In 2024, after a lifetime of dabbling in just about every medium that would sit still, I picked up watercolour paints and ink pens for the first time in over seventy years. (Yes, seventy — the brushes were practically vintage.) What started as a cautious experiment quickly turned into an obsession, proving that sometimes you really can teach an old artist new tricks.
Inspired by the flowing lines and decorative elegance of Art Nouveau, I began a series of contemporary pieces featuring female figures. Think of it as my attempt to channel Alphonse Mucha — only with more coffee stains and a little less moustache. These works are both a nod to the timeless beauty of the movement and a personal milestone: reconnecting with the medium I abandoned in my youth and giving it the benefit (or burden) of a lifetime’s worth of artistic detours.
In mid-2025, I decided to turn my attention to something closer to home — quite literally. I began a series of watercolour and ink paintings of local scenes, partly because inspiration was on my doorstep, and partly because travelling further takes me out of my comfort zone.
Watercolour gave me the perfect excuse to embrace wobbly lines and happy accidents, while ink provided just enough discipline to stop everything sliding off the page in a colourful puddle. Together, they allowed me to balance fluid washes with sharper details — or at least trick the eye into thinking I had.
These works aren’t just about recording places; they’re about reinterpreting everyday details we often walk past without a second glance. In truth, they’re as much about my slightly chaotic way of seeing as they are about the scenes themselves.
