“There is nothing the ocean has not seen.”
Sally Andrew
I live in a coastal city with the Great Barrier Reef at my doorstep so the greatest inspiration is right on tap. We have migratory whales visit annually on the upside, but also home to salt water crocodiles and Irukandji Jellyfish – a tiny, extremely venomous jellyfish that frequents our waters in our late Spring, Summer and Autumn months.
This series is less about specific mediums and more about the subject matter. My watercolours lean towards realism and I actually had to learn to become comfortable with being detail oriented with watercolours, so my biggest advice is be you. For so long I had believed watercolours must be loose and soft.
My Journey
Sneak Peak of a Disaster
Many years ago I was gifted a set of vibrant, very unforgiving Koh-i-Noor watercolour disks, resulting in a magnificently ugly little crab amongst other disasters – and so ended my relationship with watercolours. What I envisioned did not remotely equate to what I created. In retrospect, these paints are fabulously bright, but once they hit the paper they are there to stay in that form. They cannot be reworked, blended or layered successfully. So the take home lesson is be very careful when you use them, and if you are serious about learning how to paint using this medium, invest in good qualtiy paints. I went with Windsor & Newton when I was brave enough to have another try and haven’t looked back. However every artist has their favourite brand. Find what works best for you.
Occasionally I will render an image in ink and watercolour – possibly my most favourite combination of mixed mediums. They work together beautifully combining ink impact and watercolour delicacy, and can lend a modern feel. Key points for those keen to try – choose good quality waterproof pens – sizes .01 to .03 are great for beginners, but they do come in a variety of sizes from super-fine .005 up to broad or 0.8 for example. I love my Sakura Micron Pigment pens as they are waterproof, bleed proof and archival quality for a reasonable price with a large range of sizes and colours, although I stick to black and occasionally sepia or greys.
I didn’t really have a concept with the octopus except I wanted to add it to the series. He began with paintstaking texture and detail for his body, and as he took shape I was wondering how to emphasis their trademark ability to camoflauge themselves.
Bringing Trio to life was enormous fun. The coral reef was created using the salt technique which creates stunning textures. If you would like to learn more check out my Tutorials page.
Grace reflects the delicate ethereal qualities of many varieties of jellyfish.
Andrea Hayes Fine Art & Illustration 