I was going to tell you about my mental problems here. To explain why I stopped making Botanical Art. But that is a very long and complex story. And I am sure not many people will be interested in it anyway. What I can tell you is that I haven't produced any significant work in about 10 years. Which was mainly because of depression and not painting was causing even more depression. However, since last winter I am painting again. My last therapy (and medication?) finally helped me enough to fight the black dog. What really helped me to start drawing and painting again was buying new art supplies.
Now, before I bought those materials I have done a lot of thinking. Most importantly about what kind of art makes me happy. Obviously it wasn't Botanical Art. Or at least not the coloured artwork I had done in the past. I have many framed pieces with colourful flowers, bulbs, fruits... all sorts. But I don't want to have any of them hanging on the walls in my house. So what do I want on my walls? Thinking about that I came to the conclusion that it was often black and white pieces I preferred when going to an exhibition. Graphite, charcoal, etchings, pen and ink... tonal or line work. And in my own work too. I like my graphite botanical work much better than the coloured pencil and watercolour paintings.
Tufted Duck, liquid charcoal, 2026
Raven, liquid charcoal, 2026
So I knew now I needed to focus more on those materials and work in a different style. What that style was going to be? I still don't know. I'm searching. I know it needs to be more about nature in general, not only plants. I also don't want it to be bound by so many rules, like Botanical Art is. But there is no pressure to get the answer immediately.
Liquid Charcoal
So I started by getting new art materials. I ordered new watercolour paints (more granulating ones), new paper, new pencils (black carbon pencils) and a tube of liquid charcoal. I had heard about that in the past and had watched some videos about it on You Tube. I got very enthusiastic and couldn’t wait to try it out.
I did a couple of tests first and then decided to paint the raven you see here. And I loved it so much. It made me finally happy about something I had painted. The Raven is a small painting on a piece of Cold Pressed paper. It's a bit smaller than A5 size. More like a postcard really. I was amazed how deep and dark I could get and how easy it was to lift the dried charcoal from the paper when I re-wet it. Later I also made the Tufted Duck you see up here ^
The charcoal I bought was the "Cherry Pit Black" by Schmincke. There are 2 other versions: "Peach Stone Black" and "Grape Seed Black" I believe the Peach Stone is a more neutral black whereas the Grape Seed is a cool black. I picked the warmer black and I am glad I did. Although I probably will try out the other 2 in the future too.
The paper I used was also new to me. I used Cold Pressed watercolour paper for this. For Botanical Art I use Hot Pressed paper. And it has to be of a certain quality too. I still am fussy about quality of materials, especially paper.... and paint too.... and brushes.... and pencils.... even my erasers.... inks.... well.... you get the point. So I bought several new brands of paper (new to me anyway). And I like most of all the Baohong ‘The Masters’ Choice paper, which is 100% cotton. I had never heard of the brand and bought a trial pack. 3 Different surface types to try out. It suited my way of painting well.
What I will paint next with it I don't know. I might experiment a bit more with the granulation of the charcoal. Or use it in combination with watercolour. Or maybe just a few more black birds on small sheets. Why not...
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Well done (it) !