Using Spilled Colour to Develop Your Artistic Style

I used to get so frustrated when a drop of paint would fall in the wrong place while I was painting. My control-oriented style didn't allow for a single misplaced mark or drip. How the times have changed!

Abundance in Rust, watercolour

One of my favourite ways to spark intuitive painting is to start with a spill - a big messy brush stroke, a splash of paint, or a scatter of graphite powder. I bought a big jar of powdered graphite a few years ago (it would be so cool if they sold it in a keg like gunpowder!), and when I'm feeling the need for a little spontaneity, I scatter a dash of graphite powder across a fresh piece of paper, add a little water and look for shapes to reveal themselves.

Streets of Montreal, watercolour & graphite

If I have been painting in a theme, my mind will naturally look to continue that theme, like this painting of a street scene in Montreal. I had been trying to work out that scene in watercolour for a few weeks, and it was so powerful to see it emerge out of the scattered graphite powder, and pull out enough detail to represent it in just a few strokes of the brush.

Signposts, watercolour & graphite

More recently, I have used graphite powder to paint abstracts, as well as the forested landscapes that are so familiar to my northern Canadian roots.

Scattered, Longing, watercolour & graphite on paper

Painting these spontaneous scenes inspired by scattered shape has been a wonderful tool for learning to trust my own ability to make a painting out of almost anything my paintbrush gives me. I encourage you to take time to paint spontaneously and improvisationally so that you too can develop your own instincts for pulling beauty out of unformed shape. It's a great skill to have!

At least six of the paintings on my gallery site right now have been created through this graphite powder intuitive approach. Can you find them?

I'm increasing my painting prices by 20% on February 1, 2023. If there's a painting on my site that you'd love to own as a collector, now's the best time to buy! Calendars will be available to order until February 1st.