Creative Shift Week 3

Introducing visual elements - I think this could take three weeks for me! I chose 1 image from Naomi Tydeman and 2 from Marc Taro Holmes, and a few of my own for comparison. Quite a difference between what I am attracted to in these artists' paintings versus how I paint. It was good to analyse what visual elements they use to create the mood.

Here is a little video of what I have posted in my studio book for the week.

Please forgive the sound in the background of the video - a neighbour is getting her garden done, and there seems to be excessive use of the leaf-blower! But then it seems that my turning the pages actually makes more noise than the leaf blower!

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.

Have to trust in the process

Things are not coming as easy as they used to. I just have to trust in the process and persevere. I am pushing this landscape towards abstraction, but it's still a bit too much of a landscape maybe. I do like the pink lines (watercolour pencil) of my initial drawing showing through the paint, and how Grey of Grey pushes every other pigment out of the way. I also like some of the green lines in soft pastels.

 

Procrastination with ink

Some days, not much 

A landscape, Not a landscape

Work in progress. I'm moving to my square images and looking at this hidden landscape where I feel I belong. Where I feel fearless, grounded, embraced. The original version stared at me from the board for a number of weeks before I understood what it needed. It's not quite a painting I would frame. But I like the shapes, the value contrast and some of the curved lines. The journey continues.

 

Circles - are they too abstract?

Yes, I'm still pursuing circles, but I'm getting bored with them, and it shows. I need to ground myself in the landscape again, I think. What have I learned? That I need to work big and across masking tape to be able to paint a circle in watercolour. And that I don't need to paint a perfect circle. And that hot press paper is challenging.

 

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.

Idea vs technique

Sometimes, I go, duh, why did I not realise this earlier? I'm looking at a landscape that has very definite shapes and I'm thinking of it as an abstract, but it still has definite shapes. So why am I trying to paint it with wild watercolour techniques, ie lots of water and sloshing around on really smooth paper? It makes no sense. Does it? And how do I make it make sense? I don't want to go down the gouache, gesso or soft pastel route (although I have to admit I have bought some more soft pastels!). So where do I go from here? Am I thinking too much? 

Sometimes the journey takes a turn

Can't say if it's a wrong turn, But I mixed the previous image with that thumbnail, added dark watercolour as a foreground and middle ground. Then lots of soft pastel. and some more watercolour on top.  It looks better in photo than reality.  But it's too much of a landscape for my liking. The 2 images were never meant to come together. Is it a wrong turn or a cul-de-sac? Time to step back, I think. 

 

Two paths meet

The shapes in one of the photos I had put in my Seeing More Clearly concertina book were calling out to me. And also the realisation that I want to introduce the actual shapes from the landscape into my more abstract paintings. I'm not sure why (yet), but it's important to me to recreate those roads and mountains, while at the same time hiding their exact locations. It's like they are my own personal haven. I want to share their beauty with the world. But I also want to keep them secret! So I have started with a thumbnail. An actual small-sized thumbnail. Not sure yet how I will merge this with my loose wild watercolour application. But that's another day's work.

Prelude to Creative Shift

I've decided to go through Sally-Ann Ashley's Creative Shift again this year. It really helped me on my creative journey the last time I did the course (is it two years ago? I can't remember) . I have gone back to my notes many times and I still use a lot of the ideas to find my way when I am lost. This year, I feel I need it more than ever, so I have signed up for the full course again. It's starting in early September, but she's running a free mini-intro, called Seeing More Clearly, and I'm enjoying it already. It was fun to make an concertina sketchbook out of heavyweight cartridge paper. I can already see that the format will help me see things more clearly!!

The big ha-ha for me was using the Photos app on my laptop and taking screenshots of groups of 8 thumbnails of photos I had selected from my Google Photo albums. I had chosen the images by location, but otherwise just going with my gut instinct as to what images appealed to me. I take photos in 16x9 format, but the Photos app on my Mac shows me square thumbnails. 4 to the width of my screen. I took screenshots of 2 rows of 4 at a time. Completely random. And yet, what I saw in front of my eyes was so beautiful. Great start to another creative adventure!

Journey

The journey has started. First layer exploration of two of the compositions from my 6 pieces.

Elemental

I'm painting again! I was starting to worry. I had so many ideas that I felt like a rabbit in the headlights. But  after spending some time in my studio book, looking back at notes from 3 years ago and painting from the last couple of years, I had a better idea of what I wanted. So, here is the first step! Lots of ideas emerging already from this set of 6 painted as one. Mostly watercolour, lots and lots of water. And a little watersoluble pencil.

Small thumbnails

It's a long time since I've done small thumbnails. I was checking out some colour combinations. Neither piece is completely satisfying, but the one with Grey of Grey and Bloodstone Genuine (and a Hansa Yellow Deep or Gamboge, not sure which_ does appeal to me the most. I'll park it for now, but will come back to the idea at some stage. 

Rough and Smooth

Can't decide what paper to use. I thought hot press would be best, but I'm getting better results with rough paper! I thought I wasn't going to pursue results. I'm just experimenting and playing, right?

Time for reflection, reset, trial and error

I haven't been painting much lately, busy with sketching and other distractions. It's really been a few months since I have painted anything I'm 100% happy with (apart from the big cloud over the beach, which I like a lot). Amazing how hard it is to get back to painting now.  

I'm taking it one step at a time, looking at my own works that I like, thinking about what I want to take from this reflection. Also refocusing on shift words and how they might express in design elements. Basically going back to process and play, rather than trying to paint a painting worthy of an exhibition. It will take a while!

No prizes for guessing which ones I'm happy with! I just have to listen to my inner voice and remember not to try so hard!!