THE GIANT ARTICHOKE

‘The Giant Artichoke’ watercolour and ink on paper. 100cm x 70 cm.

1) See previous blog post for research work at the allotments…

3) I thought I might be able to get away with not stretching my paper given it was 320gsm, but it still ‘cockled’…

5) This was the image that I was initially asked to recreate in my own style…I had no idea what mine would turn out like and it was certainly different this. Commissions are always a risk - aligning the customers vision with yours is not always going to be to their satisfaction, but you have to stay true to your own style and not just copy other peoples work.

2) I began this commission by sketching out the artichoke lightly in pencil, then again with a waterproof ink pen.

4) I applied more ink with a bamboo dipper pen and waterproof ‘Carbon Black’ ink and stretched my paper in the bath to remove the cockles - amazingly the watercolour stayed put and the piece survived!