Experimenting with watercolour washes

This month, my aim was to fill my illustrations shop with all kinds of new products based on my rather sizeable back catalogue of illustrations…

It turns out my sketchbook had other ideas, and I blame Florence.

‘Who is Florence?’ I hear you ask. Well, I decided to give all my illustrated girls a name, and I named this one after Florence Pugh, as I was getting a distinct ‘take no rubbish’ vibe!

Watercolour illustration of a beautiful, sassy brunette in a dress painted as a watercolour galaxy — Meet Florence! Now available as an art print in my shop!

I couldn’t decide what colour to paint her dress, so I let the paint decide. I started with a water wash and began adding splashes of my favourite colours, which blended together into this beautiful swirling galaxy dress.

Creating this watercolour galaxy ignited a spark. It inspired me to be more experimental with my art, to try new things and explore what else I could create with watercolours if I embrace being spontaneous with washes.

And so the experiments began.

Some were a success…

two watercolour illustrations showing tropical beachscapes from the air — Oooo lovely tropical beachscapes!

I’m looking forward to hanging these seascapes on the wall in the downstairs loo. For context: this is the only room that is ‘decorated’ in our house, and for some strange reason, I’m not keen on the idea of a collection of beautiful women watching me while I’m on the loo 🤷‍♀️

Some were very quick and fun…

watercolour illustration of a bunch of vibrant pink flowers — Pink flowers!

I actually love these bright flowers now. There were some questionable moments when it was still in progress, but it really came to life when the paint dried.

And some were… not as successful.

I’m looking at you, Winter Trees. 😒

watercolour illustration of a snowy pine forest — One of my not-so-happy accidents… you can’t win them all!

Watercolour washes can be unpredictable (and incredibly easy to smudge and ruin), so I am still finding that balance between technique and embracing the occasional happy accident.

But don’t worry, I’m not abandoning my illustrated girls. My new aim (on top of my existing aim of adding more products to my illustrations shop that I still haven’t done) is to find a way to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Watercolour illustration of a beautiful Black woman in a splash of colour, surrounded by butterflies — Hello Kiki! Now available as an art print in my shop!

When Amelia saw this illustration on my easel she said, ‘Oh wow Mummy, it’s sooo pretty!’ 🥹 It made me so happy, I couldn’t ask for better praise!

I hope this inspires you to try something new, you never know what might happen!

Thank you, as always, for joining me on my arty journey 🎨

Something new, this way comes!