Sketch and watercolour sketch made in my studio of Hestercombe Gardens, Taunton
On Wednesday 22nd May I demonstrated watercolour painting at Taunton Art Group.
The theme was Summer gardens, and as my studio overlooks Hestercombe gardens, which was originally designed by Gertrude Jekyll, it was an ideal subject. I haven’t painted in watercolours for a while as I have been very focussed on printmaking, so I was a little nervous! I set aside Wednesday afternoon to do some practice and pictured here is a drawing I did en plein air at Hestercombe, and the painting I did in my studio shortly afterwards.
I was a little concerned that the demo may not be authentic, if I painted from a photo, when I usually paint gardens en plein air. However painting from sketches is something I’m interested in doing more of. This is because I’m not always happy with my plein air sketches. While they provide a record of an experience of being somewhere and painting, quite often I get caught up in trying to ‘get it right’ on the paper, at the cost of a strong composition or idea. A pencil sketch is an invitation to record what you see, but it’s also a stepping stone towards a painting. The separation of looking and painting means I have time to consider what the hook or idea of my painting will be, and decide what details help to communicate this idea, and what details might be superfluous and hinder what it is I want to express.
Therefore for the demo I worked from sketches I made back in March. Sketches I made simply for the sake of it, I never thought I would use them as the basis for paintings, and while I wasn’t absolutely delighted with the resulting paintings, it was an interesting exercise and certainly one I would like to try again.
I’ve always been rather keen to find the link between my paintings and my prints, and I think this intermediary step, of drawing and designing before executing a painting, might help me link the two disciplines a little better. Most of my prints come from drawings I’ve made, where I distil an idea to the essential elements, simplifying subject matter to a series of shapes. I think that’s an approach I would like to apply to painting too, but for some reason it scares me… but of course, that’s precisely the reason why I should try it some more!
Anyway here are the paintings I made, both made on tinted Bockingford, which I did enjoy working with - the soft blue peering through the passages of paint was rather pleasing.
I have an oil painting commission next week - to paint a scene at a wedding in Devon! Frankly, it's terrifying but the watercolour painting I’ve done this week has been a useful warm-up.
Paintings made at the Taunton Art Group Demonstration, 22nd May 2024
Comments