Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, trees on a hillside

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Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho

trees on a hillside. watercolour, A2

Painted with new Japanese brushes- a gift from Keith Epps- many thanks - and using the supposedly superior Winsor and Newton Professional watercolours: I cannot detect a difference with their cheaper Cotman series.

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Quito, from steps leading down to La Almeda

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Quito, from steps leading down to La Almeda

 watercolour on paper, A3

Quito, from steps leading down to La Almeda-  detail

This was painted on Hahnemühle Harmony paper - 300 gsm. 

The colours seem to show more brightly (though I can`t explain why) and the paper better at allowing different paint layers without them appearing dense and lifeless on the paper.

 It`s a bit more expensive but I think, now my sense of how watercolour works has improved, probably worth the extra cost.

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Praia Brava,watercolour; a few things I learnt about watercolour

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Praia Brava, December 2022

 watercolour on paper, 29 x 40.5 cm

I've learnt a few things in the last three months since taking up watercolour again:

 

1. plan the watercolour in pencil

2. the technique does not allow many more than two layers of paint

3. it is best not to mix the colours too much

4. make use of the brushstroke, especially cross hatching,  lines and dots

5. you can't force the picture: I mean, watercolour has its own life, its own energy, and you can't make watercolour do what it can't do.  You need to accept "errors" and "go with the flow"

I think I am ready for my trip to Colombia and Ecuador.

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Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho

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Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, Woodland, November 

 watercolour on paper, 28.5 x 40.5 cm

 

Parque Estadual do Rio Vermelho, Woodland, November- detail

 

 

This is the largest watercolour I've done this year: I'm very happy about the incremental progress I've made with watercolour over the last three months.

 My technique isn't fancy. But I am beginning to understand how it functions.

 Simple persistence with tasks is so undervalued in life, in general.

 

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Joaquina- watercolour

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Joaquina,watercolour on paper, 35 x 27.5 cm

 

 

 

 

This is on a heavier Canson paper- 200 gsm. I feel that i am getting the hang of this: having a larger (almost A3) paper means I have more space for gestural effects and that I don't overwork the painting.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go up to A3 and see what happens. I hope the sun shines as that (obviously!) makes the paint dry faster and allows easier layering.

 I feel that watercolour necessitates a kind of understanding an patience with the medium that isn't required in oils, where one can make mistakes with impunity, as the paint can always be scraped off.

I'm not sure about the but at the top centre: it seems a bit messy to me.

 

 

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Santinho - in watercolour and pencil

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Santinho,watercolour and pencil on paper 21 x 15 cm

 

 

 This is the first watercolour I have done for many years- perhaps as many as twenty. I'm looking forward to painting with watercolours in Colombia and Ecuador.

Oils are so cumbersome in comparison, and the cleaning of brushes and the drying of paint is always an issue when you are travelling.

It's delightful to return, this time with another perspective, one which is more accepting of the medium's qualities- especially it's lightness. 

I need to find a bigger sheets of paper: I want to use washes.

This paper is 250 gsm. I think this is probably the minimum weight not to have buckling. It's a pity how expensive the good papers are.

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A Journey round Colombia and Ecuador

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December 2022 to February 2023: 

journeys in Colombia and Ecuador

 

 

 

Colombia and Ecuador

 

 

 

This trip is only just being sketched out: so far, I know I fly into Medellín.

 

 

 

 

Map showing Medellin to Bogotá via Manizales  and Ibagué.

 

 

 Then, I think I take the bus from Medellin to Bogotá via Manizales,  Pereira and Ibagué. Maybe also Salento?

Next, I fly from Bogotá to Quito.

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 In Ecuador I make my way down to Cuenca by bus: from there returning a couple of weeks later.

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I'm travelling light. And I'm taking watercolours, a medium I haven't used for over a decade.

 

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