Regarding my technique

Regarding my technique

“I learned to take time to think before beginning the painting : considering the composition and choice of colours, alongside the need to think about how to proceed. With watercolour it’s as if you start afresh every time, as if you’ve forgotten everything and that every time you have to ask the question : how do I do this ?

This is why I developed different ways to begin a painting.

The traditional method of showing light in watercolour is to preserve the white paper. It’s a rule that I never forget, however I know that if I lose the white paper I can always strengthen the darks to enhance the light.
I can set myself different rules that enable me to adapt, to control my emotions and lay the first wash on the virgin paper. Flicking the paint and mark-making enable me to free up my gestures and I often use collage to strengthen the composition.

Beginning with blocks of colour, concrete and abstract lines of various thickness, allows me to fill the blank space. These compositions can be inspired by famous paintings or from my own photos that I deconstruct, keeping only the structure.
On to this basic structure, created with various techniques, I weave in the subject using a combination of figurative and abstract effects.
I work in the same way with other media as well as with watercolour.”

Marie Line Montecot