More on the watercolour theme this week as I’ve been teaching colour theory. It may not sound that exciting, but I’m easily pleased and love the way that you can take three bright primary colours and make a colour wheel (or in this case, colour splodge…..)
and then the most clever bit of all, mixing three bright primaries together and ending up with the softest dappled grey…..
Careful with the red. Red is a bit of a bully and a little goes a long way. The secret to a dappled colour is to let the paint mix on the page, don’t stir it into a homogenised gloop on the palette. Where damp colours touch they’ll do their own thing. Here’s a one minute seascape…..
How’s that for a very potted colour theory lesson! Blended greys are so much nicer than tube greys. If you want to mix some gorgeous dark greys and blacks, try cadmium red plus winsor blue or burnt sienna plus ultramarine. Too brown? Add more blue. Too grey? Add more red.
The snow melted, and the pace of life returned to a gallop. Watercolour classes have begun at Haverfordwest Community Centre, with ten beginners in the morning and 13 improvers in the afternoon. Most of those in the improvers class are returning from last year - does this mean I didn’t do a good enough job of teaching them last time so they have to come back and hear it all again? Actually, I think (I hope) they’ve come back purely for fun, because it keeps the momentum going and they learn as much from each other as they do from me. It can be hard to find inspiration when you’re sitting alone in front of a blank sheet of paper.
letting the paint, paper and brush do their own thing...
Beginners are a joy to teach because you get results fast when you start learning something. Watercolours have a reputation for being difficult, and they can be, but the basics are easily learnt with someone looking over your shoulder to make sure you’re not lathering it on like emulsion paint and then wondering why your washes have turned up their toes and died. Norfolk artist Aidan Kirkpatrick once told me ‘If you’ve found a paper, you’ve found a style’, which sounds dramatic, but it is amazing the difference a good watercolour paper can make. The problem is persuading students to experiment with decent paper as they don’t want to waste it.
Two years ago one of my students, Gill, bought some lovely Arches NOT paper; the sort of paper that turns a simple brushstroke into a thing of beauty. It was quite expensive - well, the price of a half decent bottle of Chardonnay, my measure for everything - but not as pricey as, say, the truly wonderful Two Rivers hand made. Some months later I asked how she’d enjoyed using the Arches. “Oh, I haven’t used it!” she said. “It’s on top of the wardrobe. I’ll use it when my painting has improved enough to justify it”. In vain I tried to explain that her painting would be sure to improve IF she used the paper, but I think it’s there still. I now have to explain to newcomers the difference between cheap practice paper and top-of-the-wardrobe paper. I’m sure I get more from my students than they do from me!
fast and sketchy...
Good things about being snowed in…… the village is muffled in silence and beautiful. The path through the woods looks like a scene from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Strangers out for walks are chattier than usual. Can’t go very far so getting plenty of work done.
Bad things about being snowed in…… trying to type or draw with gloves on. Not being able to drive anywhere. Remembering what sailing in the sunshine is like - but only just. Wondering if I’m going to make it to the introductory session of my watercolour classes in Haverfordwest tomorrow - probably not unless there’s a sudden thaw.
just don't expect me to drive anywhere...!
Nice things about Christmas: Being able to have a glass of wine at lunchtime without feeling guilty. Jigsaws and mince pies and walks on the beach. Listening to sublime singing in a tiny church by candlelight (ancient Welsh carols sung unaccompanied by a raven haired young vicaress, but that’s another story….). Things I don’t like about Christmas: Too much chocolate. Icy weather. Feeling guilty because for the first time ever I didn’t send Christmas cards this year. Trying to get back into work mode again afterwards. I’m easing back into it again gently by sorting out paperwork and filing today, which always leaves me with a table full of bits of paper that don’t fit anywhere, books of raffle tickets I never got round to buying and letters I never replied to.
The next task is to give some thought to teaching, with two new classes starting next week at Haverfordwest. My family are working towards getting me to do some video demonstrations to put on the website. Hey, I’m only just getting my head round keeping a blog, but I’ll give it a go. Soon. If we can get the technology right. One thing I like to do in teaching is debunk the myth that talent is all. You may have it or you may not, but without hard work and technique, you’ll get nowhere. Talent is the cherry on the cake, but without the hard work, there’s no cake. Quick-result talent shows on tv fascinate us because they seem to imply that it’s all about talent, and there’s no need to do the hard work. We don’t really want to be reminded that there’s a long road to travel when we’re so focussed on the destination!
Finally…. I’m going ahead with the sketch book idea talked about many blogs ago…. here’s the revised front cover:
A5 spiral bound sketch book - with drawing tips! Available March
I’m not very good at winters. From September onwards I wear so many layers of clothes that getting dressed in the morning takes ages, but I’m still permanently cold. Bracing walks after a day at the drawing board are out of the question because it’s gone dark by then - and is usually raining too. And I’m one of those grumpy people who hates any mention of Christmas before December and I shout at the radio when they wheel out the cheesy Christmas pop songs. I’m either turning into a grumpy old woman or I’m just a bit short of sunlight and vitamin D!
But now it’s mid December I’ll admit it, Christmas is imminent. I can tell because I spend most of the time doing a wide variety of bits and pieces instead of getting stuck in to one big project. There are Christmas commissions (this week including a wooden name plaque for a boat, a portrait of a Dunkirk Little Ship, and a sketch of a pilot cutter), as well as stocking up galleries and helping Perry sort out online orders. Talking of Christmas galleries, here’s a reminder to all you east coast dwellers to visit that unique emporium of all things nautical, Salty Dogs, brainchild of the inimitable Den Phillips. This year it’s at 57 High Street Maldon so pop in if you get a chance; it just gets better each year. Another east coast gallery I’m topping up for Christmas is the delightful Sea Pictures Gallery in Clare, Suffolk - not near the sea but that means all the more reason to buy seascapes! Meanwhile, back here on the west coast I nipped over to Cardigan today to drop some work in at Frame byFrame, run by the inspirational Chloe and Emma.
After new year I’ll change hats and be an illustrator again, but for the moment it’s good to make more space in the studio and get stuff out there. Actually, in January I’ll also have my tutor’s hat back on as I’ve a full two classes of keen students waiting for me on a wednesday in Haverfordwest. Great fun.
The image above is called ‘Silent Night’ and it’s one of the Christmas cards I designed for the Nancy Blackett Trust (www.nancyblackett.org). Unsurprisingly, I don’t do winter sailing, but I know there are those that do! Which reminds me, good luck to Geoff Holt setting off on his Atlantic Challenge today. The lengths some people will go to to get some sunshine….. (www.geoffholt.com)
Now here’s a thing - I’ve never knitted and never will, having no affinity at all with anything that requires needles, whether knitting or sewing. At school I was thrown out of the domestic science sewing class because I was so hopeless, and sent to do Latin instead. Believe me, Latin was a doddle by comparison. But I do admire the colours and fabrics and textures of all sorts of wearable art, and love the idea of it. A knitter called Brenda Dayne came to my studio exhibition last week and I discovered that she’s also a very skilled journalist and broadcaster. She interviewed me and also fellow artist Linda Norris about our approach to art, to include in her series of podcasts on the theme of events and people within a 20 mile radius of her home. Have a listen on www.cast-on.com - I don’t think it’s compulsory to be knitting whilst you listen!
I thought it was interesting that knitters cast on to begin their journey and sailors cast off. All is connected….
The spiders in my studio dread the end of November. My annual exhibition is a good opportunity to have a clear out, dislodge the cobwebs and take a fresh look at all the paintings hanging on the wall. It’s also a good excuse for a party and if visitors buy something that’s a bonus! It was the physical rather than financial climate that kept numbers lower than usual this time - torrential rain and a force ten for most of the weekend was unhelpful to say the least.
It did get busy on Sunday lunchtime, which took on a slightly surreal quality. Plenty of friends had arrived and Perry, still spaced out from a recent virus, was ladling the mulled wine in the kitchen. An American knitter wanted to interview me for her website podcast (more about that another time) at the same time as a family of seven arrived to view the house. Now we’ve been on the market for 18 months with no viewings, so we weren’t going to turn this one away and they took all the chaos in their stride. I wondered if I should put extra noughts on the price of my best painting and then throw in the house for free….
annual tidy up complete!
As an artist, I would rather draw a face with character than a mask of perfection. (The fact that I’m not very good at drawing faces is beside the point – this is a philosophical ramble but don’t worry, I’ll keep it brief!)
There was a piece on the radio recently about a new dating agency for beautiful people only. In fact there are several – one of them has a long list of banned features, including non-symmetrical faces or bodies, big noses, and wearing out of date fashions. So you can be a cold hearted inarticulate bitch with an ego the size of Milton Keynes as long as you have white even teeth and no centre parting. Hmmm. Perhaps the word beauty needs redefining. A shift of emphasis away from the outer to inner beauty would not go amiss. Years ago I was told a story of a wise man who asked his student what qualities she would like to see more of in the world. “Respect, courtesy, humanity, warmth, generosity of spirit, that kind of thing”, she said. “Well then”, came the reply. “Put them there!”
Enough rambling, back to wrestling with chapter three – all about coastlines, harbours and rockpools. I wonder if sea squirts think all other sea squirts are beautiful…… I’m sure they do.
I’m finally getting my teeth into the next RYA book; it always takes a while to find the way in to a new subject, but once I get my brain engaged it tends to take over. The studio is filling up with piles of books and notes and I’m starting to think about chapter headings in the shower. But it’s hard to go for total immersion in a subject at this time of year when there are Christmas exhibitions to get ready for and I should be making stuff. Half finished projects sit reproachfully in heaps on my studio table.
So what’s the new book about? It’s about the oceans, ecology, sailing cleanly, wildlife, geography, beachcombing, not polluting rivers and seas…. presented in a way that will grab children’s attention. Fascinating but challenging. It’s taking me a while to get the structure of it sorted out in a logical way, with the encouraging and tactful support of Susie Tomson, my editor and the inspiration behind the Green Blue. Just don’t ask me what the title is - several suggestions are floating round between all concerned so when the dust has settled I’ll let you know. I’m on version four of the cover design so far and think I’m getting close!
Meanwhile, did you know that the second largest fish in the world is the basking shark - and it can be seen in UK waters? Or that over a million birds die every year from entanglement or ingestion of rubbish? Food for thought.
Oh, and the plankton? They provide 50% of the world’s oxygen, that’s all……. something to consider next time you swallow a mouthful of seawater!
- Welsh trading schooner
Maritime history has been flavour of the week, while I’m working on some pages of a workbook for the Welsh Joint Education Council. Smacks, schooners and coracles are the theme of the pages, so I’ve been digging for stories to bring the subjects to life. Shipwrecks, of course, and the daily life of a ship’s apprentice - who could well have been as young as ten years old. All good fun - just a word of advice. When researching coastal fishing boats, never forget to put the word ‘fishing’ in front of ’smack’ when you google it!
I also gave a talk to the Narberth Museum Friends - just an informal fundraising evening, but great fun. I did a potted history of marine art, concentrating on the pierhead paintings of the 19th century, painted with the eye of a sailor which put the focus on technical accuracy rather than artistic flair. I finished off splashing paint around doing a demo of how a pierhead painter of today might tackle a boat portrait, leaving them all trying to get their mouths round the phrase ‘Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter’ without getting their tongues twisted. Just don’t try it after a few drinks….
