Jenny's Contemplation


This watercolor painting depicts a serene scene of a person sitting alone on the edge of a wooden dock, gazing out over a calm, expansive body of water with gentle ripples, under a cloudy sky and distant green hills.

Benjamin J. Young
American, 1990 - Current
Jenny's Contemplation ( 2024 )
Watercolor on Cotton Paper


About the Jenny's Contemplation Painting

Jenny’s Contemplation is both expressive and metaphoric in it’s design. It’s a variety of color splashes introduced in the world of light across the lake’s surface of water. A woman stranger sits on a weathered wooden dock, peering in to thought. A foreign intrusion sits right-of-center, still in what is seemingly like the calm parts of the water; an island pier. The waves turn in a moment of calmness and introspection, surrounding the subject in intrusive thought. The summer sun’s light dances through the sky and across the the refraction of rippling waves among the lake’s surface. Nestled hills roll in the attached land’s horizon, muted by the bipolar clouds mood. The melancholic mood set by the this vibrant world, give a sense of tranquility and reflection. The curiosity of what the girl may be thinking, is left to burden the viewer with their own ideas. The subtle details and gentle colors create a peaceful, almost dreamlike quality, inviting the viewer to pause and share in this moment of solitude and serenity.

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Inspiration

Photo of En plein air watercolor painting

I sat out peering over the Nimisila Reservoir, people watching the paddle boarders, especially a random girl and her boston terrier dog make their way across the lake. I studied the colors of the water as the sun reflected across the surface of the water and drew inspiration in it’s nuances.

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Artwork Process

The technique with the water was to stay loose, like I did with Sailing Away Schoon. Borrowing a lot of my usage of colors and values from Escape, but trying to improve on it after learning my realism technique in Oil Painting. I used almost entirely watercolor paint, but did incorporated blots of white gouache to give parts of the clouds it's texture. As well as the signature incorporated a mixture of white gouache and blue watercolor mixed together, to set someone contrast but subtle in the lower right corner in the depths of the dark water.

Here is a visual overview of the process:


Where To Visit

This painting is currently on display at Patina Art Centre in Canton Ohio, and can be viewed there.

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