Of inspiration and how it is sometimes triggered…

Watercolour pencils are very useful for quick sketches as well as for longer work. There are some I really like because they are fully soluble and lightfast. I usually buy them singly or in small pack, but this winter I got the full range.

I drew the full scale, as it is useful to know how they behave when partly dissolved.

This inspired me to redo the sky on a small watercolour of Staithes I painted last year.

At the time I was working on Westerdale. There was this first one, experimenting on aluminium with acrylic markers and inks, and a more traditional large one in oils.

So these led me to an acrylic study:

Then one in oils:

And then a larger oil painting:

Then I moved away from the banding, but retained some elements, such as the colours and black framing, for my next one, Clitherbeck:

So sometimes a tin of pencils can lead to a large oil painting. There are always many projects and scenes clamouring for my attention, and I’m now working on something completely different, although in the same vertical format…