Albert Noyer
Watercolors and Woodcut PrintsI’ve always liked watercolor, even though it’s said to be a difficult medium. Stylistically, I try to make the image work without losing the revealing characteristics of the medium. Since many of the scenes that attract me run the danger of a picturesque interpretation, exploring the nature of watercolor is essential to balance that tendency toward tightness that many illustrators have. Transforming ordinary subjects into significant images is the aim of the process. Some works incorporate paper collage that gives an increased sense of place to the scene.
Woodcut is a stronger medium than watercolor: bold imagery, oily inks, and physical effort in cutting and printing the block. That first proof is always exciting and somewhat unpredictable – transferring the grain and knots of wood planks to paper and recognizing the characteristics of the cutting tools.
Albert Noyer was born in Switzerland and raised in Detroit, Michigan. After Army service, he pursued his interest in art at Wayne State University, and then worked as a commercial artist before entering a Detroit Public Schools career teaching art at the technical/vocational high school level, and part-time art history instructor at St. Mary’s College, Orchard Lake, Michigan.
Since retiring in New Mexico with his wife, Jennifer, he has shown watercolor paintings and woodcut prints in numerous regional exhibits. The March 1994 New Mexico Magazine and December 2006 Mature Life in New Mexico supplement of the Sunday Albuquerque Journal featured his work.
For more information, visit Albert’s web site.