Last Sunday's Countryfile programme contained a short feature about an old Somerset papermill. The presenter had collected some wild flowers and these were dropped onto the pulp and were incorporated into the paper.
The mill is where the high quality Two Rivers watercolour paper is made. Back in November 2011 Neil Hopkins - the owner - visited Ludlow and gave a demonstration. He brought some sample packs which sold like hot cakes!
I believed at the time that nothing could beat Waterford so I never bought any - perhaps that was short-sighted! If any blog members have used Two Rivers do tell us about it.
Follow the link to see Neil Watkins demonstrating.
http://ludlowartsociety.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/pictures-from-two-rivers-paper-demo-and.html
click on a photograph to view it full size
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
PAINTING IS MORE ABOUT THE LONG STARE THAN THE QUICK GLIMPSE
I’ve just received the Summer 2013 issue of ‘Birds’ the RSPB
magazine. Filled as ever with stunning photographs; there’s a particularly
attractive shot of a Redstart on the cover. Digital photography has brought a
revolution in the way wildlife subjects can be portrayed. The Redstart on the
cover reveals more detail in a fraction of a second than is seen by the naked
eye even after long study.
Photographs are a good source of reference for the artist but it seems to me that many artists are preoccupied with achieving laborious detailed realism because we are visually fed too much photography. Much of the enjoyment in painting both for the painter and the viewer comes from the enjoyment of the hand-made mark. All hand crafted media offer distinctive ways for the artist to interpret and exploit what he sees. For me the expressive marks made by a moving hand are what make painting interesting. The starting point of expressive mark begins in front of the subject with a long stare.
Lars Jonnsson advocates looking at a bird for six minutes before starting to paint it – good memory training? My current favourite wildlife painter though is Darren Woodhead. A watercolourist who works outdoors from direct observation. He can be found on Twitter or visit his website at:
Photographs are a good source of reference for the artist but it seems to me that many artists are preoccupied with achieving laborious detailed realism because we are visually fed too much photography. Much of the enjoyment in painting both for the painter and the viewer comes from the enjoyment of the hand-made mark. All hand crafted media offer distinctive ways for the artist to interpret and exploit what he sees. For me the expressive marks made by a moving hand are what make painting interesting. The starting point of expressive mark begins in front of the subject with a long stare.
Lars Jonnsson advocates looking at a bird for six minutes before starting to paint it – good memory training? My current favourite wildlife painter though is Darren Woodhead. A watercolourist who works outdoors from direct observation. He can be found on Twitter or visit his website at:
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
MOLLYMAWKS OVER STEWART ISLAND N.Z.
This is a painting I'm planning to show in June. I've used acrylic on 300gm Arches Not. I'm feeling more at home with using acrylic well diluted as with true watercolour. One of the advantages it has is that it allows washes to be super imposed without fear of lifting what is underneath. The method requires a little patience and careful use of a drier.
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