ABOUT THE ARTWORK
2022
Watercolour and gouache
A3
One of the greatest watercolour artists this world has known didn’t exhibit in the grand galleries of Europe. Instead her work appeared in tiny books written to delight children with tales of little bunnies, ducks, squirrels and frogs. Beatrix Potter did much to endear watercolours to the general population and she was a true artist in her own right. Her powers of observation, love of beauty and nature, child-like imagination and mastery of her craft combined to produce works that have inspired many a budding artist, illustrator and author.
In 2022, Miriam - whom I tutored in art for close to a year - asked if we could try painted something that showed a sense of movement. I chose for us an image that I found of a frog nestled among lily pads - its form reflected in the still water as its head poked above the surface. My watercolour paintings were usually tighter - using smaller, more subtle brushstrokes but this time to create a sense of movement I used larger, sweeping strokes - particularly in capturing the ripples of the water. As the work progressed, my thoughts were frequently turned to Beatrix Potter and her delightful, translucent paintings and illustrations. To complete the work, I used gouache in places - adding greater vibrancy where needed and aiding the sense of movement and depth.
‘Frog in the Pond’ was named after a delicious, simple dessert that my grandma used to make for us when we were kids - consisting of a Freddo Frog chocolate resting in a bowl of green jelly with blobs of cream and various treats on the surface.
This image will be printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® paper (308 gsm) to best suit the original medium.