that some categories extend to more than one page.
I particularly enjoy her series of Zinfandel grapes on the vine, from a tiny vinyard in her brother’s back yard. In these, light seems to cascade down the forms as though drawn by gravity.
Brown has a Journal, in which she discusses process, and displays work in progress. She teaches workshops in Marin County, CA, near San Francisco.