Portrait Illustration

Some art made with Watercolour and Gouache made mostly on A5 Arches Hot Press paper.  I hope you enjoy it.😊

Merry Christmas

I made thes artworks for family and friends and they were made using Watercolour/Gouache on Khadi paper.  They are actually cards that came with envelopes which was great.  I really like working on this paper. 

I hope that wherever you are that you have a safe and happy Christmas even though the circumstances in the world at the moment aren’t great.  I also hope the coming year is much better for all of you.  Goodbye for now ☺️

Girl With Dahlias

Watercolour/Gouache on Arches 300gsm Hot Press Paper

I really enjoyed using this indigo colour for the girls clothing.  I’m not sure why, I think it has a luminous night sky quality about it.

 

Girl With Salvias

Watercolour/Gouache on Arches 300gsm Hot Press Paper

I am no closer to solving my naming problem.  My girls are like all actual people to me, with their own personalities.  But still I am unsure whether to give them names.  I like the mystery of them not having a name and I like not interfering with how the viewer might see them.  Naming my paintings has always been hard for me though for some reason.  I’ll sleep on it again :)

 

Naming My Paintings

Watercolour and Gouache on Arches Hot Press 300gsm Paper

I am happy with this one.  I am having trouble naming these paintings of girls, I’m not sure how to go about it.  I thought of giving the girls names as I have seen other artists do but that doesn’t feel right.  I used to really labour over names for paintings when I was a less experienced artist.  I thought the title of a painting was all important.  But now I feel that the title or name I give a painting is not as important as the actual painting.  I feel like the viewers perception or experience of the painting should be not distracted by any perception I might have of the painting in creating an elaborate title.  If I had gone to art school I might have learned this stuff much earlier😊.  

Thanks for reading and looking. 

Flowers

This artwork was made with Watercolour and gouache in an A5 Moleskine Watercolour Journal. 

Sketch

For this one I used a thick paper by Khadi who make handmade paper.  It has quite an uneven surface but was smooth at the same time(if that makes sense?).  I like how this paper feels and the deckled edges, also it doesn’t buckle so much when I use a lot of water.  I’ve had this paper for a long time and was a bit scared to use it but I think I will continue with it.  It really encourages me to be looser with my painting.

Hair

 This one was painted in my handmade journal with smooth, deckle edged, handmade paper.  I was thinking of 1980’s hair and celebrities for some reason.

 

Spring Inspiration

 

Both of these artworks are about 8” x 10” and were painted on Arches Watercolour paper 300gsm, using  Schmincke, Winsor & Newton Watercolour and Art Spectrum Gouache.

Emotions

Gouache and Watercolour in Moleskine Journal.

I wasn’t going to post these paintings but I thought I would just to show when things don’t go to plan. I wasn’t feeling great when I made these and it kind of shows.  Not everything can be pretty and happy all the time and I should value these more instead of seeing them as a reminder of how crap I was feeling at the time.  These paintings just tell a different story.

Hand Made Paper

Both paintings are Schmincke Watercolour and Art Spectrum White Gouache on Khadi Paper(I think).

I have these beautiful handmade journals which are filled with deckle edged Khadi Paper which is made from recycled cotton in India.  I really like working on it and even though it is only about 150gsm the paint doesn’t bleed through to the other side.  I have to work lightly though as the paper is very delicate.

 

Indigo

I generally use Schmincke Watercolour pans with some Winsor and Newton and Schmincke make this indigo that I really love.  I want to use it more I think.

Time Out

I have been away from the blog awhile.  I have been a little under the weather physically and mentally and needed some time out.  I thought I would post these two small paintings(A5 size) that I really enjoyed making.  Whenever I make these portraits I never know what or who is going to come out and I kind of like that.

Mushrooms

Girl with Mushrooms

Gouache/Watercolour/Graphite Pencil in Moleskine Journal

So I don’t really know why I decided to draw mushrooms with this girl.  I think I was feeling a safe childhood place where there are fairytales, woods and yes, mushrooms. 

I hope everyone is doing okay.

Girl And Cat II

Girl and Cat II

Gouache/Watercolour/Graphite Pencil in Moleskine Journal

I’m slowly getting used to isolation, I’m trying to make different routines for myself.  When I do get out to go to the supermarket I feel all this anxiety about the wide open space around me and just want to go home again.  I am missing my favourite places though.

I really enjoyed making this picture.  The colour of this girls dress was a kind of happy accident which I was glad about.  I enjoyed drawing the cat too.  Stay safe everyone.

One Day At A Time

Girl In Green Dress

Watercolour/Gouache/Graphite Pencil in A5 Moleskine Journal

This week has felt so long when usually time feels so short.  I hope all those in isolation are going okay.  We are not isolated but have been asked to keep distance from others so I stay home a lot.  I’m trying not to watch the news today because yesterday it was too much and I wasn’t as sad for myself but for others and what they are going through.  It’s such a hard situation to get used to.  

I worked on this painting this week.  I feel like there are all these people inside me wanting to get out onto the paper and it’s like I have to get out the way and let them come through - I think Jackson Pollock said something like that and it is really true(not comparing myself to Jackson Pollock or anything:)).  It’s like the painting is already there and I just hope I am good enough to make it real on the paper.  I know I am trying to express something through these girls, I just don’t know what.  I think a state of being that I find myself in regularly and that I can’t define or describe adequately in words.   Goodbye till next time.

Solitary Life

Watercolour/Gouache/Graphite Pencil in A5 Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook

So I am playing around with these girl paintings still and I have decided to add graphite Pencil illustrations to the painting.  I think I am getting somewhere.  The Coronavirus has become a really big deal everywhere as everyone knows and everything seems so uncertain and unstable.  I like the solitary life and my own company so isolation doesn’t really bother me but I mostly worry about some other people and how they will cope.  I think we can only take a day at a time really and I don’t know what else to say about it but I hope everyone can stay safe and not become too stressed out by this situation.  I will continue to make art and post it and try to be more regular about it.  I feel lucky I can somehow distract myself when I need to.