A fresh approach

Raymond begins this series by describing the basic principle of applying paint to paper with a reminder of the qualities of watercolour as a medium for painting.

Colour with a purpose

Here Raymond examines the various characteristics of the many different pigments that are available today and encourages detailed observation of colour as a fundamental skill to enable artists to be able to produce from their own palettes the correct colours to match their own artistic aspirations.

The changing face of tradition

Raymond describes the change from monochrome topography to a more painterly approach in full colour that produced something more readily recognisable as art.

The landscape of nostalgia

This article explores the influence of nineteenth century fashions and habits on art of the period at a time when the Industrial Revolution was well under way and the landscape was beginning to change.

The pattern of change

Raymond describes the way in which the watercolour tradition moved forward into the twentieth century, an era of unprecedented change. Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden were considered by Raymond to be the two most brilliant exponents of the modern idiom who above all others were responsible for bringing new life to the old medium of watercolour and a freshness of vision to landscape painting.

A talent for survival

The concluding article in this series, which has focused on landscape painting over a period of three centuries, summarises the evolution and development of English watercolour art and stresses the importance of amateurism to its popularity.

In his first encounter with the landscape of Australia Raymond tries to come to terms with some of the new and unexpected impressions he experiences.

As he continues his exploration of Australia Raymond gradually becomes accustomed to the remote emptiness of the landscape making quick sketches of its features and more detailed drawings of buildings in its settlements both large and small. But he also spends time absorbing the experience through the eyes of a tourist as he continues his journey down under.

Venturing on dusty roads into the empty Australian outback where he finds little of artistic note, Raymond nevertheless encounters a landscape that evokes a haunting, almost surreal, sense of fascination. While visiting Ayers Rock (Uluru) and the neighbouring Olgas (Kata Tjuta) he struggles to convey onto paper the awe-inspiring scale and the religious significance of these sacred places.

After several weeks experiencing the empty outback terrain Raymond returns to a more familiar type of landscape on the Queensland coast where he begins to discover a lot more subjects for his sketchbook.

Experiencing a tropical paradise for the first time and faced with abundant artistic subject matter in Fiji, Raymond finds that because of the many well-behaved and friendly, but inquisitive school children he often has to restrict his sketching activity to periods when they are at lessons!