'Flat Out' Art Club demo

Its good to try something a bit different and using an alternative medium can sometimes help us to achieve success! This was the theme of my demo in Whitney this week which was such great fun. Firstly I think people were a bit puzzled when they arrived because all of the chairs were arranged differently (goodness, we are such creatures of habit) so people were able to sit really close to the action and watch the paint move, as well as how I then reacted to it.

I had three paintings planned and prepared as well as one which needed another layer adding to it, so there was lots to see and I hoped inspire. It felt especially nice to be on the same level as my audience, as I am so often either on a stage or standing at my easel while the audience sits, but this felt far more intimate and the lovely ladies of Whitney asked lots of questions and gave me delicious tea and biscuits at the break! What could be better?

This was how my main painting looked at the half way stage. At this stage I'm starting to spray water onto the paper allowing the colours to run into each other (this is the exciting bit) Everyone LOVED the sumptuous colours and my bold, almost abstract interpretation of the subject.

This was it finished, don't you just love those velvety colours!

I was also working on a second painting of the same scene but this time a different colour approach. This was how it looked once I had blocked in the first layer of colour and before any water is applied.

I know the group were keen to see the completed painting, so today I had a lovely sunny day in which to finish this one, and here it is, once the water is added and more pigment is applied before wetting it again.
As I explained to the group, these techniques are much slower than you would imagine, you also need lots of patience to wait for the work to dry before adding more colour layers (sometimes I get very impatient to work on it and have to make myself walk away)!
For those of you who want to have a go at using these techniques, they are all explained and demonstrated in my latest book and of course on the DVD too.

Drawing and Painting using Water Soluble Media