The Alternative Grauniad Watercolour Club

Quinces III

sworth — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:03:30 +0000

Another try. I’m never sure what to do about background and base. The quinces were sitting on a white surface, but would a greenish colour be better?

Quinces II

sworth — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:01:48 +0000

Following on from honeysuckle & quinces painting, I wanted to try to be more adventurous in my painting technique. This is attempt no. 2.

Inland nr Craster

sworth — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:58:35 +0000

Dunstan Hill nr Craster

Again, a pencil sketch done on a walk, painted in the comfort of our self catering place. Very fiddly and mean, I’d say.

Coast nr Craster

sworth — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:51:10 +0000

Did pencil sketch and painted from this at home. A bit less cramped than the inland scene, but still rather stiff.

Bushy Park Woodland by Sue Middlesex

suemiddlesex — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:47:40 +0000

This is another attempt at painting without any pre-mixing. It does make for some interesting effects and colour combos. I’m not saying this is going to be my only way of painting for the future, but I’ll certainly try to incorporate it as much as possible. As for the painting itself, I’m not unhappy with it – maybe I could have done more with the path, but I thought there was enough going on elsewhere.

Sky over Saunton Sands by Sue Middlesex

suemiddlesex — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:27:53 +0000

The art teacher suggested that I try the technique of putting pure colour down and let it mix on the paper rather than pre-mixing anything. And this is the first attempt at what is, quite frankly, a very scary way of painting. I had no idea how it would turn out. You have to work fast with plenty of water and at all times you are very aware that it could all turn to “mud”, but it is an exciting way to work, and if you get it right, the teacher says that everything is more luminous and glowing (are they the same thing?). As for the picture itself, I was pleased with the sky and distant headlands, not so pleased with the beach and sea and downright annoyed at myself for completely messing up the dunes.

Heavy Seas by David

davidworth — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:24:39 +0000

Craster Harbour by David

I painted this under very difficult circumstances as Sue will attest. A howling wind with a pounding sea spraying me with salt. I spent more time trying to hold down the paper with one hand and quickly painting a bit more of the scene before the page ripped out of my hand and flipped over smudging everything. I wish i could have captured some of the majesty of the crashing waves. The others thought my harbour wall was too military. It was an ugly block of concrete and I didn’t know how to paint it in a sympathetic way. More of an endurance than a pleasure.

still life

vivienmr — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:09:50 +0000

This is my version of the same still life as Suem, from a different perspective, and I think haven’t succeeded in the abstract quality so well. I used tissue paper to cover up the mess I’d made of the cabbage, and it accidentally worked out ok!

Vegetables in the Abstract by Sue Middlesex

suemiddlesex — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 07:27:47 +0000

Well this is the second attempt at the shapes, lost and found etc style. Again, really enjoyable and just a tad more understanding of the concepts.

Tulips by Sue Middlesex

suemiddlesex — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:04:52 +0000

This wasn’t going to make it onto the site, but it turned out a bit better than expected. I was experimenting with my spray bottle and colours I don’t use much (but would appear to getting used to), so the background was dropping in viridian, winsor blue and quinacridone gold and spraying it around the paper. A day later I then looked at it and wondered what I could paint on top of it. A few tulips it is then. I found it an interesting way to proceed ie rather than I will do this, I will put some colour down and see what it inspires me to do.