I’m doing a bit of reading, these evenings, trying to plug some of the gaps in my knowledge of art.  My particular interest at the moment is Impressionism. This quote sticks in my mind – ‘every landscape painter inevitably becomes a painter of light’ (i).  I don’t think I had fully realised this, until I read it. 

For my own part, my own special interest is in painting water. Now I see, it is not the water that intrigues me, but the light on the water!  Water reflects light better than anything else. Why did I not realise that I was a painter of ‘light’ all the time?

Now that I understand this, I am even more enthusiastic about painting the landscape. I just thought I’d share this. 

The painting above is 60x60cm, part of my Canary Island series.

(i) Frouke van Diijke in Clouds and Light.

Winter Studio Sale …… I have too many paintings in stock at the moment, its as simple as that. I am selling many of them at half the exhibition price (to personal callers only). Do pop around if you’re in the area, but maybe ring first – to be sure I’m at home. Stoneyford, Co Kilkenny.

I am a representative watercolour landscape artist, but I am painting exclusively in acrylic at the moment. Why so? Well, I want to paint big and a little more abstract, and when you get to larger sizes in watercolour, you begin to meet problems, especially when framing up.

I had painted a few small acrylics over the summer, these went well. Then, I started to ramp up the sizes. I went for 70x50cm. The subject chosen was a lake, and it was to be a minimalistic scene, with the only real detail being some marker buoys and a beacon. 

I immediately began to appreciate the issues of painting big in acrylic. The one big advantage – quick drying – became a big challenge. I started with a grey sky, hoping to blend it nicely, but the paint was drying too fast, so I had to think again. 

I bought some slow drying medium, this helped. However the main lesson was to work fast. I learned that it is good to carefully plan the process, choose the colours you need, get the place ready and then work furiously until the blending is done. I think it is a good idea to have a little more paint than you need because the time it takes to find/open the tubes is time better spent on the blending process itself. Leftover paint can be used to prime the next canvas!

To get the place ready, I laid an old throw on the floor, so that I didn’t have to worry about splashes, and I laid the canvas flat on the floor, on this.  I used a couple of plastic food packaging trays to mix the paint. I used some of the slow drying medium and a large brush. The colours chosen were – white, cerulean blue, burnt umber, a little ultramarine and a small bit of crimson. I painted the sky and the lake together each a mirror of the other, with a patch of the sky blue reflecting in the water. Working quickly, it was much more strenuous that I had imagined. 

Next I painted the distant shore, hills, and islands. I did this on a large easel. I found it is important to mix the colours in the tray, as it is not easy to mix them on the canvas (with watercolour – you can and should mix them on the paper). I used the same colours, darker, with a hint of blue for the distant hills and a hint of green for the near shore, and greener for the islands. Lastly I painted in the beacons and buoys, and the ripples on the water, this was more detailed, but considerably easier for me. I found the business of creating a smooth blend across the whole 70cm the most challenging part.

I was pleased that the painting was accepted for An Chead Tine Annual exhibition, running until the 8th November on the mezzanine in Dunnes Stores in Kieran St., Kilkenny. It is called Benjamin Rock.

I have since started an even bigger piece!

The summer months are busy with exhibitions, it can be tiring. What do you do at the exhibition? If you are viewing, it can be interesting to see the work presented, especially if there are a number of artists showing, and you can chat with the artists (who will be happy to chat to you!), then head off for a coffee. 

If you are exhibiting, chatting is good. However, not all chats end up as sales! Also, there are long gaps during the day – no one to chat to, so what do you do. 

I don’t read much. I have decided to pass the time painting. A number of positives come out of this – it is a demonstration of your work and the techniques you use, it validates your work and starts great chats. People are genuinely interested. Most of all, remembering the reason we paint at all, it helps to pass the time. I have put a few of these in the space above the blog. Small pieces (watercolour), taking one or two days each (in between chats).

This year in addition to painting at the exhibitions, I have been running a little experiment. I have created a number of ‘sets’ of paintings – same scene – painted in three different mediums, watercolour, acrylic and oil. My findings (not robust enough for publication in an academic journal) are as follows : (I) There is an underlying feeling that oil paintings have more value than other mediums, (ii) when push comes to shove, most people cannot tell the difference between an acrylic painting and an oil painting, and (III) the majority liked the watercolour best. Now, what to make of that?

The ‘old masters’ painted in oil and so it has a pedigree.   Acrylic is a relatively new medium. For me, it is cheaper, and easier to use (because it dries quicker) – I prefer it, and my little piece of research shows that the average person (and quite a few artists) cannot tell the difference. So it begs the question……

Some artists will point to the fact that because oil stays ‘wet’ longer its is easier to work and rework, blend and so on. Other ‘benefits’ are also cited. Ok, maybe. Personally, I don’t think you should rework a painting, you should be clear about what you are going to do from the start, then just do it.  That’s the the way watercolour artists go about it!

Regarding watercolour, it seems to have become a niche. Galleries and major exhibitions (eg RHA) don’t include watercolours in their exhibitions – I challenge you to prove otherwise. I have been around the country and that is how it is! 

Yet – when asked at my exhibition, without prompting, most people chose the watercolour as their favourite painting in the set of three. 

So where does the future lie for me. Should I continue to work in the niche, even though opportunities to exhibit are limited? Should I move across to oils or the cheaper (but just as effective acrylic). Should I go with the flow? We’ll see.

Anyway, I will be doing some painting in acrylic over the winter. My daughter has asked me to paint a large piece for her kitchen, it is too big for watercolour…… it will have to be acrylic.  I could do it in oils but I can’t see the point of the extra hassle. In fact I will do a few, so that she can have a choice. I will post them up on my website, perhaps in the spring. 

In the meantime, enjoy the coming period of transition from summer into autumn, get out and about, feel the fresher morning air in your lungs, glory in the parade of colour that nature has in store for us, and above all be inspired.

And stock up on winter fuel!

June ended and July started with the Lines of the Land exhibition (An Chead Tine) in Kilkenny. I was delighted that my painting – Baunreagh, Winter –  was selected. The painting is executed in acrylic, not my usual medium, so this was something of an experiment for me. I was at the opening, and the painting was very well received. This was a great boost for me.   The exhibition is full of great art, much of it abstract – the brief mentions ‘abstracting the landscape’ – it is interesting to see how people have responded to this. It is well worth a visit.

Lately I have been painting in acrylic and in oils, just for a change. Always trying to find a new direction, trying to get a different feel. 

I have two exhibitions of my own coming up – note for your diary. On the August Bank Holiday weekend, my exhibition at the Gallery in Portumna Castle opens. I will be there myself throughout the weekend. I will have many scenes in watercolour of Lough Derg and its surrounds, some I showed previously and some new ones. I will be also continuing with my experiment – ‘You decide’ where I will present the same scene in watercolour, acrylic and oil. I am interested to hear from visitors which they prefer, and also to see if people can tell the difference between acrylic and oils (I usually can’t), and what kind of perceptions people have about each. The exhibition continues for the whole month of August (2024). The title of the Exhibition is ‘Low Tide and No Tide’.

On 8th of August, Arts Week begins in Kilkenny.  I have been exhibiting at the Concert Hall, Thomastown for the past few years, and will be back there again this year. In Thomastown we do our own thing under the TCAF24 banner (Thomastown Creative Arts Festival). A great committee and a great bunch of artists. Im always proud to be part of this. I need to mention AKA also (the Alternative Kilkenny Arts ) without them, the whole Arts Week experience would be dry and meaningless, they bring life to it by creating opportunities for local artists especially, visual, musical and other. Many feel (I do) that the official Arts Weeks has lost its relevance, AKA has stepped in to add a bit of jizz to the proceedings.  However, I think there might be changes afoot!

My exhibition is called ‘Low Tide / HighTime” and will feature watercolours only. I am working with the low tide theme this year, I love to paint the coast at low tide especially, because the wet sand is especially interesting, as it is full of colour and reflections. Also, I love the sea.

With both of these exhibitions, when I am in attendance, I will have my haggle box with me. What’s in the box – come and see!

I am chuffed, of course, that my painting (titled ‘Gold Creek’) won first place in an art competition, last month. Thanks to those who put pressure on me to enter, and to all of those in the community that offered their good wishes on my win. 

The competition was national, organised by the Active Retirement Association. I was qualified to enter….. The standard was good, mostly oils, and I was pleased that one of the few watercolours won out. I have been wondering lately, if there is a bias against watercolour (out there) so it was a welcome boost. 

I am a little concerned, however, that it puts me firmly in the amateur category, whereas I would like to be taken seriously as an artist. Ok I am an amateur, but I put a lot of time and effort into it!

Anyway I am happy to be able, through this win, to promote the value of being active and of expressing yourself through art (of all sorts) when the time comes to finish the nine to five. 

I think most people throw a wobbly, when they suddenly realise that the world (office, school, shop) carries on without missing a step, when they make their exit. To be so important and integral to the working of the mechanism one day, and of no relevance the next ….. well, it is difficult to come to grips with it. To have skills, knowledge and contacts in your field, and to find they have no real value in the end, it can be difficult. And it can be difficult to reinvent yourself.

The truth is, I believe, that we can actually gain greater importance, and more relevance when we throw off the yoke of the nine to five. We have such great freedom, if we choose to use it, to follow our dreams and to lead others towards their own dreams. We have more time for loved ones, who are infinitely more important than workmates, and the skills we built over a lifetime, can now be brought into play in pursuit of greater goals, than profit margins and the agendas of people who mistakenly think that they are important.

I will be showing the painting during Arts Week (August 8th – 18th, 2024) as part of my exhibition ‘Low Tide/High Time’ in the Concert Hall in Thomastown. Do come along. 

My first exhibition of 2024 is a joint exhibition with Ann Brennan at the Gallery in the Coastguard Cultural Centre, in Tramore. The exhibition is called Low Tide / Green Grass. It runs until the end of May. Ann paints in oils, whereas I am exhibiting my watercolours, so there is a mix of styles.

Ann is actually a second cousin of mine. We only became acquainted about ten years ago, we were both working on a family tree project. As it happens Ann had already done a very comprehensive search and produced a little book. I learned that she was an artist. At the time I was beginning to spend more time painting myself, and Ann was a great source of practical help and advice. I am very pleased to be exhibiting with her this month.

Why I moved away from oils and embraced watercolour is another story.

Watercolour mediums, waves, the sea and art.

Is there a realm beyond the one we are living in, another dimension?  Is there somewhere else we can go, when this world is tiresome, or bothersome? How can we get there, would a medium help us find the way?  Art is a great medium to help us escape the realities of the real world.  The act of creating a painting can transport us. 

The painting itself, when finished and hanging on the wall, can sometimes also transport us to that other realm. If we let it. For me, the most absorbing paintings are paintings of the sea, I always come back to the meditative art of making waves. 

Waves are by their nature eternal and infinite. Where, and when does a wave start? A stone cast in the sea will create a ripple and that ripple will travel outwards, and weaken, but never die. It will blend with other ripples and forever be a part of the eternal motion of the ocean. An underwater earthquake may cause a tidal wave, and that too will live forever, and today some of the waves crashing on the beach have been born decades, even millennia ago.

When the wave crashes on the beach, does it die? No. I have watched them for hours. The energy of the wave spills out as spray and foam, rides up the sand, and returns, under the next wave to reach land. It returns to the sea, drawn outwards by the tide, gaining new strength all the time. Where will it go next?

I am painting a series of waves at the moment. I would like to share the process with you.

When painting in watercolour, you need to plan the painting in advance. There is a lot of white to be seen in the ocean, spray and foam. In watercolour the whitest white is the white of the paper itself. We need to use this. So I start with the spray and foam, painting this with masking fluid/drawing gum.

I use a brush for the crests of the waves and the larger blobs of foam the are found just at the foot of the waves. It is important to first prepare the brush (an old one) by covering it in soap. I have a small dish with a small round bar of soap, which I spray, with water and I rub the brush around in this. If you don’t do this the masking fluid will solidify on the brush hairs, ruining them. Once the wire crests and blobs of foam are painted with the masking fluid, we have a wide on white painting, which is ready for colour.

I explained before (March 2024) how I paint the lacy foam on the beach, Now I will deal with the waves themselves. I need to say that, before I apply any any water to the paper or paint, I add a little drop of gum arabic to it. This is a clear liquid supplied in a bottle.  FYI watercolour paint is manufactured using this gum to bind the pigments, so what we are doing here is adding a bit more. This has the effect, it appears to me, to unbind the pigment again (a bit) and the colours flow and blend in a much more natural way. I really only use it when painting water, it really does add immensely to the process and the enjoyment. It’s great fun. 

And so – to the water.  The water closest to the shore reflects the sky more so than the ocean itself. On a dull day it will be grey, but we all like sunny days, when the reflected sky will be cerulean blue. So, I lay a wash of this blue, over the lumpier foam a little further out from the lacy foam, blending it a bit with the darker umber colour of the wet sand, where the two meet. 

Normally when painting I start at the top of the sheet (the sky) and work down. With these waves I start at the bottom and work up!  As I work up the paper sheet, I have to create the waves themselves, with all their might and power. I need to consider the shape of the waves, but remember, I have already drawn their outline, crests, spray and foam with the masking fluid/gum. Apart from those elements, the crashing waves have a shape like a tube.  This is seen best in those internet photos of surfers, speeding along inside this tube. The waves further out have a different shape, a bit like moving mountain ridges.

Now, no two waves are the same! They are liquid and moving. The are fleeting, gone in a moment. They change constantly as they roll in. It is difficult to capture all of this on a two dimensional piece of paper. We can really only create the impression of a wave (and the one beside it and behind it). We must do this with paint.

We have two tools to work with – colour and shadow. Firstly, what colour is a wave? A glass of water is clear, it has no colour. The colour of the sea comes from that which is above it –  the sky, and that which is below it.  At the shore, there is sand below the sea (and probably rocks, seaweed, and so on). The sand can be a variety of colours, but yellow (tan or light brown) sand will appear green when the blue of the sky is brought into the picture. Dark rocks will produce a turquoise colour. And then there’s the blue of the sky. 

In these paintings I am working on at the moment I am using Cerulean blue as the base blue, I start with a wash of this colour.  I am using cobalt blue to provide texture, ultramarine for darks, and Prussian blue for very dark darks. Four blues.

As for shadow, waves have shadows. We have to use colour to create these. The wave crests further out to sea, will have a darker blue below them (cobalt blue) closer in these may have a deeper shade of blue. These are straight forward enough. The spray on the crashing waves can have a very dark shadow, the body of the wave can be somewhat (or totally) translucent, and there is a dark shadow again at the base of the wave (though this will be partially hidden because of the lumps of foam on the water).

The crashing waves are quite complex, indeed these are make and break. Mess them up and the whole thing goes in the bin. By starting with light washes and with the help of the loosening features of the gum arabic, I proceed gently with these at first, becoming bolder as the waves takes shape. 

I have many photos of waves. They are a useful reminder. I can’t say that I use them as a reference directly, but they can help to put you in the mood, to bring you back to the beach. For the most part, I draw the waves freehand and paint in the blues, as described, by feel. That is to say, I make brush strokes according to what I feel will bring the wave to life. 

To develop a feel for waves, you have to immerse yourself in them. Literally, if you wish. I like nothing better than to sit on a rock at the beach and watch the waves roll in. Watch how they crash on the sand, how they creep up to your feet, how they scurry back to the ocean from whence they came. Better still, is to sit on a boat gliding across the water, itself moving with the motion of the waves, at one with the sea. You are part of it. I draw on this feeling, which is by now well settled in my bones, when I am painting waves. The feeling of the sea comes over me and I am calm and excited, all at the one time. 

When I finish splashing about in the water in this way, I have the painting to a point where the bulk of the work is done, and I can start the process of finishing it off. I leave it to dry completely. Then there comes the task of removing the masking fluid/gum. This has now been totally painted over, though much of it will be still visible. It will also be feel-able, by running your fingers over the paper you can feel it. It has to be taken off. When removes, it will reveal the pristine white of the paper, it will stand out against the paint, and create the whitewater of the beach. 

It can be easy or not to take off. A lot depends on the brand and quality of the paper. I am experimenting with different papers as I create this series of wave paintings, the jury is still out. Your index finger works best. Just rub the stuff off with your finger. I play the banjo, so the tips of my fingers are quite tough. Even so, sometimes they can get a bit sore, so I use an eraser to rub it off. Usually a mixture of both.  You will know that you have it all off, because by running your fingers across the paper you will feel any gum that is still there.

We now have a completed painting, except that the white is too white. The finishing stages will deal with that and make the whitewater more natural. Again, feel is the key. 

With the gum removed the spray and foam is brilliant white with no texture. So again, we need to bring in the shadows and reflections. The foam is shaped much like bubbles in the bath. Sort of round and lumpy. Being light and lumpy, the shadows in the foam are also light. Typically cerulean blue.  I might use some light cobalt blue for a slightly deeper shade. 

To indicate bright sun, a tiny bit of lemon yellow on the top of the wave crest, will pay off. While you have the lemon to hand, you might consider if a little shade of green might help make the waves more natural looking. As I said the sand beneath the waves will change the hue, and also bright sun shining through the translucent body of the wave will change the light blue to a light green.  A carefully laid wash of lemon yellow will achieve this for you. If the day is not so bright you might need some deeper greens, but feel is all important, and adding greens will change the tone of the painting totally.

Finally We might return to the body of the waves, and the sea beyond the near waves, and add a few careful brush strokes to create a bit more motion in the waves.

I now prop up the painting, where I can see it, and from time I will sit and look at it, sometimes squinting, seeking out the final slight modification That will bring conclusion to the process.

By then I will have already started another one.