Iris Watercolour

Irises 6x6" watercolour

This painting of irises is an exercise in working with the brush without benefit of a preliminary pencil sketch. I surprised myself and have built a little confidence for the future.

Small House Big View - watercolour sketch

14x9 cm watercolour sketchbook from Zecchi

I took gouache rather than watercolours on my morning walk and then tried to use them as watercolour washes. I don't know what I was thinking. It was very frustrating trying to mix colours and then the paper in this new sketchbook stayed damp for a long time so when I came to add some detail with ink it ran everywhere. As a result I added a little transparent watercolour when I got home.

Lately I have become very interested in monotype prints using diluted oil paint. This iris print was the first large work which was produced in three stages. The first stage I used a japanese brush to paint the iris in black oil based ink. I pulled the print and loved it. Stage two I went back to the plexiglass plate and guided by the original sketch which I'd fixed under the plate I painted in the flower and leaves. I pulled the same print through the etching press again. Less certain about the result this time. Stage three I added the background. Horrible choice of palette. I should have thought a great deal more about this. End result - very disappointing.

I'm not going to give up on this idea. Next time I'll work backwards through the three stages .

Iris Watercolour & Sketch

Garden Irises

It's been a wonderful year for Irises in our Tuscan garden. They've been popping up in places I've never seen them before. The first year we were here I'd dash out to photograph or sketch each bloom as it appeared. Such is the abundance this year, I've been a bit overwhelmed. I know I should have tried for a big painting but I've always been inhibited by the benchmark set by Van Gogh.

Katherine Tyrrell, (Making a Mark) has put together a wonderful post tracking her inspiration through Hokusai to Van Gogh to produce a beautiful coloured pencil study after Van Gogh.

I was finally forced to attempt a watercolour when Jean gave me a splendid specimen from her garden. I hate picking flowers and cutting their life short but this one had actually fallen over due to the weight of its enormous blooms.

Abandoned Watercolour

I don't often give up entirely on a painting but something about this flower made me put down my brush. Part of the problem was that I didn't pay enough attention to the initial drawing. I cut corners and had no believable structure to guide me. Anyway I gave up and took some photos instead.

Trying to overcome a glum 'can't paint anything' mood, I went 'surfing' the blogs that so often inspire. Casey Klahn (The Colorist) has tracked down a fabulous site featuring the work of Henri Matisse. I started doodling Matisse-style in awe, as always, of the spirited beauty of his line.

So in the end it wasn't Van Gogh or Hokusai who sent me back to the dreaded iris, but Matisse. Armed with an A3 sketchbook and a Tombow brush pen I ignored everything but the spirit of the iris and I was finally happy with the result.

Iris Woodcut Print with Watercolour

Irises woodcut print hand coloured with watercolour

If you think you have just had a touch of deja vou it's because I was so unhappy with the photographs of my prints in the previous post I've deleted the post and started again, this time scanning my images.

Above is a woodcut print I have hand coloured with watercolour. Below is the one I posted yesterday, hand coloured with gouache.

Woodcut print with gouache

I'm happy with both for different reasons. I really like the flat colour field one can achieve with gouache, much as it would be if the colours were printed rather than painted. This is the style of printmaker Margaret Preston whom I greatly admire.

Now I'd like to know what you think.

Irises Woodcut Print

Irises woodcut print 15 x 24cms

Since our irises aren't out yet, I used a couple of my photos from last spring and a watercolour sketch as references to draw these irises. Next I plan to hand colour one of the prints.

Working in the Garden

As HWEM stomps back and forth in his filthy gumboots, trekking compost and honest sweat through the house, he is occasionally heard to mutter - 'bout time you did some work in the garden'.

So here I am 'working' in the garden!


Every now and then I have to stop to consult my Muse.


I'm still trying to keep up with the plants as they bloom.


I wasn't quick enough for the Iris, so I had to rely on the photo I took. There's more on the way, so I will try for a looser watercolour version of those.