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!)
I used lots of mixed media in Toulouse, but now I'm interested in delving more into mostly watercolour. I used my orange palette from Roman Szmal, filled with various colours I have assembled from the last few symposiums. Love how these watercolours behave. Added a touch of Inktense pencils too. 45 minutes for my hair colour to cook. A hairdresser who loves art. Plenty of time for experimentation! At Eddie Doyle's, Blackrock.
Hard to believe that this painting is inspired by the same road I have been working on for the last few weeks. I was looking at the heavy version, then the cloud came to me. I love those big clouds over the sea. This version looks like a path to the beach on a beautiful summer's day. But it also reminds me of the amazing clouds I was privileged to see in Cill Rialaig 18 months ago. Where all you see is light bouncing between sea and sky. It feels like heaven.
Tried a different brand of watercolours for this Pencils4Tea. I have a set of portrait colours from Kremer. They're an interesting texture, quite grainy, completely different from what I'm used to. Used a few extra colours from an old set. Graphite pencil over the watercolour. And Stabilo Woody for lips. In Stillman & Birn and Seawhite of Brighton A4 sketchbooks.
Too many white bits. I think I'm trying to paint in a way that is not me. How do you paint flowers?
Bought myself a bouquet of peonies yesterday. I think it's the first time ever I have bought them. Been wanting to buy them for years, so I could paint them. Was surprised at how quickly they opened. Four of the five were just round buds yesterday. Now four of them are in full bloom. Need to hurry before they fade. All done within 2 hours, but might count them as separate days for Direct Watercolor month!
Played with watercolour, Statiblo Woodies, tempera sticks, oil pastels, and some Inktense. Would need to add more darks for volume, but I enjoyed the play. Which one is your favourite?
Very much work in progress, on cold press paper. Liking how the pigments are behaving. And the energetic mark making. Now pondering what to do with my second layer.
Some days just feel special. And some locations have that quality too. Coliemore Harbour is one of those places, and on a day that turned out brighter than forecast, it was perfect. It's sometimes struck me that it can be dull where I live, but if I go towards Dalkey, the clouds clear and the light seems brighter, particularly if you walk towards Coliemore Harbour. I've never been on Dalkey island. It calls out to me. But my fear of stepping on and off small boats stops me. So, the best I can do is sketch it from the shore.
Working with big watercolour shapes, then adding some graphite pencil. Had to work with two sketchbooks to give the watercolour time to dry before turning the page. Some worked out better than others, but I'm enjoying the challenge. I'm enjoying experimenting with negative shapes. And grey hair!
This little road on Bolus Head, walking from the Cill Rialaig artists village to the end of the road, is really on my mind these days. This is a small piece, about 25cm high. Mostly watercolour, with some pastel and Gansai Tambi in Graphite Red, which is quite dark.
It was a bit too dense, so I lifted some areas, but now I'm not so sure. All part of the journey.
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I added more watercolour layers and soft pastel to this one. Not what I had originally intended, but I like where it is now. This abstract landscape in mixed media was inspired by looking over the bay from Cill Rialaig during my residency last year. I love dreamy soft watercolour, but I also love intense mark making!
Experimentation with some of the shapes I see in the landscape when I look across the bay from Cill Rialaig. Similar shapes in Beara, actually. I want to figure out how to express those shapes in the simplest way possible, but still showing their volume through mark making and colour. I think this is going to take me a while. Using my new Korean watercolour tubes (in Sepia, Paynes Grey, light blue and Ochre) on thin cartridge paper (A2 size). Lots of buckling.
Someone very kind gave me a dozen tubes of Korean watercolours. Great excuse for play and experimentation! I added a bit of white gouache to one of them, and then an extra bit of pure white. Love how that created a wave shadow!
And yes, this is still on the theme of my residency in Cill Rialaig last year. The Atlantic Ocean was such a presence, on good days, and stormy days even more so.
I had intended to do something similar to the pink and sienna one but using more blue. It went in a different direction. But I did start with a light layer, as intended, so that's something. I kept adding layers as I progressed. As you can see, the first layer had some oil pastel in it, but it almost disappears under the layers of watercolour. I think the paper was Hahnemuhle Cornwall, which is perfect for dreamy effects and pigment blending. I used a mix of granulating and plain pigments, and scratched into the surface. Like most of this series, this abstract landscape was inspired by my residency in Cill Rialaig last year.
Note to self. I want to explore those shapes and marks in various media on light paper, which I could then glue to the paper and paint over. Lots of ideas emerging.
In the spirit of Direct Watercolour month, I used mostly watercolour for this Pencils4Tea session. With a graphite pencil, and a Stabilo Woody crayon (mostly for lips) when I had time. I added a little Ecoline marker in warm grey and pink on some afterwards. I had to switch between 2 books to let the watercolour dry, so some of the pages are Seawhite of Brighton cartridge paper, others are Stillman & Birn. PS: I know the playlist was chosen by a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old, but I loved it!!
