Ivy-covered tree, evening light. For sale

At long last, a painting I’m properly satisfied with.
It is a feeling that was getting worryingly far away, into the past.  The painting is not perfect, of course.  No such thing, but the fact that it is connected with a certain feeling, and just went as well as I could have hoped considering how it was conceived, means I like it.

I’ve been experimenting with Hot Pressed paper just recently, and to my surprise have been enjoying it and finding it useful.  I’ve ended up using it for three art group demonstration visits recently, including one just a day after the first time I used it.   I never would have thought I’d dare to do that because the fact is I didn’t know it at all well at that point (still don’t) and really didn’t know what it might do.  But although it was throwing up some surprises, they all seemed to be okay surprises, and the paintings were going at least as well as those I’d been doing on my usual Bockingford.

The paper in question is Saunders Waterford High White Hot Pressed 200lb.  Bit of a mouthful when people ask!  But if just one of these variables is changed then I dare say the overall handling characteristics may be altogether different.  That’s my experience of papers in general.  A ‘not’ surface in one weight may bring about quite different results in the next weight up, and not just in surface texture either.

Sometimes I just get a feeling, a positive feeling, that I will paint something – right now – and I know what it’ll be (‘Hmmm, I feel like a skyscape with trees and field’), and there’s a certain inspiration and attitude.   This is becoming recognisable to me, though difficult to describe, and doesn’t happen often enough, but it seems to lead to a decent result.
So I go and paint, and it is instinctive, and there is no fear and a lot of pleasure.

For this painting I went back to Bockingford 200lb Not.  It was just the right thing to do.   I still love you, old friend.  I wacked one on the board (for fear of sounding like Jamie Oliver) and chucked it on the easel.  I then flung the easel under the daylight bulb and… painted some paint onto the paper.  Okay, sky done, looks okay I think.  Must press on just as hastily with the next stage, keep the momentum and ‘fearlessness’ – don’t allow the fact that it’s going well so far make you tighten up and lose the boldness in attitude… So – yes – do stop and think for a sec about the order of the next wash…. Right, re-wet the paper in places on the horizon…

The focus needed to be on the tall trees, so I softened away the woodland to the left and parts elsewhere too.  I often put some clean water down in places, almost randomly at times, before then painting through them or into them from a dry part.  There needs to be a broad plan to it, but I also like working with whatever happens.  The medium needs to shine, just as much as the character of the subject needs capturing.

This is a composite, fictionalised composition based on 3 photographs.   I often work this way in the studio.  The sky came from a photo I took over the local Tesco one evening.  The Trees are from a local farmland footpath, photo taken early Spring a few years ago, and I stuck them in replacing another tree from a photo of a field margin I took in summer last year.  The overall – what is often called ‘sense of place’ – I did have in my mind’s eye, which is necessary.  That time walking back through fields after a day out painting is complete.  Feet hurting, but time to enjoy the sounds and smells and think how lucky I am.

Here’s what I did, just after I got ‘that feeling’:

1. Look through my ‘skies’ folder of photos (I keep a collection of these and other subjects in folders on my laptop) – find one I like in that moment.  Paint from it.
2. Look at painted sky.  Observe implied angle of viewpoint, time of day/atmosphere, and overall  composition as it’s turned out.  Have a think.  The trees would need to be of the tall and thin variety to fit best onto the left side of the painting.  The land needs to be minimal, and as if at the brow of a rise, with the trees dominating and looming above the viewer.
3. Find tree that fits (in my ‘trees’ folder of photos). Then find field that fits viewpoint.  Go with the first that feel right.  This all done in a couple of minutes – got to keep momentum.  Use photos as loose basis really.  Take best aspects from both and mark roughly onto paper with pencil.
4. Continue painting….

And so, I’d found a photo of a great tree; well, small group of trees.  I loved the character, with wide, ivy-covered one at left contrasting nicely with slim, un-ivyed companions.  The wide one had dead branches poking out the sides like the twig arms of a snowman.  It also had proper foliage on the top, like the other trees, but I thought it would be better to mark out a difference here, so I bulked up the foliage a bit on the others whilst reducing it on the ivy tree.

While painting this foliage I needed to stay fearless (ah, how my dad would laugh at all this supposed ‘fearlessness’ of a watercolour painter).  Yep, the good sky may all be for nothing if the trees turn out naff, but we know what we’ve got to do.
My right hand man, the Black Sheep brush was properly with me on this.  The marks kept coming as I wanted them, pretty much.  The foliage has to be continued very quickly, but with a pause of just a second each couple of strokes to stand back and assess if the plan needs deviating from a bit now, based on what has happened…

And so on to the other, further trees and field.  The priority here was now just ‘appropriate tones and appealing marks’.  Supporting role only – keep an eye on the bigger picture, keep it alive and fresh with energy.  Also, be ready to stop at the first feeling of suggestion of overall balance.  Stop!
And go away.

Phew, that was fun, and I think it looks okay.  It’s been a while, but it’s nice to know I can still paint a picture and be pleased with it.  This is the way of things for me.  Even though I’ve gone through this many times over years, I still never have real confidence that it’ll happen again and a successful painting will always feel like a lucky coincidence.

Student work

On a different note, my weekly Autumn course for beginners has now come to an end.
I thought I’d show some of their work.  Regrettably and annoyingly, I kept forgetting to take photographs of it, even at the final day’s critique/show of all they’d done, so there’s only a small selection here, and not all the best stuff.
12 weeks ago, these students had barely, if ever, touched watercolours before.  They’ve probably been through hell, putting up with my insistence to work quickly, with big brushes, to allow mistakes, simplify, boldly employ all the traditional techniques, including soft/hard edges, full tonal range (using thick paint, dammit!) and a range of mark-making.
I think they’ve produced some excellent work and I hope they will continue to paint.  (Take your time though, you don’t need to get too good too soon.)

Click to enlarge an image, then ‘page back’ for next.