IONE HARRISON ART

How I used one photograph of Lindisfarne to create two very different watercolour paintings. One of the questions that often comes up in my workshops is how to turn a photograph into a painting without simply copying it. Photographs can be wonderful starting points, particularly when painting outdoors isn't practical. But they can also give us far too much information. The temptation is to think that because something is there, we need to paint it. We don't. In fact, one of t

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can paint isn't a landscape or a flower. Sometimes it's simply a circle. The Japanese enso is a circle painted in one continuous brushstroke. Traditionally associated with Zen practice, it isn't intended to be perfect. In fact, the beauty often lies in its imperfections. Some circles are bold and confident. Some are hesitant. Some remain open rather than fully closed. Each one is simply a record of a single moment. This makes it a wonderf

Before I start almost any painting, I spend ten or fifteen minutes simply playing with water, colour and marks. These aren't finished paintings. They're warm-ups. Just as a musician plays scales before a concert, I find a few simple watercolour exercises help me relax, loosen up and reconnect with the joy of painting. Here are five of my favourites. wet on wet charging adding clean water with spray adding clean water with brush lifting out Equipment needed: 2 water pots, boar