. . . and Alice

I have loved the 30x30 challenge. On a practical level it has really helped me cope with the situation my broken shoulder has put me into. The challenge has given a sense of purpose to the last four weeks. In terms of the paintings themselves, well, they’re the best set I’ve ever produced. I’m still in the early stages of my watercolour journey but I’m loving where it’s taking me. I’ll reflect a little more on the challenge I another post.

Still, having now completed the challenge it really didn’t take me long yesterday to go back to my beloved fineliners. I have already posted the Treasure Island copy. Well, almost immediately after that I made this copy of Ralph Steadman’s illustration of The Walrus and the Carpenter – back to Alice again.

Back to the journal

 I reported earlier today that I have completed the 30 direct watercolours for the 30x30 challenge. One of the results of this is that this afternoon I felt free to pick up my fineliners again. For my birthday on the 15^th my daughter Jess bought me a copy of Treasure Island with the wonderful Mervyn Peake illustrations, which is now a treasured possession. So I took a few hours and made this copy. Nice to be working with fineliners again and nice to be working in my current A5 sketching journal again.

Direct Watercolour Challenge 2025 - day 28 challenge complete!

30 –This is a response to a photo prompt for the Facebook Sketching Every Day group for the 30^th. I wouldn’t say I think it’s the best painting of the set but it will do. So that is it. The challenge is complete. I won’t try to go into detail on my thoughts and feelings about the experience – that will come later. For now I will just say that I have enjoyed it immensely .

Here's most of the paintings together

Direct Watercolour Challenge Day 27

What a whirlwind of a week it has been for me with the challenge. I’ve already made 8 pictures since this time last week, and what’s more, I still like all of them. I have one more to do to complete the challenge. I have already painted the background of number 30. This is a response to a photo prompt for the Facebook Sketching Every Day group for the 30^th. I’ve left negative space in the shape of the building depicted and to be honest, if anything happened and the worse came to the worst I could get away with leaving it as it is and declare my challenge complete.

I’ve designated today as a rest day. Predictably enough even now my fingers are getting itchy and I’m feeling as if I should be setting up ready to paint. I won’t though. Probably. I’m enjoying the wanting to do it, and the feeling that I could do it if I chose to. The pressure to finish is largely gone and it’s nice to feel I can luxuriate and take my time with the last.

Direct Watercolour day 26 - paintings 28 and 29

My plan was to hedge against inertia after finishing painting 27 was to start all 3 of the last 3 paintings. I’d already selected the subjects and each of them were going to require a background painted wet on wet. So I could do one, put it to one side to dry, do another and so on. Now, one of the last 3 is going to be a view of Venice and that was the one I was going to paint first. However at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to continue with another painting of the Roosevelt Island aerial tramway.

28 This is not a copy of anyone else’s painting. It shows the previous type of car, which were replaced a couple of years ago, as I was told last year by the driver/operator I spoke to. I’m pleased with this one, even though I didn’t quite finish it yesterday on the 25^th to put me back 3 ahead. I did a little finishing off this morning and then picked up the Venice picture and got cracking.

29  I was really delighted with the background I had painted for this painting of Venice the day before. It had dried beautifully. The plan with this one was to fight my natural tendency, and try to stay quite loose and not obsess over detail. I’m quite pleased – I think that I’ve gone some way towards what I was trying to do, and let’s not forget that the challenge is a journey. Above other things it did give me a lot of pleasure painting this too, which is kind of the point.

So here we are – 1 painting left to do, and four days left in which to do it. I know what I’m going to paint too. I shouldn’t start to speculate about how I’m going to feel when it’s done until it actually is done – but I can’t help it. In 2023 I felt that I got better and better as I went on, and I missed the challenge so much that I did keep going for weeks afterwards. Well, I certainly feel that 2025 is the best set of watercolours I have ever produced, and I’ve got better throughout the month again. So – who knows what might happen?

Direct watercolour day 25 - painting 27

So I spent about two hours on painting 27 on Tuesday and finished it by mid-morning on Wednesday. The First World War and in particular the great tragedy of it has fascinated me for a long time. The tank was originally suggested by Winston Churchill and was first used in the Battle of the Somme. Being a member of a tank crew was one of the most hazardous things one could be at that time. There’s no official figures, but it’s reckoned that the average life expectancy of a member of a tank crew was probably less than 6 weeks.

Direct watercolour challenge day 24

 Okay, so I finished yesterday, June 23rd, having made 26 watercolours to be 3 days/ paintings ahead, It's just as well because circumstances at home meant that I wasn't able to start painting today until this evening. Besides, I got up pretty tired this morning and the reverse side of making two pictures I was very pleased with yesterday was that I thought that there's no way I can top that, so what would be the point?

Well, it's not the first time I've felt like this during the challenge. So I did what I did then. I used a bit of psychology on myself, reminding myself that it was really stupid to come this far and give up - and if I left off painting today I would find it harder to do it tomorrow, whereas if I at least made a start I would be much more likely to come back and finish it tomorrow. This will only leave 3 more paintings to complete the set. Also, what I have done this year is, in my opinion, a better set than 2023's. So logically, all these last four paintings need to be is better than the worst four paintings from 2023. That's a far less daunting prospect. 

So I spent about two hours on painting 27 tonight. It's not finished but it has momentum now, and I think it's going to be fine.