Small Study 2015

One theme in my work is shrubbery, not just any shrubbery but THE shrubbery, the one in Monty Python's Holy Grail movie that is requested by the Knights that Say Neep. Since 1990 I have used the same technique to paint the small bushes as seen in the middle ground towards the left of this small doodleism study. It starts with the yellow underlay, sometimes let blend into the background sky, and then, when the yellow is starting to dry, layer in some light green or bluish hues, let it blend and dry a bit, then overlay with a dark green, let dry slightly, then dark blue (red), and then red-green sepia. It takes practice to get the timing... let one layer dry too much and the subsequent layers do not blend and blurr, while if the layering is too fast it all blends together and you loose the gradation effect. The amount of water on the brush also matters, too much the colours run together, too little they wont blend. The same technique was used in the sky to make the cloud, and in the grass to create the electric shadows, and in the red sky to make it look like darkness is approaching. 


5 x 8 "  (12.5 x 20.3 cm) cold press, watercolour. 2015