The French scene was painted square, so that the image would easily upload as my Social Media profile picture. The exact size was wholly dependent upon what size quality watercolour paper that I had in my stash at home. I opted for probably my best watercolour paper; namely 'The Langton Prestige' 100% Cotton. This 14 x 10 inch pad came in at £14.10 for 12 sheets quite a few years ago. But alas this particular watercolour pad lay lingering in an art folder, simply because I neither had the skills nor the confidence to use it. So for this painting, I removed a sheet and squared it off at 10 inches (250mm).
I used watercolour pencils to map out a similar image to one that I have painted several times before. The bonus of using watercolour pencils is that the colours fade into the painting and the artist is not left with unsightly pencil construction marks. The planning stage meant having three prominent and distinct figures and the French flag in the foreground and the tower in looming the background. But this is a 'wet on wet' watercolour process, so the flag, and the three prominent figures and the Eiffel Tower were all masked off using a masking fluid pen like applicator. This would keep these areas clear of watercolour paint until the later part of the art process.
The sky was painted first, using a combination of Winsor Newton Blue Red Shade and Winsor Lemon having first wet the paper. Greater detail was given to the car in the painting by using three different watercolour pencils, and then carefully wetting the image. The same method was used for painting the Eiffel Tower. But of course these pencil images could not be drawn until the paper was perfectly dry. The same applies to removing the masking fluid; if you try to remove it while the paper is damp, then there is a risk if tearing the paper or allowing paint seepage into the area that you are trying to keep clean. Lines were constructed lightly in pencil for the Liberté, égalité, fraternité text, and the letters were then drawn using a pencil. The pencil lines were there carefully erased, which also removes part of the shapes of some of the letters. So a black watercolour pencil was then used to reconstruct the letters. This was then finished by over painting with Winsor Newton Mars Black using a lining brush. So the process took several hours a day over three days.
One of my mental ill health issues that interfere with my art; is the hang ups I have been getting about signing my name. The small 'Bennett' has become 'Rba' with the date, and now somehow over the last two pieces it has become a broad and confident 'Bennett'. Not that this confidence is mirrored in life. Especially after the minor assault the other day, and the phone call I received from victim support yesterday. But that's another story, to hold back for another day. Today is a day of rememberance and sympathy, and a desire that all of those who were involved in any way, even a minor way, are caught and punished.
I'm pleased with the result, as it's satisfying to make a statement of solidarity.
As usual with all of my paintings, drawings and poetry; all rights are reserved
