Mahan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by renowned architect and watercolor artist George Acock. This exhibition is a collection of work inspired by Acock's travels across the United States and to countries abroad spanning a ten-year frame. In his paintings, Acock solicits the mystery and romance of strange and beautiful environments as reflected through the people, architecture and landscape.
He develops from his sketches compositional studies of value, color and shapes, that in turn respond to the mood and spirit that inspired him to draw the original sketch. Starting on rag watercolor paper, using his watercolor palette and a large brush, Acock creates with a series of washes, the atmosphere and basic shapes of his paintings. After the initial washes have dried, he alternates to smaller brushes to add only enough detail to record the presence of place. Acock specifically works in watercolors due to its ability to create different moods and certain spontaneity within the transparencies and textures. The sense of calmness and the feeling of control drives Acock to continually make work no matter his location. On a trip or sitting at a local restaurant, his sketchbook is omnipresent.
Acock's passion for watercolor commenced at the early age of five. His mother, a school teacher, encouraged him by providing all the necessary paints, brushes and paper. George's father, an engineer, added math and science to his skills that later lead to his decision to study architecture. His architecture has received many awards and acknowledgements and his watercolors have been exhibited since the early 1980's. George is a graduate of Ohio State University. After graduation, Acock founded his own design firm four years later in 1967, Acock Associates. He works and resides in Columbus with his wife, Deb, and their two black Labradors, Sammy and Max.
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