World Book Night 2021

I have submitted a small piece for the exhibition and exchange organised for World Book Night 2021, entitled The Herbarium.

The subject - a flower (related to a poem, book or text) - could be made with paper, fabric, collage, drawn, printed or photographic, but measure no more than 8 x 8 cm (just over 3" square).  I used a cut-down version of the paper cast which decorated my artist's book about our local Snakes Head Fritillary Nature Reserve.  Fortunately, I still had a piece of the painted paper used on the cover of that book; this was glued to mount board to provide a sturdy base, plus the required means of hanging.

More details about the original artist's book can be seen here and here (scroll down in my Book Binding page).

The Ridgefield pot

My attempt "in the style of ...." was definitely not very successful.  Although Shirley Trevena's work is very bold and colourful, she manages to retain a feeling of watery transluency which I certainly did not achieve.  I never expect to produce anything special at these evening workshops, but I think it is helpful to try out new techniques and styles, as well as see how other participants tackle their chosen subject.  There's always something to learn along the way.

NB: This painting was reworked later, providing a completely different outcome.
See the results here and here in January 2017 entries

One of the library books I have on loan at the moment is Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour.  Apart from the glorious paintings of flowers, fruit and vegetables, she gives very clear  information about how she tackles various aspects of her subject.  I think it is the best book on botanical painting that I have read to date and, although I don't anticipate working in such detail myself, there are plenty of tips which I would find useful in my watercolour painting.