a pinch of salt . . .

Cosmos
original watercolour by Teresa Newham

I recently took it into my head to create an abstract painting using watercolour and rock salt.  This was one of the techniques I was shown several years ago during a short course introduction to watercolour at Central St Martins - it produced fantastic results but I hadn't tried it since.

splashing & sprinkling
© Teresa Newham

Rather than use my best paper, I stretched some 300gsm Arches, wetted it, and dropped in Transparent Yellow, Quinacridone Magenta, and some Winsor Blue (Green Shade).  Also known as Phthalo Blue, it's a colour I use a lot in printmaking but rarely for watercolours.   As the paint spread, I sprinkled salt over the paper and wetted it again in places with a spray.  Then I walked away firmly, without looking back.

how the base layer dried
© Teresa Newham

Next morning the painting was quite different, with some amazing patterns.  I carefully brushed away every scrap of salt with my fingertips.  As the overall effect was a little gaudy, I covered the whole lot with a wash of ultramarine, graduating towards the centre and out again.   I sprinkled more salt onto the paper, used the spray a bit, and once again turned my back on it.

the ultramarine layer, with salt
© Teresa Newham

I couldn't resist taking a look from time to time at the colours marching across the paper - there were some vibrant hues emerging that usually only appear in the water I use to rinse the brushes - but again I didn't touch it until the following morning.  By now the salt had absorbed so much pigment that it resembled those coloured sugar crystals you can buy for your coffee - these ones, however, were strictly inedible.

salt or sugar?
© Teresa Newham

Some artists say you should keep the salt in place as part of your painting.  But I wanted the effects underneath to be seen; besides, my student portfolio from that long-ago course now has a crunchy layer of salt at the bottom from my early experiments.  It does fall off eventually . . . and removing it was such a tactile experience it felt like an integral part of the creative process!

trying out a mount
© Teresa Newham

I was happy enough with the finished piece to see how it looked in a mount.  For a few days it didn't have a title, but eventually I settled on Cosmos.  Make of it what you will . . .

Backwards and Forwards

Ladies chatting - pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

New Year is a time for looking back, as well as forward.  A flick through my sketchbooks reminds me that 2015 was the year I finally started to carry one with me most of the time.  As the weather warmed up, anyone who stopped for a chat or sat down for a picnic became a potential subject - particularly if - like the ladies above - they were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't spot me scribbling away.

bench, Portmagee - Zig pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

When I began to draw a tourist sitting on a bench at Portmagee harbour I thought I was in luck - he was intent on his smartphone - but I knew things would change as soon as his girlfriend arrived.  Sure enough, within a minute or two they were heading somewhere else and I had to finish the drawing from memory.  For some reason, I decided they were French - they did look rather chic - but I never got close enough to find out.

Ladies chatting, Childwickbury - pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

These ladies deep in conversation at Childwickbury Arts Fair were too good to miss.  I was sitting in some shade on the other side of the stable yard and I don't think they even saw me.  Like me, they were taking a good long rest and were still nattering away when I moved on.

Dog's day out on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway - Zig pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

A captive subject is always welcome:  and the couple sitting across the aisle from me in the railway carriage had a dog with them.  Too good to miss!  I managed to complete this sketch while the train was waiting to leave Pickering Station.  Just as well, because the two-hour journey to Whitby by steam was so enthralling that I didn't draw anything else until we arrived - when I managed the quick impression of Whitby Abbey, below.  At least that wasn't going to get up and walk off . . .

Whitby Abbey - Zig pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

As the weather worsened and the days shortened, my enthusiasm for outdoor sketching waned somewhat, even when we spent another week in Kerry.  But I couldn't resist making the drawing below, from the comfort of a brightly-lit conservatory with a wonderful view - it would have been rude not to!

Valentia from Kilkeaveragh - Zig pen sketch
© Teresa Newham

I don't make New Year's Resolutions - far too easily broken - but I must get into the habit of sketching again.  Whatever the weather!

How many Kings?

the adoration of the Magi
hand-pulled linocut Christmas card
© Teresa Newham

On this year's Christmas card I've chosen to depict the Three Kings - or Wise Men - or Magi, as they are often known.  Their story strictly speaking belongs to Epiphany (6th January), as Matthew's Gospel (the only Gospel in which they appear) does not state exactly when they made their journey - some commentators date their visit as late as two years after Jesus' birth.  

Originally I was going to call this little linocut The Three Kings.  This verse from The First Nowell gives a clue as to why I didn't :

Then entered in those Wise men three

Full reverently upon their knee

And offered there in His presence

Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell

Born is the King of Israel! 

The Three Kings also happens to be the name of one of my favourite pieces of Christmas music - a hybrid of two other pieces, Three Persian Kings from Lands Afar and  How Brightly Beams the Morning Star (click on the lyrics to listen to it).  It captures beautifully our response to the joy of our Saviour's birth:

How brightly beams the Morning Star!

What sudden radiance from afar!

It cheers us with its shining.

Brightness of God, that breaks our night

and fills the darkened souls with light,

who long for truth were pining!

Newly, truly God's word feeds us,

rightly leads us,

life bestowing.

Praise, O praise such love o'erflowing!

May you and your loved ones have peace and joy this Christmas, and every blessing for the New Year.

Never too late to change your mind

Summer Storm at Reenroe ~ watercolour & gouache
© Teresa Newham

Some paintings go down onto the paper so easily they seem almost to paint themselves.  Others can be a bit of a struggle - which is the case with my latest piece, Summer Storm at Reenroe.

the beach path at Reenroe
© Teresa Newham

I wanted to depict the profusion of wild flowers which greeted us when we embarked on a wet and windy dog walk at Reenroe one rainy July morning last Summer - the last day of my Kerry holiday.

early washes
© Teresa Newham

For this painting I chose Winsor Yellow Deep, Burnt Umber, Permanent Sap Green, Cobalt Blue, Quinacridone Magenta, Titanium White, and Yellow & White Gouache.  The early washes were fine, and I was quite pleased with the way the mountains emerged from the misty rain in the distance.

adding definition
© Teresa Newham

The grasses and fence posts didn't present any problems either - I only started to run into difficulties when I tried to lay down the flowers themselves.  As we'd walked through the rain towards the beach the wet flowers had seemed to leap out at us, but spattering didn't give quite the right effect, so I tried dotting them in with a fine brush.

adding the flowers . . .
© Teresa Newham

Too late, I realised that this was a mistake.  Never mind, I thought, Arches paper will take a lot of punishment; so I took some of them out and dampened down others.  Trouble was, every time I made a change, something else looked wrong!

. . . and adjusting them
© Teresa Newham

By now, the painting was completely overworked, but I ploughed on, unwilling to be beaten. Some areas got softened, some things changed completely.  A new path appeared, running from left to right.  I kept changing my mind, until even I was forced to realise that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  It was time to stop.

the finished painting
© Teresa Newham

You've probably gathered that I'm not terribly happy with this painting.  Even putting a mount over it doesn't cheer me up.  But the amount of work I put into it has made it impossible for me to look at the picture objectively.  I need some feedback . . . !

improved by a mount?
© Teresa Newham

Kerry memories

the view from Geokaun Mountain
© Teresa Newham

Because I visit Kerry so often, I'd forgotten that I haven't shared much of its wonderful scenery on this blog unless I've painted it! I never get tired of the panoramic view from Geokaun Mountain on Valentia Island (above) taking in Portmagee, the Skelligs and Bray Head; and although we've driven through the coastal town of Waterville many times, we've never seen surf as it was when we were there in October:

white surf at Waterville
© Teresa Newham

The colours, especially in Autumn, are a wonderful range of greens and golds - I think of them as typically Irish.  I took this photo during a walk along the Bog Road, the area which inspired the painting I blogged about earlier this month:

the colours of Kerry
© Teresa Newham

Autumn colour was very much in evidence at Kells Bay Gardens, where a choice of walks leads through a primeval forest and a bamboo glade; fallen logs have been turned into dinosaurs and the atmosphere at the riverside reminds you why so many tales of fairies are popular in the Kingdom!

Autumn, Kells Bay Gardens
© Teresa Newham

Further along, the path climbs higher to these trees.  They're not the largest or the most spectacular in the Gardens, but for some reason I can't put my finger on, they are my favourites . . .

trees, Kells Bay Gardens
© Teresa Newham

Near our base at Portmagee, an enterprising landowner has given visitors the opportunity to view the Skelligs from the Kerry Cliffs;  this photo was taken at a fairly low level, but if you've a head for heights it's definitely worth going to the top!

the Skelligs from the spectacular cliffs
© Teresa Newham

And finally, a walk along Reenroe Beach, where the sky was a subtle pinkish gold colour - which has shown up unexpectedly well in this photo.  The Iveragh Peninsula never ceases to amaze me.  Is it any wonder I keep going back?

Autumn light, Reenroe beach
© Teresa Newham

Time to Play 2 - Bog Cotton

Bog Cotton - watercolour & gouache
© Teresa Newham

If it were possible to be in love with a watercolour paper, I'd be smitten with Arches Aquarelle 640 gsm.  No stretching, no buckling - you just take it out of the drawer and get on with it.  Which is exactly what I did when I painted this picture, inspired by the landscape around what my friends on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry refer to as the bog road.

the bog road
© Teresa Newham

We'd walked their dog there back in June; and although the day was overcast and the colours flattened, I knew straight away that the scenery had worked its magic on me and that I'd make a painting of it.  As often happens, I even had the title: Bog Cotton, the nickname for the white flowers growing profusely amidst the peat.

reference photos and sky washes
© Teresa Newham

When I played with the photo on the computer I was excited to find that all sorts of colours were lurking in there; blues, yellows, golds, browns and a whole host of greens.  The colours I chose for the painting were cobalt blue, raw sienna, burnt umber and terre vert.

laying the foundations
© Teresa Newham

As I laid down the initial washes I tried to use my atomiser to create some interesting effects, but it produced a disappointing spurt of water rather than the fine spray I was hoping for . . . I carried on without it, letting the colours speak for themselves. Gradually the landscape (and the way I felt about it) began to emerge.

the middle ground takes shape
© Teresa Newham

Exuberant use of a fan brush to depict the grasses in the foreground had me wiping spots of paint off the surrounding equipment,  reference material and a nearby radiator.  Oh, and my face. I'm still finding them in the studio now - but it produced the effect I wanted!

foreground grasses
© Teresa Newham

At this point you might have been forgiven for thinking that the painting was complete.  I was keen not to over-work it, but there was no getting away from it: call me old-fashioned if you like, but if a painting is called Bog Cotton, there needs to be at least some bog cotton in there . . .

er . . . something's missing, isn't it?
© Teresa Newham

I should have painted the flowers before the foreground - but it was too late for that.  So I laid paper over the parts of the painting where I didn't want flowers, and then I splattered.  I splattered with white watercolour.   I splattered with gouache. I splattered with a toothbrush.  I splattered with a paintbrush.  And I scratched, with a palette knife and then (more successfully) with the point of a compass.  And then I was happy.

the finished piece
© Teresa Newham

Time to Play 1 - Millennium Cross

Millennium Cross - watercolour
© Teresa Newham

Recently I decided to add to the palette of colours I use.  It's all too easy to get into a rut, and I was looking for a little inspiration - so I pored over the Winsor & Newton colour chart and ordered myself some new paints.  Then I made my own chart from the old and new colours and put it in my paintbox.

my personal colour chart!
© Teresa Newham

Keen to try some of the new shades out, I took as a starting point a photo taken at the Millennium Cross in Rosedale, North Yorkshire.  It was a favourite place of my mother's, and we'd made an emotional visit to it in August - I wanted to capture the atmosphere and how I felt when I was there.

the original scene
© Teresa Newham

Still in the spirit of experimentation, I'd also bought some 640gsm Arches watercolour paper.  I'd never used such a heavy weight of paper before - it didn't even need stretching, and certainly soaked up the initial washes. I  wet the sky with my new spray bottle to create some clouds, before layering on more vivid colours to depict the hillside.

getting the right colours down (eventually) . . .
© Teresa Newham

I immediately regretted my choice of  Perylene Maroon for the heather, but it didn't matter - this paper is so good that I simply wiped the offending colour away and replaced it with Quinacridone Magenta (the other colours I used were Sap Green and my beloved Raw Sienna and Cobalt Blue).

 wiping out a ghostly cross!
© Teresa Newham

This grade of Arches is popular with many artists because it will take a lot of punishment -  just as well, as I needed to remove some of the hillside in order to paint the cross itself.  The effect was quite ghoulish for a while!

the cross taking shape
© Teresa Newham

A little more work to the foreground, and I had the painting I wanted. This picture takes me straight back to Heygate Bank and that lonely cross on the moors.  I really enjoyed playing with the new paper: and as I have a few sheets left and some unopened tubes of paint to explore - watch this space!

the finished result
© Teresa Newham

Autumn Leaves

the colours of Autumn captured on paper!
© Teresa Newham

September has been chilly, and despite last week's sunshine it's clear that Autumn is upon us.  So I thought I'd better make some more leaf monoprints before the leaves I needed dropped off my Acer tree - as I'd sold all the prints & cards I'd made before!

the obliging Acer
© Teresa Newham

In the past I've fiddled about with templates for the background, but this time I simply applied the roller straight to the paper, making sure to keep it straight and even.  Then I layered the leaves on the top, using red, gold, silver and copper inks in different combinations depending on which colour lay behind them.

layering with metallic ink
© Teresa Newham

I love the shape of these leaves; they are a work of art in themselves, and sturdy enough not to break when the ink is applied.  The technique is completely different to my other printmaking - the ink is water-based and applied with a brush.

inking a leaf
© Teresa Newham

For the greetings cards I mixed some shades of base colour that I hadn't tried before, keen to see how the metallic inks would contrast - some shades simply don't work!

greetings cards with a single leaf print
© Teresa Newham

The biggest leaves made a wonderful design just as they were . . . but I couldn't resist doubling up some of the smaller ones, just to see what they looked like:

experimenting with double layers of leaves on some of the cards
© Teresa Newham

I used various sizes of leaf for the prints, and let the larger ones spill over onto the white paper. So the prints have turned out bigger than the ones I've made previously - luckily I've found some big mounts to show them off . . .

finding a suitable mount
© Teresa Newham

Each print and card is unique, because the leaves are positioned randomly.   I like to think that they evoke the spirit of Autumn and of my little Acer tree!