Distinctive style can start in the most insignificant of ways.
You never know when a small action can be the start of something great. There are moments in everyone’s life that are catalysts resulting in massive change. Sometimes, we’re aware of their existence and potential. Other times we just go through the motions of the day, oblivious to the impact the actions of the day will have.Only when a lengthy period of time has passed do we realise the significance.
For many of us, there may be more than one such event.
Let me share one of mine.
A Eureka moment that only became clear some weeks/months later
A painting called Abstract Flowers
I have no photographs of this as a work in progress. It was done as an experiment. It is one of the first paintings I did where I used masking fluid to any extent.
It was the beginning of something, a small action that snowballed into something big.
So, how did it come about?
I wanted to experiment with texture, and knew that masking was the best way forward. I’d used masking fluid before, wrecked brushes in the process. So I decided to try some other bits of kit. I’d just discovered Colour shapers and had read that they were good to use with masking fluid.
I got all the inks I had (2 colours), my watercolours, straws and an old toothbrush.
I set to work using a photograph from a magazine of a woman in a lace blouse as inspiration. Picking out elements of the blouse to use as a basis for my pattern. Once the masking was dry I played with paint. I splattered ink, I used straws to blow the ink around. When I’d finished I removed the masking fluid and this was the result. I saw potential, my husband’s comment, you’ve got something there.
The colour shapers worked but were frustrating to use. Then I remembered being given a maths set when I was at school. That led to more control and circles and more abstracts.
Before I knew it, I had a distinctive style.
Something I was proud of.
If you enjoyed this post, you can see more paintings and read their stories on my Tour London in 30 paintings tour.
