Category Archives: My painting

Painting experiments

2023 07 Design Play

Messing around in my sketchbook. The aim was to combine both random and calculated shapes using a reduced colour palette. I like both orientations but possibly the landscape one slightly more.

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Print commission: Piece 1

I was recently engaged to explore printing on handmade Hemp paper by someone who intends to market this paper for sale. I was given a general idea of what was required based on some work I had done previously. Piece … Continue reading

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Preparing chine collé

I’ve been painting acid-free tissue paper – to use when printing – in preparation for a 5 day collagraph course I’m about to attend. I used very watered-down acrylic paints, allowed the tissue to dry and then ironed the pieces … Continue reading

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A bit of time out

It’s been a stressful week so it seemed like a good time to take a few minutes away from other people to mess about in the studio with some loud music, a bit of paper and some pens. Going through … Continue reading

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Messing about with paint – Day 4

I noticed how similar my colour palettes were in my two previous pieces so decided to make some adjustments. I also took note of my comment that perhaps squiggles – a bit more organic than my blocks and lines – … Continue reading

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Messing about with paint – Day 3

On day 3 of the challenge I stuck with acrylic paints, as I enjoyed them so much on the first day. After painting this piece I became stuck on what to do with it next. So I left it alone … Continue reading

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Messing about with paint – Day 1

Last week two friends and I decided to join a 5 day on-line creative challenge. The basis was supposed to be painting but the ethos was pretty much ‘anything goes’. As it was a free thing, designed to enthuse participants … Continue reading

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Creating a Colour Selector chart

I’ve designed a system of recording both the variety of paints & drawing materials I own and the items & colours I intend to use for each project I work on. I own quite a range of media including oil-based … Continue reading

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Exploring Mixed Media: 6

Masks, Stencils & Monoprinting . . . with a bit of painting and drawing. A fairly good result.  Perhaps a little less colour in the upper background would have been better.  The buds have more orange and colour variation that … Continue reading

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Self portrait

And now for something completely different. Having been playing with water colour effects on paper recently I considered how they could be combined with my more usual oil-based printing techniques.  My goal was to produce a printed image on paper … Continue reading

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Printing with water-colour

I’ve spent a week playing with water-colour paints, exploring how they can be transferred to print paper outside of the normal landscape or still-life painting arena.  In the past I’ve gone down the traditional route of water-colour painting and haven’t … Continue reading

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Playing with paints

In anticipation of a couple of book-binding courses I’ll be teaching in a few months time I’m exploring ways of applying different paints to paper without too much mess and water.  Last time I taught at this venue I asked … Continue reading

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More painterly mark-making trials

A friend and I got together to continue the mark-making experimentation.  I’m building up a good resource of coloured papers for future projects.  Some may end up as book-covers, some as inner pages, some will probably be over-printed and some … Continue reading

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Mark making & Gelli Plate printing

Having attended a recent paste-papers workshop and had such a good two days I was reminded of the fun of just ‘having a go’ and letting colours appear on paper with a little less planning than I usually do.  So … Continue reading

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Pastepaper Workshop

The notes received in this workshop stated (in part & abbreviated): Pastepapers have been used since at least as early as 1650.  They were often made in the binder’s shop, but some businesses were set up solely to provide them … Continue reading

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Design Play: Circuit Project – Getting started

The value of experimentation No-one gets it right first time and I’ve a vision in my head that has been difficult to translate into reality. Having had a brain stuffed with home renovations, builders, paint choices and so on for … Continue reading

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Design Play: Exercise 3 – Final design & prints

The goal: To turn solid shapes into line drawings, create variations on the theme and translate these into a workable design to print. Stage 1 of this exercise started by using photos of Walking Irises in my garden.  I developed … Continue reading

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2018 12 24 Image of the week

Reflection by Claire B Etched print, oil based inks, on 250gsm BFK Reeves paper, coloured with Inktense pigments. This is the best of the prints I completed in November, and today I finished it with hand-colouring.  Very happy with this … Continue reading

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Painting: water-based pigments

Yesterday I went for my second water-colour painting class.  What can I say?  I’ve done part of an on-line course and last month I did the ‘Absolute Beginners’ first class.  Yesterday was the second and final one. Here’s the result: … Continue reading

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Revisiting watercolour painting

Late last year I started a watercolour on-line course.  After 3 lessons I was stuck and my problems were very basic: When do you work on dry paper, when wet?  What does prepare and stretch your paper first mean?  Once … Continue reading

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Watercolour painting – Lesson 3

LESSON 3: Three colour sky Sample 1: I’ve mixed the correct colours up but not really integrated them into the composition well yet. Sample 2: This isn’t too bad and I’ve more white cloud here. Sample 3: Clouds and top … Continue reading

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Watercolour painting – Lesson 2

LESSON 2: Two colour sky 300gsm Medium Arches watercolour paper: Sample 1: Nice sharp edge to the land area considering I haven’t learned how to do that yet, but not enough variation in blue from upper to lower sections. Sample … Continue reading

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Watercolour painting: Lesson 1

For a while now I’ve been wanting to add colour to some of my prints.  Watercolour seems like a soft colour approach but it’s not something I know anything about.  So I’ve embarked on a beginners watercolour landscape course.  I … Continue reading

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