Standen House

Standen House, watercolour

This is Standen House, a National Trust property in Sussex, which has a lot of Arts and Crafts influences and beautiful views to a lake.

This is again painted on Khadi paper.

Cloudy sky watercolour

This is a view from Standen House, a National Trust property in Sussex, England. I thought the lake or reservoir in the distance made a good focal point, but this painting's story is really about the big sky. If you have read my previous post, then this is the picture I had aimed for at the time.

One painting turns into another

Winter landscape, watercolour

When I started this picture, I wanted to make the cloudy sky the main focus of the composition, but as the painting developed, I felt there was something lacking. I therefore decided to add the trees to the right, which gave me the opportunity to paint a foreground shadow. I feel the painting has a satisfying balance now, but of course is no longer about the sky.

Sometimes we have to listen to what the painting is telling us and react to what is happening on the paper. And of course there is always another day to paint a moody sky.

Wettsteinbrücke Basel

This is the first time I am painting on Khadi paper (A3 rough). It feels more absorbent than Saunders Waterford or Bockingford paper and tears more easily when using masking fluid. Some of the paper fibres lift when painting, which can cause a mottled effect. I feel this paper is therefore not suited for traditional watercolour paintings and is maybe better for an impressionistic style, where unpredictable effects don't mar the painting.

Near the bottom of the painting is one of the iconic ferries that cross the Rhine in Basel. They are attached to a cable that spans the river and are dragged from one bank to the other by the current of the water.