This gallery contains 19 photos.
I’ve always been a little sceptical of the claim that it’s possible to fall in love with a city… until my first visit to Venice back in May 2012… … a week spent mainly in the Canareggio district where most … Continue reading
the heavy rain is back but it can have benefits for the artist…
I find it much more interesting to sketch looming storm clouds whilst sitting in a car looking out over summer farmland and empty country lanes, than sunshine and blue skies…
Storm clouds near Shernbourne, Norfolk
© Mari French 2011
Exploring quiet country lanes between Anmer, Shelbourne and Ingoldisthorpe on monday, I came across these fields of ripening barley and a field of purple/blue flowers (crop?) which I couldn’t identify.
Blue field under stormy sky, Ingoldisthorpe, Norfolk
© Mari French 2012
I used oil pastel here for quick blocking in of features before flowing wet in wet watercolour over the top (first time I’ve tried this technique outdoors and it gives useful, speedy and lively results as the pastel acts as a resist to the paint. I like the broken colour and flecks of paint that result.
Barley field under storm clouds near Anmer, July ’12
© Mari French 2012
I was listening to ‘The Quiet Room’ from the album ‘Piano Stories’ by Debbie Wiseman – a piece of music which goes well with the subject and place for me.
I’ve built up a library of atmospheric music via I-Tunes from noting pieces heard on Classic FM/BBC Radio 3 and the like.
detail from sketch of dead sunflowers © Mari French 2011
okay… I realise many images can be intriguing when cropped and magnified, but I love this detail from a late afternoon sketch I did in November, in a field of dead sunflowers (in Harpley, Norfolk). I like the dark beauty of the granulations of colour as they have bled and flowed together. This is why I enjoy playing with wet-in-wet watercolour often combined, as here, with watercolour pastels. (Just wish I could reproduce this effect on a large scale!)
Below is the original sketch, and a further detail. For me the dead plants are more satisfying to paint than the living summer ones, glorious though they are to look at.
Winter sunflowers (watercolour sketch) © Mari French Nov 2011
dead sunflowers, detail from sketch © Mari French 2011
Mari French RI : contemporary artworks 