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!

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. 

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!)

Exploring a darker mood

Holding two thoughts in my head at the same time isn't easy - Been thinking about these landscapes as an embrace, havens protecting me. And now also looking at a darker palette and more granulation.  Enjoying the interplay between the pink watercolour pencil and the darker mood! From a technical point of view, I want something richer, so need to take note and explore that.

 

Creative Shift Week 2

Interesting explorations into inspirations and influences in Week 2 of Creative Shift 2026. It took me somewhere I didn't expect. From a random watercolour artist I had seen on Instagram (Naomi Tydeman) and put into my Google Keep collection, to The Apocalypse Variations, a collection by Marc Taro Holmes from 2019. I have the book and I had forgotten how much I love this work of his!

I don't know what it will do to the way I paint, but it's certainly something to explore on my creative journey.

Here is a short video capturing my notes and images.

Thumbnailing to get back on track?

Not sure if On Track is the right word. But I have always done thumbnails. Sometimes they are postcard-sized. Sometimes they're A3 or A2. These are small little ones. I think they will help me discover the shapes that interest me in a landscape. Interested in shapes, line and value contrast, not colour, for a change.

 

Soft pastels are hard to resist

I'm giving myself permission to play, to explore, without a precise goal in sight. I'm interested in softer shapes, circles, more neutral colours. No idea where that will lead. Or how long I will be able to resist the urge to paint with more intention. But Unison soft pastels were the perfect tool for this, added on top of some of the circles from my previous session.

 

Exploring the softer side of circles

I'm resisting the temptation to "paint a painting". I want to explore how to do those circles in watercolour. Not as easy as in ink. I played with a variety of papers, from rough to very smooth print paper and heavy-weight cartridge paper. Oh and there was a blob too. But an interesting blob. Some of these are A2 (roughly half sheet), some a bit smaller. Used Cretacolour watersoluble pencil, my new Lyra chunky pencil, and also some Inktense in one of the pieces

 

Her embrace - ink vs watercolour

Played with ink to explore what came out of the Seeing More Clearly mini-workshop. I do love Pilot's Ina Ho colour, which they don't make anymore and they have nothing that comes close to its colour and range of values and variations as you dilute it. Worked on A2 heavy cartridge paper, with lots of water. When I tried a similar approach in watercolour, I realised that the water was sinking into the paper a lot more, with a result that the paper got damaged when I tried to make marks with a stick. It seems that the ink pulls the water up to the surface more. It's a shame that fountain pen ink in general is not lightfast. Though I have never done a test. I really want to get some similar effects in watercolour! I did get some nice effects with a deep yellow, Bloodstone Genuine and Grey of Grey. Am I going down another rabbit hole? I do jump around, but I'm genuinely interested in where this will go. So it's worth setting other things aside for a little bit in order to play with this idea.