Testing My Handmade Paints
In 2015 I made my own watercolour paints. I do these sort of things out of sheer curiosity. I wanted to know how they were made in order to learn first hand, what makes watercolour work. Then I had to start the process of testing…
Making watercolour paint
When I started painting, I never would have imagined I would be tempted into making watercolour paint. It all started with a visit to an art shop in Venice where the enticing rainbow display of pigments in the window tempted me inside. Just look…
Cleaning Used Acrylic Painting Water
Cleaning used acrylic painting water is not something I had to think about much while I was predominantly using watercolour. I’ve used acrylics and oils over the years from time to time, but only to satisfy my ‘how does this work’ curiosity. That meant the…
Finding your inner artist
Have you ever thought about finding your inner artist? Last month I was honoured to guest blog for Instinctive Living. Here is the post, as Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”…
Texture in watercolour – how to make your own tools
If you want to create texture in watercolour paintings, you can use granulating colours and granulation medium. You can also use watercolour ground and these days, even pearlescent watercolour ground. The development of painting mediums has given artists so many choices. Mixed media artists have…
Watercolour Christmas Card designs
I love making handmade watercolour Christmas card designs in December. It is now many years since I bought a pack of printed cards. The ones I make are so much more personal. The first few years I created them, I felt a bit self-conscious about…
How we made Christmas art instead of Christmas cards
Christmas art instead of Christmas cards? Nothing about this year has been ‘business as usual’. It’s all be topsy turvy. So why not change things up when it comes to Christmas cards too? I have a selection of gorgeous cards professionally printed from images of…
Painting trees. Planting trees
I start out painting a landscape and end up painting trees. There isn’t a time when I don’t remember feeling a real affinity for trees. As soon as I could, I learned to climb a tree. My strongest childhood memories were of being as high…
Painting Autumn
Some years, the joy of painting autumn, like the season itself seems to creep in unnoticed. We all wait for spring and summer for their vibrant, fresh colours. Flowers are brilliant sunshine hues. They grow and bloom at increasing pace, giving us changes in the…