I've been painting a lot of clouds lately. To be honest, I could be painting clouds for the rest of my life and I would be happy. But other things make me happy too. I've been thinking about connection, and what's more rooted than trees! This doodle was done from a photo I took of a tree in the neighbourhood.
Seawhite of Brighton 220gsm Cartridge paper A4. It's acid free too.
It took quite a bit of water and pigments without tearing. Buckled quite a bit, but I think it will work as the paper for an upcoming project for which I will be sketching on loose sheets. I must check how it will react to Neocolor and colour pencil on top of damp watercolour!
A stretch of city streets that I never looked at before. Not far from St Patrick's Cathedral. It's a busy road, with traffic going by constantly and the footpaths full of tourists. Noticed the window of Timepiece, a beautiful shop that sells and repairs clocks. If you're reading this in 2050, you're probably asking "what are those?" If you're in 2024, you probably know what they are but almost certainly don't have one in your home! So I found it fascinating to look in the window and observe these timepieces! There were a lot of reflections in the windows and I couldn't see very well, but just enough to get a sense of their shapes, history and beauty.
Yep, couldn't resist buying this Gansai Tambi set of paints. No idea what I will do with it. But I love the colours! And that's all that matters!
When one of my isolated showers didn't work out the way I wanted, I drew some trees on top of it. They are the trees I can see from my window, not exactly in the right order, nor to scale. But I might try a version where I paint the trees in gouache. I wonder what that would look like?
Trying colours that have been languishing in the drawer
Glacier Green, Bloodstone Genuine, Quin Scarlet (too pink), then Quin Burnt Scarlet (perfect). And a mystery blue. Don't know yet how I'm going to use them, but it was good to try different colours.
OK, let's do more clouds.
Some work out. The Sennelier Warm Grey and the Lunar Blue worked out well here (and whatever else was in the palette).
And some don't - I threw too many colours here and the shape went crazy. I might add some Neocolor or colour pencil on top, just to see what happens!
Plenty of detours on the way. I wanted to try out a few colours from the Holbein Spring gouache set. A lot of them have white in them. But if I add black, I can still get pretty interesting colours all the same.
I know I'm painting and sketching in all sorts of directions at the moment, but really, all that my mind keeps coming back to is these.
We were sketching around Adelaide Road in late August. For me, there was one place I had to sketch - the house where I lived for a year or two in the late 80s. Number 16 (I'm pretty sure I got the right house, it's got an extra floor compared to the other houses on the street). It's a pretty standard-looking Georgian house, but it holds so many happy memories. We were sketching on a Sunday afternoon and the area is as quiet now as it was then. I imagine it's still busy with traffic in the evenings during the week, but that Sunday feeling was wonderful. I shared the flat on the first floor with a friend in 87-88 and we're still friends today. The window above the door was our bedroom, and the window beside it was our living room, separated by a thin partition wall. Same thin wall at the back between kitchen and bathroom.
All sketches done in my new Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook, with fairly robust cartridge paper. I'm going to explore what I can do with it. As you can see from the buckling at the back of the page in the next sketch, it might not be best for sketching across the full spread. Will experiment and let you know how it works out!
I haven't drawn objects in a few months. I did a lot of blind contour drawing earlier this year when I was in a bit of an art funk, but once things go better, I just sketch on the streets or paint watercolours in the studio. But on this day in August, I did, and it was fun. I was at the Olivier Cornet Gallery for a workshop with one of his artists and the theme of drawing objects that are connected with memories. So I brought a few Japanese items that I love and I drew them. I drew the same mug 4 times. Not that it looks the same! But it's fascinating to see what happened on the page as I was looking at it, holding it in my hand, and drawing it again and again. Then I moved on to other little items - a little Hello Kitty key holder. It's the cutest little thing. And I also used patterns from a face cloth and from a piece of fabric. Looking at the page, I feel I should have composed the page more, but it doesn't matter. It was really relaxing and fun.
Other thing I learned. I love rough paper (Arches) and I love super smooth paper too (Fabriano Unica). They just do different things! Both make me happy. Sky done very differently. Using Naples Yellow, Sennelier Warm Grey and Sennelier Grey (in the rough paper version anyway). I should post these separately on Instagram, as they both express a different side of me. Is there such a thing as being too versatile?
Each iteration teaches me something different. Like - I like the warmth of Naples Yellow. Undiluted Cerulean Blue granulates too much to give the impression of rain. I love the sharpness and blueness of the mountains on the left against the warm sky.
It looks more like the end of the world, rather than a heavy shower. But sometimes, that's how the sky looks!
I'm currently working in a Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook. The paper is so different from what I'm used to. It's cartridge paper, but it can handle watercolour surprisingly well. I just have to figure out how I sketch in it. I normally sketch across the full spread, but I'm worried about paint and marks seeping through the paper onto another sketch. I will just have to play with it and see what happens!
In the meantime, I have done colour swatches in a few other sketchbooks I have in my (rather large) stash.
Strathmore - love the paper, the colours, how the ink and pencils flow. Can't wait to take it in the field!
I would like my skies to feel a little warmer. I got a good tip from Hari a while back. Naples Yellow!
I have three different brands and they're completely different pigments. Love the effects in this book - Stillman&Birn Alpha - great paper for watercolour magic! We'll have to see how it works out with different paper!
WN
Holbein and W&N
But the most important thing is to keep things light, and not to overwork!! Although I could use this as a background for racing horses or something, if I was into that kind of thing.
I think Cerulean blue might be too granulating for what I'm trying to achieve. So I looked at alternatives I have in my stash. Mmm. Still thinking about it.
A little glimpse into my world. My studio is pure chaos. It's organised chaos. I know where everything is. Love it.
I'm not even sure it's anger. But I'm a very black and white person. I can go from happy happy to despair in the blink of an eye. I certainly wasn't going to be able to paint clouds that day.
It was a perfect late summer's day. I love roaming among the old graves in Glasnevin Cemetery. I always seem to find myself in the older section of the graveyard, where trees grow all around the tombstones. There's a great variety of styles, although not quite as imposing as in a French graveyard, where even the smallest village has family crypts and ornate stonework.
Apparently, there is some disease decimating the trees, so I thought it would be good to sketch one before they all disappear. Glasnevin won't be the same if all the trees die. I wonder are they planning to plant new ones?
I have uploaded new works on my website. These are currently unframed, so I can ship them anywhere around the world. Contact me for shipping costs. Click here to see them.
Why do I think that I might be able to paint something in gouache, a medium I don't know well, when it's eluding me in a medium I know well, watercolours? Still, I think it's good to have fun rather than following a linear path.
Playing with this scene from Seattle with Suhita's online group. We'll be looking at the same scene again in a week's time, so it will be interesting to see what comes up then! I know I need to make stronger darks. It just doesn't come naturally to me!
