Testing Sheet

I always recommend having a sheet of paper nearby when you’re painting, to test your colours out on.

It makes sense to see how a mix looks on white paper before committing it to your masterpiece; it doesn’t have to be anything grand – any old scrap of paper will do.

The thing is; over the years, I’ve seen some amazing random splodges on people’s tester sheets, and from time to time, I’m tempted to take them and develop them into something. It’s an exercise that I think could be beneficial to everyone; the task of taking a random bunch of marks and forcing yourself to turn them into something is as much a mental exercise as a creative one. It’s a little bit like doodling, but taken to the next level.

Try it and let me know how you get on. It is important for the initial tester sheet to be a genuine random rabble of marks, produced without any preconception of how it might be developed. Once you’ve started, try to let your brush or pen lead the way, and watch what happens on the paper.