The artwork of sim van der ryn
“For me, painting watercolors is part of my process of reconnecting to others and nature. The half-hour to an hour of sitting in stillness while painting in place is a form of meditation, connecting to the inner self and a natural setting focused only in the present, recording what I see, and using this fluid technique to quickly capture my impressions of the essence of nature wherever I am. An early lesson I learned was not to paint “objects” but to focus on overall form, on where one edge meets another. “ (Sim Van der Ryn: Design for an Empathic World” ) This page presents digitized images of watercolors by Sim Van der Ryn organized into eight categories. You can make online orders for high quality Giclee reproductions on watercolor paper with different size options. Your print on demand order will be fullfilled and shipped to you by Black Cat Studio in Novato, California.
Sausalito Collection
The SF Bay Area has been a prime focus of many of Sim’s paintings, being that he lived and worked from the mid 1980’s to about 2005 on the Ameer, his beautiful Sausalito houseboat.
Sonoma-Napa Counties & West Marin County Collection
This collection includes paintings of Sim’s home at the Eco-Refuge in Inverness, and surrounding environs of Tomales Bay, Elephant Mountain, and Ocean beaches, rolling vineyards and sunny country towns of Sonoma and Napa County.
Europe Collection
These paintings from many different trips Sim made over the years to Italy, Spain, Croatia, Scotland and England reflect Sim’s meditations on place in the continent in which he was born. It includes paintings he did while undergoing two different month-long residencies (1997 and 2013) at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, near Lake Como in Northern Italy.
New Mexico Collection
Sim’s paintings of New Mexico reflect his deep appreciation of this region’s wide-open landscapes and strong presence of Hopi and Navajo cultures. He visited often and eventually designed and built himself a small house there.
Other Countries Collection
Bali, India, Cuba, Japan, Canada, Mexico – these are all places Sim travelled for enjoyment and in some cases, work related projects. Experiencing diverse cultures has influenced Sim’s thinking about the relationship of culture and architecture.
California Nature Collection
These paintings honor the magnificent wilderness areas of some of California’s natural areas including Big Sur, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite, Covelo, Emigrant Basin and the Trinity Alps – all places where Sim held strong connections and repeatedly visited over the years, often on backpacking trips.
Other USA Collection
Sim’s paintings of locations in Arizona, New York, Colorado, Utah, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Idaho reference special moments while visiting friends or relatives or conducting design projects in these varied places.
Miscellaneous, Black & White, Still Life Collection