I really enjoyed using bookmark mini-paintings to improve my watercolour skills – the biggest difficulty with watercolour is how time sensitive different effects are, which increases exponentially with larger paper. Using just one colour of paint and some effective but easily repeatable techniques to create finished pieces of work is a great confidence boost and I’d happily do more classes like this.

For my bookmarks (presented here in my copy of Painting as a Last Resort, as Mathew Wong is a source of constant inspiration for me) I used Pthalo blue, and experimented with Indigo and Payne’s Grey. I enjoyed the stormy visuals of the second two but Windsor and Newton Indigo is very high staining and opaque – I really enjoy using it but for this type of project I preferred the translucency of Payne’s Grey, which is duller but also lower staining. I might experiment using both to see what foreground/background effects I can create.

I am passionate scuba diver and I love documenting the underwater world in paint and ink, but it can be difficult to find classes on underwater effects, so I would happily take more classes that explore this type of painting.

Now to give these bookmarks away to friends who dive, or who should be inspired to try diving, though perhaps not with jellyfish.