Still Life…

This watercolour was created after a sketching afternoon at the Orangery in Teignmouth with the local art society. Sketching on the spot helps develop a watercolour plan especially for unusual subjects like this one – certainly unusual for me. The first step involved a light wash of alizarin crimson across the entire scene roughly excluding the window frame. This helps neutralise the greens and combines with cerulean to create a grey. It also serves as a base for the terracotta pots. The cacti green was initially a challenge to mix but I settled on Prussian blue, lemon yellow, with a hint of crimson to desaturate it.