Finding the right kind of paint

I have a confession to make: painting was my least favourite part of making art up till late spring in 2014. I know, I know, how on earth did I survive art school without enjoying painting? It’s a real mystery, somehow the actual painting courses just whizzed by without me really noticing at all. In fact, considering I got into that school with an entrance exam that included me accidentally tipping water all over my nearly finished watercolour piece, effectively ruining it, I reckon I did quite well to pass any courses at all.

Over the years I’ve tried lots of different mediums, starting from kid’s poster paint to really rather professional oils. For years and years I struggled with watercolours, which I had convinced myself ruined all my work, since nothing turned out how I’d have liked. In art school I took up acrylics, and used them for everything imaginable – painting on canvas, wood, even handmade fimo pendants. Somehow I left that particular medium there and haven’t picked up my once-cherished plastic paints since. At school we slaved away with oils, starting from the gesso base on our handmade canvases, to the layers upon layers of colour applied with palette knives and all manner of non-brushy equipment which was simultaneously exciting and tedious. If there’s one thing I absolutely hate, it’s working on a painting for more than about a week – I get bored of looking at it and loose all motivation the longer it takes to complete. I gradually settled into working solely on my tablet in photoshop – no mess, I could pick it up where and when I liked, and it was heaps faster with no waiting for each layer to dry.

"Lewes Corgis", one of my first Scenic Dogs illustrations in watercolour.

So what changed? In early 2014 I was still sticking to my digital art like glue. Still, it did feel a bit odd not having anything physical to show for my hard work, after all no originals existed, if I wanted to display my art it had to be printed. I was longing for something tangible. I’d taken up crochet and it was SO fulfilling, and through that I sort of began to think about getting back into traditional art and painting. The watercolour set from before art school was still sitting in a cupboard, so I grabbed a brush and started experimenting. Turns out, after all that time, I just needed to WANT to paint, and the results were wonderful. It took effort, but since I had the motivation to keep at it, I was finally pleased with my painted work. Inspired by the first few successes, I took on a series of dog illustrations now known as Scenic Dogs, and haven’t looked back since – it’s all about the painting now! ;)

"Canis Major come out to play", one of my recent gouache paintings.

Recently I have of course been learning to use gouaches as well. I find they’re a happy middle ground between my usual watercolours (gouache is a type of watercolour, of course) and the acrylics I was so fond of in art school. They’re opaque but can be watered down well, and mix nicely. I adore the chalky matte effect the produce when dry, and I like that I can combine them with watercolours without fear of paint crumbling off or other mishaps later down the line (like mixing oils with acrylics had taught me).

So that’s how I discovered my favourite kind of paint! Brands are of course another matter all on their own (my rule of thumb is to stick with Winsor & Newton or Daler-Rowney when possible, but others can be good too). :)