How it all started

Well where to start.....
I had always considered myself a pure watercolour painter, though I started with poster paint, then charcoal/pencil, then Ink.
I guess reading as many art books as I could from Libraries was fantastic, though I had always been attracted to the work of my favourite modern artist John Blockley through his books in my collection.

I had always tried  to capture atmosphere in my paintings in a pure way.
Then whilst looking at other artists work and tutorials on you tube I came across this and other paintings by an Australian Artist called John Lovett. He used mixed media, stuck on rice paper, used ink and a pen, and washed the finished painting with glazes of Gouache.



It was to be a watershed moment for me on my art journey. There it was the medium that suited my own style and one I could call my own. So off I trotted to my favourite Art Shop in Burgas and bought a little pot of White Gouache just to try it. What a revelation as we tried it at my village Art Club (as I always tend to use 'my ladies' to try new things) and below was my result from that day of John Lovett's painting above.

'The First Gouache'

What then followed was a  tide of new look mixed media paintings

'Bluebell Wood in the morning mist'

Years earlier I had tried pastels and apart from the mess loved them, so I bought some of them too. With my new freedom I was experimenting, and anything went. I even now use Tippex on my paintings to get the bright whites I wanted in my work.

'The Window Box'

'Long Shadows'

I even went back to some older paintings and put a gouache wash over them with dramatic results.

'The Burning of the Fields II'

So that was how I discovered mixed media with the help of a virtual friend with the wonder of the internet !
Now what follows is yet another re-discovery journey...... more to follow !

'Nice Day for a Sail'

Foot note
So when I went back into my many art books I found that many artists used 'body colour' as they called it, and if it's good enough for the likes of Turner and Rowland Hilder then who am I, or art critics to judge this, and call it 'trickery' or 'cheating'. 
I have never been a lover of rules anyway !

Martin