Stone - close-up

From a close-up photo of a stone with lichen and what I believe are veins of quartz. I think it's those white veins that make the mountains shine in the sun. Done with neoart and watercolour on top.

Adding gouache on top of mulberry paper

This is an ongoing experiment in layering with watercolour, gouache and collage, plus some oil pastel. How far can I go to recover something that I actually like? Not there yet, although I quite like it some of the crops that I could do, which tells me I like the mark making, but not the composition.

Layer 1 - maybe I should have left it at that!

 Layer 2 (and really it's layer 5 if I count light, dark, mulberry paper before the one above).

Crop and collage?

I get too attached. Even on-location scribbles that I was planning to cut up and collage. In the end, I liked some of them too much. So ended up cutting and collaging printouts of these pieces. And even then, minimum collage. I need to do a lot more on-location painting so I am not precious about them. Still, it's a record of shapes and lines that I love, and they will be a good starting point, or an anchor when I'm lost and don't know what to do next.

Adding scribbles

I felt this one wasn't quite finished. Added some squiggles and lines in oil pastels. Not there yet, but I will need time to think about it.

Harcourt Terrace

Harcourt Terrace is a little gem of a place. It's so peaceful, right by the canal, and yet close to the city centre. I used to live round the corner on Adelaide Road, and also work not far from there on Harcourt Street. It always felt special. So I was delighted that it was our sketching location. First sketch was started with shapes in watercolour, then pencil. Second one started with my ink line taking me for a walk. Then watercolour splashes for the vegetation. It was fun. Looking at my photo on location, I can see some wonky angles, particularly in the chimney and first roof, but hey, I'm not worried!

Gouache squares

A fun session with Uma Kelkar on Vivify. Playing with gouache and a cut-up card, and also a painting knife, from photos, with no time to agonise over choices. I'm loving the idea of just one colour, and playing with values. I never thought I would say that. I wonder if I will pick up the courage to use gouache to sketch on location? Maybe if I just bring 3 tubes, nothing else. One colour, white, one dark. It does dry quickly, which would be a bonus in winter in Ireland.

Land

I enjoyed painting this one. It's been a while since I haven't added anything to a watercolour.  Done on Hahnemuhle Cornwall paper, about 48x48cm. Lots of granulating pigment.

Pencils4Tea 6 November 2025

It was a while since I had attended Pencils4tea. Feeling a bit rusty. But the trick is to keep going. 

And to keep the tools to a minimum.

 

Diary Painting?

The first attempt at Echo was not a success. I covered parts of it with watercolour ground - that didn't make it better. Now I have glued mulberry paper on parts of it. When that's dry, we'll see. It's just a good piece to experiment with. Nothing to lose!

 

Echo

Working from a small ink thumbnail, I'm exploring similar shapes and effects in watercolour, using my colour swatches from the last few weeks.. It's all about the feeling of being by the shore near Allihies, although the initial thumbnail was done from a specific location. Now, I'm moving away from the visual to the emotional. The thumbnail carried the feeling of community,  women resonating as we were painting together, the precious friendships that help me through my life. This painting echoes that, as well as the sound of the wind and the waves against the rocks.

And, for a change, a had painted a very light first layer and let it dry completely before embarking on the second layer.

The Hairy Lemon

Had a great time sketching the Hairy Lemon. Made the building tall and slim, which it isn't! Spent a lot of time looking at the leading edges and windows! Love our community. Always lots of chats and banter. The pub itself? A tourist trap. Some of the food that was had by the group was nice, some not so, some was expensive. They charge 12.5% extra service charge for parties of 6 or more, but that's fairly standard. What annoyed me is that they told us that they don't split bills, after our orders were placed. I should have gone to Bullet or Yamamori, more my kind of food. 

I had a yellow marker which was too orange, so I covered it with gouache when I got home. Also used a dark green pencil at home, as the one I had in my bag was too light.

Mixed darks

I had fun with darks in ink on a small scale, but now I want to create colourful darks in watercolour to paint something that reminds me of the feeling of community and fun and friendship, but slightly larger. I made one attempt with ink on watercolour and I am not sharing that with anyone. I know, I know, I normally share everything, the good, the bad and the ugly. But not that one. So I am now exploring darks in watercolour. I am mixing the same colours I have been playing with, Quin Magenta, Quin Gold, Phthalo Blue. Also Haze Indigo (granulating). And a good dollop of Neutral Tint (Holbein watercolours) to push the dark.  Some of these darks are a bit too purple or too blue. ButI really like the mixes that contain all the colours, particularly with the hint of Quin Gold and some extra water. It reminds me of the colour of the rocks on the Copper Mines Trail that goes up from Allihies. Particularly when the rocks are wet with rain.

I just love colour swatching

Mixing granulating and non-granulating pigments makes me happy. Granulating pigments can lack punch. But add Quin Magenta, Quin Gold or Phthalo blue and the results are much more to my liking.

Testing Testing

Trying out some granulating watercolours on hot press paper, using lots of water. I like 1 out of 2. Probably used too many colours.

  

Stokerland

A lovely afternoon in St Patrick's Cathedral park, where Stokerland was held, celebrating Halloween. Not as many entertainers as other years, but plenty of covered seating (always welcome) and face painting seemed to be the main attraction - parents taking turns queuing. After an hour, the cold got to me and I went into Bite of Life for a warming drink and a slice of cake, and a leisurely sketch. Then we went to a bar in a hotel nearby and we chatted about watercolour sets and magic pencils. Lovely afternoon.

Sketches as they were done on location are below.