For me, the two-dimensional arena of the painted world has always been a place of wonder and thrills. On the flat surface, the transformation of form appears magical. In watercolour, the medium for which I am best known, blank paper is the field, its surface the light, its edges the boundaries and in this space something that did not previously exist becomes a new reality. While I am engaged in the act of painting, the result never overrules the process. I spend a lot of time in the palette and a lot of time watching paint dry. I am intensely aware of the “well-being” of the pigment
particles as they are laid on the paper. I really want them to be happy. I watch them move, I watch them settle and I encourage them to perform their chemistry unimpeded. I travel extensively to make my paintings, largely from life, but I also make works back in the studio. I seek dramatic contrasts of sunlight and shadow and enjoy working in sunny and hot locations. My wetinto-wet watercolour technique has developed from the challenge of fast-drying environments. The desire to apply pure unmixed colour, blend seamless washes and preserve transparency, have taught me much about the physical properties of the
pigments. This knowledge has enhanced my understanding and appreciation of watercolour. Since the light comes from the white paper, the challenge is always to preserve light, yet cover enough of the paper to narrate content; transparency is key.
Forward Thinking, watercolour on Saunders Waterford paper, Rough, 22 x 17"(59 x 43 cm) I am fascinated by the patterns people make in groups, the spaces and intervals between them, the connections where they touch or overlap. The more so when strong lighting casts definitive shadows that enforce those patterns. The beauty of viewing figures from above is that they lose three-dimensionality and thus the abstract pattern that is at the core of all painting becomes more apparent. I chose ultramarine blue and cadmium red for their granulating properties to create texture in the shadows, and blended wet-into-wet washes to link the people with their shadows and the shadows with their owners and with each other.
Lazy Lion, watercolour on Khadi paper large file, 20 x 20" (51 x 51 cm)
I travel frequently into the African bush to paint wildlife. This Kalahari lion lay on the soft sand of the track and would not budge. Using rough Khadi paper, I sketched the position of the eyes, nose and mouth and swept in the structure of the head with broad flat brushes, one carrying the cool of Prussian blue, the other the warmth of yellow ochre. I deepened the areas in shadow with burnt sienna and demarcated the facial features with neat sepia. The hint of a cadmium red tongue contrasts with the Prussian blue, enlivening the hue and temperature exchange that animates this portrait.
Light and Shade, Cafe at the RA, watercolour, 11 x 15" (28 x 38 cm)
“Less is more” is my motto and light and shade are my principal concern. Sunlit cafe scenes are complex, as is historic architecture, but the magic of watercolour is that you can convey complexity by suggestion. The background here was created in one seamless wash, guided by a pencil sketch, in which I painted only the main tonal elements of the arches and columns. Likewise with the figures I looked only for the patterns of light and shade. The woman in white with crossed legs seated at the foremost table epitomizes how little one need “say” in watercolour yet “say” so much.