Fleeting Beauty

Last summer my garden was full of vibrant colour from delicate opium poppies which moved with the gentle breezes on warm, sunny days. The fragile flowers only looked their best for a day, fading and losing their petals all too soon, but there was always another bud ready to open.

Fleeting Beauty
13x10, watercolours on
Fabriano Artistico extra white HP

Bearded Iris - Small Format Macro

Bearded Iris
Watercolour on 140lb Fabriano Artistico, 5" x 5"

Here's my second small format macro floral, a colourful bearded iris up close and personal! The orangey yellows really stand out against the purple, making a small painting with big impact!

There's something about the square format, it forces you to think carefully about composition, using the space efficiently. I'll be doing more!

Spring is coming!

This is a daffodil from last spring, but it won't be long before they flower again - green shoots are appearing all over the garden, even on plants which I was sure were dead after the hard winter we had (the coldest in 30 years!)

Daffodil Macro, 5" x 5"
watercolour on Fabriano Artistico extra white CP

The first in a short series of small format floral macros, painted after I discovered a sheet of paper with a fault. I tore the paper into smaller pieces so I wouldn't waste all of it, and I'm quite enjoying this size and format! Next is a macro view of a bearded iris, then maybe another daffodil!

Bearded Ladies

Sometimes you have an idea and it just doesn't work - that's what happened with the little blue iris painting I was working on, it just hasn't worked out the way I envisioned. Maybe I can rescue it, but it's more likely to end up in my scrap pile.

So I decided to move on to a reference that had been in my "to do" file since last summer, two beautiful purple bearded iris. This was a completely different experience, I had a clear vision and enjoyed every brushstroke!

Bearded Ladies
14" x 10", watercolour on 140lb Fabriano Artistico extra white, cold pressed

Blue Eyes - WIP

The first colour of the year in the garden, these delightful little flowers almost look like they don't belong among the greys and browns! I don't really know where I'm headed with this one, I'm hoping the composition will develop naturally as I paint.

Stargazer - backward WIP!

Blogger is fun, you never know which way round your photos are going to show! lol OK, so here is the finished painting, with backwards WIP below - start at the bottom and work up for the progression ;o)






I used my new favourite colours - Daniel Smith Quin. coral, and W&N Cobalt Turquoise. They mix gorgeous muted purples!

Allium finished and onto the next!

I did complete the allium, or "Nectaroscordum Bulgaricum", but only after some headaches. I thought I knew what I wanted, but I didn't. The background wasn't working at all...So I decided to crop the painting from vertical format to square and wash over the background with more dramatic colours!

And here is the finished work, much better!

Quiet Elegance

10" x 10", watercolour on Fabriano Artistico extra white CP 140lb

Is it an allium?

I have some of these bulbs in my garden and I'm pretty sure that when I bought them they weren't labelled as allium, not sure what they were called though. Anyway, this is the start of a new watercolour based on a photo I took in my friend Janet Thomas' beautiful garden last summer. This is only a small section of the whole composition.


There's a long way to go yet, hopefully I'll get most of the little florets finished tomorrow!

Finishing touches

The opium poppy is complete, it took 7 days of work and I was tired of seeing pink by the end - I'm
glad it's done!

Here are the last stages:Twirls and Curls
14" x 10"

Opium Poppy WIP

I've been working on this watercolour for several days now and still there is no end in sight. So many tiny details, plus the dark areas have needed several washes to achieve the depth I want. Here are the steps so far:

Meet Winston!

I had a busy day yesterday, finishing the painting of Winston for the Friday Foto challenge on www.paintingfriends.com , then creating my first Zazzle store in an effort to make some money from my obsession!

Here's Winston the French Bulldog, he owns Desiree Habicht's daughter and her family. Apparently he's a terror, but how could a face like that be hiding a monster?

Winston -
14x10, watercolours on Fabriano Artistico Xtrawhite HP

My new Zazzle store is very much a work in progress, but if you would like to have a look you will find it at http://www.zazzle.co.uk/RSHarts*

Playing with Acrylic Inks and texture

Last year Deb Townsend demonstrated how she uses tissue paper and acrylic medium to create interesting textures and patterns on canvas. I was fascinated and recently bought some small canvases to try out the technique for myself.

Once the tissue paper is stuck down and dry, gesso is applied over the top to give a good painting surface and also add more texture. I used acrylic inks to add vibrant colour.

The design is inspired by Deb's original work, but the colours were my own. My son likes it so much he wants it, and two more in different colours for his room!

Spring Forest
8" x 8", acrylic inks and collage on canvas

A First

Solitary Daisy -
8" x 8" gallery wrapped canvas

This is my first acrylic on canvas, it's so completely different from anything I've done before but I enjoyed it!

Shout it from the rooftops

This was painted for the Mindbender challenge on Painting Friends forum, the idea is to take a reference image that is too busy and find an interesting composition within it. The reference was mine, taken in Conwy, North Wales, and this is only a tiny part of the original photo.

About 10 x 14 on Fabriano Artistico rough 140lb

Shout it From the Rooftops -

10x14, watercolours on paper

Trying new things

It' s sometimes fun to try different methods and media - here's a watercolour on masa paper that I did before Christmas. The crinkled masa paper creates interesting textures and the pigments look more vibrant.

Autumn Gold -
14x10, watercolour on masa paper

Another new year

It's hard to believe another year has passed, where does the time go?

At the moment we are suffering the worst weather I can remember, at least 4 inches of snow (in a country that rarely gets more than 1 inch). I needed to do something to cheer me up, tulips are always cheerful so I dug out a reference photo I took quite a while ago and set to work.

About 12x10, watercolours on Fabriano Artistico extra white CP 14olb paper.

Pink Ladies #2

Song of Summer - WIP

It's been a while, the garden has been demanding my attention, which means less time to paint, but the reward is plenty of exciting reference material for future watercolours!

I have found a bit of time though, and wonderful inspiration from a visit to an open garden 2 weeks ago.

I took photos of my progress, so this is a sort of WIP except it has already been finished!

Distilled Sunlight

Daffodils on a bright spring day - they really are like the purest sunlight!

I tried to keep colours more delicate than my usual style uses - I wanted a fresh, soft look, not too many dark areas. I think I succeeded!

Distilled Sunlight
Watercolour on Fabriano paper, 12.5 x 10 inches

Exciting news! I added this painting to my RedBubble account tonight and it has already been featured!!!!!

What is Watercolour?

Katherine Tyrell has an in-depth article about this often divisive question on her blog, Making a Mark today - it's well worth reading!

For me, watercolour is just that - watercolour paint (as labelled on the tube or pan), activated with water and painted on paper. Anything else should be labelled as watermedia. If, once dried, paint cannot be re-activated with water it isn't watercolour. I think it would be a terrible shame if the traditional media of watercolour, used by so many of our great artists in the past, was lost in a sea of watered down acrylics!

Wishing for Spring

When this challenge was posted on painting friends I had to have a go at painting it! The idea is to choose one of a selection of references and paint it in two hours or less - not easy but fun!

Narcissus
9 x 7 inches, Fabriano Artistico extra white paper