JULY 2020 (3)

I obviously spoke too soon in my last post, Larry sent me two super pictures tonight. He says "My latest effort ‘ The River Teme at Little Hereford’, watercolour of course, on Two Rivers 300gsm paper. Not my best painting to date. I soaked and stretched the paper before using it and think that I may have disturbed the surface sizing as it was very absorbent and lost a lot of the transparency of watercolour. Like Bob I had to resort to using some white acrylic ink for some of the highlights on the water. It probably does not have enough tonal variation either.

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The next one is a quick ‘plein air’ sketch, pen, ink and watercolour wash, done on Thursday afternoon. Bilbury farm between Orleton and Richards Castle, the home of ‘Tudge’s sausages."

I think these are both super Larry and if I had known you were sending them in I would have continued gardening instead of spending the afternoon doing my version of "July's practice - a poster for an event".  I too, tried stretching watercolour paper, something I have always had problems with, and ended up with it cockled as usual, perhaps I left it in the water too long?  Anyway I needed to stretch it as I was trying a different illustration technique I had read about involving using ink first which becomes the "darks" and gouache over it which is then the "lights".  In this instance the inks are mainly reds, with some blue, black and a little white.  I made an awful mess and although I had fun it was quite taxing at times when I was in the midst of pools of ink and paint and my cat, Muldoon, (the Bengal with an extremely LOUD voice) decided it was absolutely urgent that I devote all my attention to him, NOW! 

I am not delighted with the end result but I can see that given some practice, it might have possibilities but it would definitely need more thought and preparation beforehand rather than just rushing in.  

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