Elusive Techniques
Is there a technique that you’ve tried to master multiple times, but just can’t seem to get right? I’m sure we all have at least one… mine is the credit card trick.
I was a great admirer of Terry Harrison, and still can’t believe he’s not with us any more, four years on. He was a very generous artist and a lovely bloke to boot – not to mention his wicked sense of humour. One of the techniques that he was an absolute dab hand at, and really made his own, was that of creating rocks by swiping them out with a credit card. It’s not a technique exclusive to Terry, of course; I’ve seen it employed by many contemporary artists, to great effect. Alvaro Castagnet uses it from time to time to spontaneously create balconies in his buildings, and I’ve seen many variations on similar themes.
Every now and again, I’ll pull out an old credit card and try the effect myself and every time I fail. In this month’s ‘Loose Buildings’ demonstration, I fully intended to feature the technique, but was once again disappointed with the results (and my vain attempt never made the cut, so don’t bother looking for it).
In a similar vein, there are a small number of subjects that I tend to avoid simply because they never seem to work for me. My shortlist of ‘demons’ includes horses. Not that I have anything against horses; it’s just that I struggle to understand their form – particularly their legs and feet… what’s going on there?… I’m also very slightly nervous around horses, probably because I’ve had very little contact with them, and I always get the feeling that they know that, and want to exploit that fact. I’m not paranoid, honest.
The thing is; despite failing miserably to master the credit card trick, I can’t say that it’s held me back. In watercolour, there are always several ways to achieve the same effect. I’m always keen to tell students not to worry if a particular technique isn’t quite working for them, and encourage them to explore alternative approaches. I don’t know why it is that some things remain elusive no matter how hard we try, but we shouldn’t allow that shortfall to hamper our progress. Always be prepared to look for alternatives…
