Painting on Claybord - so much excitement!! So many questions!

As I was getting frustrated with the lack of interaction between my pigments (some granulating, some not, some quite heavy, some very light), or rather with the lack of predictability, despite me taking copious notes of what pigments I used, how much I waited before adding another colour, when I tilted the paper. I know that timing is everything, but I am not a patient watercolourist. I like to literally fling paint at the paper. What I want is something dynamic and rich and exciting. So I decided to try Claybord panels. And I had so much fun. My watercolour pigments were drifting, mingling, exploding - they completely had a mind of their own. And I loved it. Now of course, I have more questions - how to fix the watercolour, how to frame, what about the cost, particularly if you move to larger boards, etc.?

But it was worth it, just to know that some surfaces will give me the unpredictability I love, without going the full way to Yupo (although I have a few small sheets bought years ago that I never touched, so you never know!). Can I find a paper, or a ground that I can apply to paper, that will give me a similar effect. If any of you out there know the answer, or even think you know the answer, I'm happy to hear!

I worked on 30x30cm. Lots of spraying and flushing and tilting. A few close-ups also.

Going darker? Or lighter?

When what I intend to do doesn't work out, it's easy to fall back on what I'm comfortable with!  Anyways, just like Claude said, it's all about timing. I spent a lot of time holding my paper at just the angle it needed, and I watched as the water carried the pigment through. I might flush that dark tomorrow and see what happens. It became shiny in parts, which I really don't like! And note to self, pick up stray hairs (from our cat I suspect) before the paint dries darker around it!

Pencils4Tea 1 October 2026

2 I'm very happy with. I am thinking more about values.

 

Materials

Week 4 of Creative Shift - processes and materials. Identified a few friction points in my process, and put together a map of the materials that embody some of the words I'm interested in.

More experimenting

Sometimes, it works out, sometimes it doesn't. All about timing. The one that worked here was on the back of a quarter sheet of Saunders Waterford Cold press paper. Love the granulation. And I wrote down the steps in my studio book. But Claude AI can actually give you a pretty accurate step-by-step account! Scary that! The other ones were an attempt at flushing water and pigment onto the not-so good postcard experiments. Still not so good! (Two Rivers paper, very thick and quite rough for cold press).

2 others looked interesting while still wet, with heavy white watercolour added in swirls on top. But they disappeared as the paper dried. Timing is everything!

zoomed in on the bit I like

Trying to reproduce that effect!

You know when a watercolour does exactly what you want, but you have no idea how you achieved that effect? Then you keep trying and nothing works. Some of these failed experiments turned out ok. Others, not at all. The ones that worked out better were on Hanemhulhe Cornwall paper, with white watercolour dropped in to a mix of Indigo and Bloodstone Genuine. The ones that didn't were on really thick Two Rivers paper. The first one in the series here is the one I am trying to reproduce! I did use Grey of Grey and white watercolour in there somewhere - maybe that is what lifted? There was something in the layering, or the timing, that lifted beautifully when I ran a damp brush with a light wash over it! All experiments are postcard-size. No point in going larger until I can figure this out. And yes, I am very tempted to try different pigments, but I know I shouldn't change the parameters!

Grand Canal Dock

Just as well I brought minimal supplies, as it turns out I partially dislocated my clavicle. I don't know about the partially, actually. It's sitting above one of my ribs, so I personally think that qualifies as a full dislocation. I'm writing this on 30th September, so if you're seeing this on Instagram in November, I haven't dislocated again. Although it's entirely possible that I will dislocate it again, apparently! Anyways, my minimal supplies were not very well thought out. A bunch of acrylic markers, a pink pencil, a thick black Posca, and watersoluble graphite crayons. I did try to apply the acrylic markers on top of the graphite. It gave a nice subdued colour, but made the markers really dirty. I think that if I had brought my black Fude pen, I could have done a lot more with these sketches. 

 

Small experimentation

Sometimes painting large feels like too much. I don't know why. I have painted large for the last few years. But now, it feels like too much. So, rather than not painting at all, I'm back to painting small, postcard sized. Some of these made me happy while painting, watching pigments mingling on the paper. One makes me very happy. But I have no idea how I achieved that effect! All on Hahnemuhle Cornwall paper. 

Sketch with Suhita

Loved this session with Suhita's group, where we were exploring sketching people in front of a background, and how to separate the two while keeping a sense that they are in the same environment. There were a number of images to choose from. I probably picked the easiest one!

Experimenting with dark darks and white pigment in watercolour

Love the sky, hate the foreground. It's ok, this is not how I want to paint, but it's useful to experiment with these pigments (UB, Bloodstone Genuine, Blue Compose, Grey of Grey, Grey Yellow - I think that's it). I want lots of dark granulation - balance of pigment, water on the page, water in the brush and paper of course. This was done on Saunders Waterford cold press (300 gsm I think - must try on heavier paper too!)

Pencils4Tea 24 September 2026

Glad I'm getting back into the groove of attending Pencils4Tea, although the routine will be broken in October. Still, every practise counts.