Paper Doll

Watercolour, crayon, oil pastel - 20 x 28cm

A few days ago I was reading a lovely post about childhood memories by Jeanne Grant on her blog. Jeanne struck many chords but the one that really resonated for me was her delight in paper dolls. When I started asking friends, I realised this was a fond memory for so many girls.

As you can see I've been playing around with watercolour again and went a bit overboard with colour but I will probably revisit the theme of paper dolls because I still love them.

Flying Pictures - Venice

Watercolour, gesso, ink & gouache on grey paper (click for larger image)

Lindsay's Flying Pictures sketchbook is now in France with Casey. Since the theme of Lindsay's book is water, my contribution is Venice (above). It's the view from Piazza S. Marco across the lagoon. To the right, detail of some buildings on the Grand Canal.

Lindsay commenced her book with a beautiful and striking collage. I continued this theme, taking her little canoe through Tuscany and on to Venice. Will Casey be tempted to paddle the little canoe on through France? We'll have to wait and see.

You can follow the adventures of all seven books in the Flying Pictures Sketchbook Exchange here.

Daffodil Disaster

Watercolour and Oil Pastel

I brought a beautiful bunch of daffodils back from Jean's farm last week, full of anticipation about painting them. Meantime I tried to progress the Botticelli oil portrait I've been working on for weeks. I think I'm in a bit of an End Of Winter Slump where nothing much is going right. Anyway, the day before yesterday I finally sketched my daffodils, then life got in the way again and by the time I got back to them this morning, they were well and truly dead. I made a halfhearted attempt to finish the watercolour but it was a disaster. Tried to rescue it by adding some bold oil pastels. Unfortunately 'the patient' died.

Why am I posting this? I'm hoping I will be motivated to move on and do something else so it doesn't have to sit on my blog too long. Anyone else having an EOWS?

Daffodils blooming under apricot trees at the farm.

First Tulips

Watercolour Pencil & background wash 15 x 15 cms

I'll always associate tulips with our friends Jani and Louis. This is from yet another beautiful bunch they've given us. I've been sketching and photographing them all week.

The first big pencil sketch was a disaster so I decided to try a detail in watercolour pencil. This Cartiera Magnani drawing paper quickly started to scuff under the sharp pencils so I knew I wasn't going to be able to build up a multi-layered dark pencil background. I used a neutral tint watercolour wash instead, so I guess this is now mixed media.

The tulip bulbs we've planted are now coming up in the garden. I love this time of year, so full of promise.

Still Life with Chair

Watercolour & mixed media 26x28cm

Trust me, this is not going to be a series. Too much of the wrong sort of colour and I feel like I did when I ate too much fairy floss (cotton candy). I'm not sure why I'm posting this, maybe it's so I can put it behind me and move on.

Version II with background wash

I've killed it with the background wash. Indigo wasn't a great choice for the wash.
Definitely moving on now!

Craving Colour

San Nicolo - Cortona 24x32cm CP watercolour

San Nicolo is a lovely little church rather a steep walk up through the streets of Cortona. I took a photograph about a year ago and used that as a reference for this watercolour. I'm getting increasingly frustrated with photo references and realise no matter how quick and rough a sketch you make, there is a chance of a better result simply because the sketch will alert an inexperienced artist (like myseslf) to problems not immediately apparent in a photograph. The photograph is then really a great secondary resource.

In watercolour class I've been working a lot with subdued colour and different approaches to texture. Today I realised I had a craving for colour. Below is the result - same subject with watercolour, oil pastel, charcoal and pen. A bit like polishing off a whole bar of chocolate ;)

Mixed media on Cotman CP

Killing Me Softly

Watercolour & White Oil Pastel - Canson CP 7"x9.5"

It's okay, I haven't gone mad! I've been trying to draw and paint now for about two years. I've been extremely preoccupied with different mediums and techniques and struggling to get control of a watercolour brush and that elusive substance - water. At the back of my mind has been a secret fear - I'm not say anything. I'm trying to paint something beautiful, sometimes ending up with something pretty, but I'm not saying anything!

This week my wonderful friend Sally (Author/Artist) sent me a photo from a fish market. She didn't say anything either - just emailed me a great photo. I decided to accept the challenge to paint this dead fish because of the wonderful colours. Then I found myself saying something. I can't eat animals with big brown eyes, and beyond that, have a lot of guilt about the creatures I do eat. Okay, maybe I am going mad! So, I've finally said something, like it or not!

Yesterday, I spent the morning making value charts of all my W&N watercolour tubes and turning them into a colour chart on a split ring. I saw this wonderful idea on someone's blog and apologise for not being able to remember who's it was. If anyone can help me I'd be most grateful, I'd like to say thanks because this is the most helpful colour selection tool I've ever discovered.

What made this really easy was my John Salmon brush Charger. I took a little pure paint directly from the tube, painted a square, than charged the brush from the base for the next lighter value and so on. I bet you thought the Charger was another of those gadgets I'm notorious for collecting and discarding!

Fave

We dined on our first garden fresh broad beans last night. After I painted these this morning, I ate them my favourite way - raw.

I've wasted an extraordinary amount of time lately struggling with a watercolour of a paeony. Pink is not my favourite colour but the bloom came from two gorgeous bunches given to me by friends. I didn't give enough thought to the palette or the background and no matter what I did the flower looked pasted on. Finally I threw it in a bathtub of water, gave it a good scrubbing and finished it off with dry watercolour pencils. My first Mixed Media which I present with mixed feelings.

31cm x 25cm Mixed Media