It’s been one of those ‘pretty good’ days today, a lovely relaxing Sunday with a windy dog walk this morning and some watercolour education this afternoon, followed by the Sunday Times cryptic crossword at the German Club – and we finished it all except for one stubborn clue!
The education session was a chapter or so from a recent book purchase, Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts, which thankfully is simple to understand and very enlightening. I also watched a video by American watercolourist Stephen Quiller who uses colour to great effect in his work… if I can learn even a tiny bit from each of these guys I know my work will improve dramatically.
I’ve been fretting over my lack of skill in making a good picture out of the things I see around me, things that inspire me… I take lots of photos but then the paintings I make them into don’t quite work somehow… so I’m really looking forward to understanding how to go further than just copying what I see and being able to interpret things better, to make interesting compositions and use colours that add drama and emotion. Perhaps this is a natural progression as I start feeling more confident about making the brush go where I want it to… it’s very exciting realising there’s always more to learn 🙂
I’ve also worked a little more on the painting of my Pilates Instructor’s two beautiful pups today – this is taken from one of her own photos so I can’t take credit for the composition. The colours are similar to the photo but I’ve been limiting the palette to Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre and Permanent Rose. Having said that, it’s beginning to look a little bland so I think before it’s finished I’ll have to introduce something to make it pop!