Looking towards the headlands

Another watercolour and mixed media exploration of the land and sea around the Cill Rialaig retreat village. Looking towards the headlands. The sea a beautiful colour. The land still full of rusts and gold.

I worked on A2 Seawhite of Brighton heavyweight cartridge paper, with very wet washes, oil pastels and Unison soft pastels. I'm interested in the textures in the land, all these brambles and high grasses. Also the shape of the headlands. And of course the constant movement and sound of the Atlantic Ocean as it hits the cliffs.

At this stage of the process, I don't know what I want to express yet. The act of painting will lead to something. I trust in the process, knowing that it will bring me where I need to be. I was really inspired by Sally-Ann Ashley's comments on her Substack today, about finding more studio time (https://substack.com/@sallyanneashleyart). For years, I've had this notion about needing two hours to paint, generally after having done everything else I needed to do. The idea that I could paint for half an hour in the morning, before doing anything else, was such a revelation! I must join her Arthouse group later this summer when I have more time at home. I did her Creative Shift course a couple of years ago (or was it last year?) and it really helped me in my practise. I tend to resist those online group things, as I don't have much patience for listening to everyone else's art journey, but I think this one might be worth a try. 

 

Not-so-direct watercolour

Direct Watercolour month is starting on 1st June. The last few years, I've struggled to keep up, as it clashed with some of my travels. But this year, I've decided, I will just treat it like my usual studio practise. So, there will be lots of mixed media, but with a strong watercolour foundation. At the moment, I'm going through some of my photos, sketches and notes from my art residency at Cill Rialaig. It seems that I'm finally ready to process my experience there. So the general theme will continue my exploration of my connection with land, air and sea in the West of Ireland. And how I feel connected to the land, and to the Universe! Lots of Irish landscapes. It will be interspersed with holiday sketches. A normal day at the office for me!

This first one is from one of my many walks up and down the road from the Cill Rialaig cottages. It was February, the land was sodden, with a memory of Winter. Not sure about the promise of Spring, but there were some sunny days too. I'm working on Seawhite of Brighton heavy-weight cartridge paper in A2 size. Using very wet watercolour, and oil pastels and Unison soft pastels too. I will probably crop and collage, then use the cropped version as inspiration for a painting on watercolour paper.

Songlines - A crack in the voice

Trying to work on two different views at the same time. On Hahnemuhle Cornwall Hot press, 48x48ccm. Not sure my brain can process. I think it's too much for me. I like the first one so far. The second one, not so much. Maybe I need to leave it to the side for a bit. Or throw more water at it!

Second layer

Details

First layer

Watercolour pencil notes on the pages. Most of those have disappeared by now. Glad I took a photo.

Between a rock and a hard place

Still at the same place, same time. But zoomed in on a small space of clear water between two slabs of rock that plunge through the ocean. Love this interaction between land and sea, this idea of the energy of the rocks rising through the water, and the water eroding the rock, forever locked in their embrace.

These two pieces work better seen at a little bit of distance. One done on hot press, with Neoart as a resist to start with, followed by watercolour, then oil pastel. The other one on cold press, with a very loose watercolour wash, followed for oil pastel for highlights and detail. Loved how the oil pastel glides. Was very satisfying. Both are 26x26cm. I switched back and forth between them as I was waiting for watercolour to dry. I love some aspects of each. They're all my babies after all.

Neoart vs Neopastel

Trying Neoart (by Caran d'Ache), a "wax oil pastel". It will be interesting to compare it to my oil pastels. On first impression, the oil pastels I have (Neopastel, also a Caran d'Ache product - somehow I can't find any trace of me swatching the colours) glide so much better. But Neoart sticks might be a good option for my sketchbooks, where they might not transfer as much as Neocolor 2. I haven't done proper testing yet. Do I ever do proper testing?