Royal Inst. of Painters in Watercolour, London 2020
Well, talk about humbled. I was overwhelmed with the gorgeous display today of over 400 paintings of watercolour (mostly) that have such obvious expertise in comparison to what I'm doing. It has really made me rethink the way I tackle this next painting of mine. For a while I have been wanting to splash out somehow, use watercolour more-so than just painting a certain image, but to use it in a real watery watercolour way if one understands that. I don't feel that I am allowing the paint to have the translucency it could these days and so today was a welcome influence for me to see some beautiful work up front and center.
It is usually an enjoyable thing for me to do "art gallery going" because watercolour is not usually the medium most seem to show in galleries, it seems oil and/or acrylic is more popular and so there is usually no comparison, just pure inspiration. Today was a real HUGE visual revelation for me to see how I can use paints much better and not to be so tight with my work. So, although today was enjoyable, I have to be careful to not feel too bad about myself as an artist and just take it in stride and continue to push my boundaries and have faith in myself and what I am doing, trying to express and accept my own way forward.
On the other hand, I went to another expo today that is of the top of the line botanical illustration work possible, that of a practically dry brush work on vellum with watercolour, so tight, so precise, it was overwhelming such a contrast! (Fiona Strickland; Tulipa @jonathancooper) I enjoyed that a lot because this level of work is something I don't even consider myself ever getting to nor would I want to, it is just too tight and controlled for me, but what a stunning afternoon I've had here in London-town!
