Today I have been looking back and thinking more about something that still fills me with wonder, and a little confusion at times. It is to do with the relationship between drawing, and the loose style of watercolor that I really love. Why is it that if I do a drawing loosely with as many ‘mistakes’ as there are in my paintings it is instantly obvious. Yet with the watercolor, if all the loose elements, tone and color are convincing, with watercolors own natural flow adding to the illusion; drawing ‘mistakes’ are not only ‘forgiven’ by the viewer but seem to form part of the charm in some way? I am finding the less I ‘worry’ about the drawing in my watercolors the better it works. If I try to be very accurate, it seems to form a ‘barrier’ preventing the movement and sweep of the painting. To coin a phrase from my American friends; go figure. Look at these photographs of sections of my work and see how bad the drawing is.
