MHBD's Blog

Headland shape in watercolour

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Experimentation with some of the shapes I see in the landscape when I look across the bay from Cill Rialaig. Similar shapes in Beara, actually. I want to figure out how to express those shapes in the simplest way possible, but still showing their volume through mark making and colour. I think this is going to take me a while. Using my new Korean watercolour tubes (in Sepia, Paynes Grey, light blue and Ochre) on thin cartridge paper (A2 size). Lots of buckling.

Sea colours

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Someone very kind gave me a dozen tubes of Korean watercolours. Great excuse for play and experimentation! I added a bit of white gouache to one of them, and then an extra bit of pure white. Love how that created a wave shadow!

And yes, this is still on the theme of my residency in Cill Rialaig last year. The Atlantic Ocean was such a presence, on good days, and stormy days even more so.

Exploring the same idea, but in different colours

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I had intended to do something similar to the pink and sienna one but using more blue. It went in a different direction. But I did start with a light layer, as intended, so that's something. I kept adding layers as I progressed. As you can see, the first layer had some oil pastel in it, but it almost disappears under the layers of watercolour. I think the paper was Hahnemuhle Cornwall, which is perfect for dreamy effects and pigment blending. I used a mix of granulating and plain pigments, and scratched into the surface. Like most of this series, this abstract landscape was inspired by my residency in Cill Rialaig last year.

Note to self. I want to explore those shapes and marks in various media on light paper, which I could then glue to the paper and paint over. Lots of ideas emerging.

Pencils4Tea 28 May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

In the spirit of Direct Watercolour month, I used mostly watercolour for this Pencils4Tea session. With a graphite pencil, and a Stabilo Woody crayon (mostly for lips) when I had time. I added a little Ecoline marker in warm grey and pink on some afterwards. I had to switch between 2 books to let the watercolour dry, so some of the pages are Seawhite of Brighton cartridge paper, others are Stillman & Birn. PS: I know the playlist was chosen by a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old, but I loved it!!

Across the bay

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Continuing with my Cill Rialaig series. Between sea and sky - that road twists as it plunges towards the ocean. I just love that particular spot. Worked on A2 Seawhite of Brighton heavyweight cartridge paper. Yes, it buckles, but I love how watercolour behaves on this paper, particularly granulating pigments. And I love exploring new ideas on large sheets of paper. Composition is not a top priority when I'm experimenting, but using my body to express emotions on the page is what I'm interested in.

Worked in direct watercolour, Artgraf tailor shapes, neo art and also scratched through the paint with various tools (had to be somewhat careful not to scratch through the paper, though.

Rhythm of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Another Cill Rialaig inspired abstract landscape. This time, I left more breathing space and started with a lighter layer. I might still add some soft pastel. I need to let it settle for a few days and then we'll see. Painted on Hahnemuhle Cornwall paper. Love how the paint behaves on this paper.

Like a Pirouette

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

I'm not at the stage where I can name these paintings yet. They're very much part of the exploration, but I am so happy to be painting again. It's really just about showing up, following what speaks to me, from day to day. And discover where it will lead me. And having no idea where that will be.

I love combining watercolour, oil pastel and soft pastel to create textures that surprise me. This one is inspired by a crop I did a few weeks ago, from a view across the bay from the road leading up Bolus Head from the Cill Rialaig artist village where I was lucky to work as part of my residency last year. Being neurodivergent, it sometimes takes a while for me to process the world. It's taken me over a year to come back to this location in my art. These things can't be rushed.

Near Smock Alley Theatre on a sunny day

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

We had shadows at last. And warm weather. Dublin on Sunday 24th May, and it feels like we've gone straight from winter to summer.

I sat in the shade at the back of the Smock Alley Theatre and started with bright green for the tree and purple for the shadows. This sketch took a while before it got somewhere I was satisfied with. I was glad I had some of my acrylic markers to cover up the ugly ink marks I had made. I guess it all stemmed from the fact that I didn't know if I was interested in the building itself or the trees in front of it. I'm quite an intuitive urban sketchers. I don't start with a master plan. Certainly never a thumbnail! So my sketches are full of energy (and pink lines, purples lines and sure why not a bit of turquoise pencil too), but not necessarily accurate.

After chatting with a little girl who was very interested in what we were doing, I went to the other side of the Smock Alley Theatre and found a little view across the river.

Then it was time for chats in the pub. Some really good conversations about everything everything, but mostly about sketching.

Looking towards the headlands

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Another watercolour and mixed media exploration of the land and sea around the Cill Rialaig retreat village. Looking towards the headlands. The sea a beautiful colour. The land still full of rusts and gold.

I worked on A2 Seawhite of Brighton heavyweight cartridge paper, with very wet washes, oil pastels and Unison soft pastels. I'm interested in the textures in the land, all these brambles and high grasses. Also the shape of the headlands. And of course the constant movement and sound of the Atlantic Ocean as it hits the cliffs.

At this stage of the process, I don't know what I want to express yet. The act of painting will lead to something. I trust in the process, knowing that it will bring me where I need to be. I was really inspired by Sally-Ann Ashley's comments on her Substack today, about finding more studio time (https://substack.com/@sallyanneashleyart). For years, I've had this notion about needing two hours to paint, generally after having done everything else I needed to do. The idea that I could paint for half an hour in the morning, before doing anything else, was such a revelation! I must join her Arthouse group later this summer when I have more time at home. I did her Creative Shift course a couple of years ago (or was it last year?) and it really helped me in my practise. I tend to resist those online group things, as I don't have much patience for listening to everyone else's art journey, but I think this one might be worth a try.

Not-so-direct watercolour

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sun, 31 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Direct Watercolour month is starting on 1st June. The last few years, I've struggled to keep up, as it clashed with some of my travels. But this year, I've decided, I will just treat it like my usual studio practise. So, there will be lots of mixed media, but with a strong watercolour foundation. At the moment, I'm going through some of my photos, sketches and notes from my art residency at Cill Rialaig. It seems that I'm finally ready to process my experience there. So the general theme will continue my exploration of my connection with land, air and sea in the West of Ireland. And how I feel connected to the land, and to the Universe! Lots of Irish landscapes. It will be interspersed with holiday sketches. A normal day at the office for me!

This first one is from one of my many walks up and down the road from the Cill Rialaig cottages. It was February, the land was sodden, with a memory of Winter. Not sure about the promise of Spring, but there were some sunny days too. I'm working on Seawhite of Brighton heavy-weight cartridge paper in A2 size. Using very wet watercolour, and oil pastels and Unison soft pastels too. I will probably crop and collage, then use the cropped version as inspiration for a painting on watercolour paper.

Sketch with Suhita 22 May

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sat, 30 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

High-rises are hard to sketch! Starting with a watercolour wash was a good strategy, as I didn't have to worry too much about accuracy. And inktense pencils applied when the paper was still a bit damp gave a nice softness to my lines. I overworked the trees a bit, but I enjoyed the time sketching with Suhita and friends!

Art supplies for upcoming trips

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Fri, 29 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

This could also be called - why do I pack so many pencils in my suitcase? I know that once I'm on location, I will have one yellow, one red, one orange, one pink, one green, a dark blue and a light blue, one dark purple, one light purple and one turquoise. But I have all these lovely pencils! And lots of mixed media supplies! And that's without counting my usual watercolour palette, fountain pens and black and graphite pencils!

Pencils4Tea 21 May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Thu, 28 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Always takes a while to get used to a new sketchbook. A smaller book, glossier paper, and an offwhite, which I struggled with. Next time, I might bring some white gouache. Always enjoy these sessions, and hate missing them, but summer season has started. Started with a little self-portrait.

Self-portrait at the hairdresser's

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Wed, 27 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Brush pen, highlighters, acrylic markers and colour pencils. I limit myself to what will fit in my pencil case when I go to my hairdresser. Sometimes it gives interesting results. Even if I look like a Venin (iykyk).

Top of Capel Street - end of the journey

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Tue, 26 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

The more you draw, the more you see. I could keep on sketching Capel Street over and over, but we're going to move to another theme, so, it's goodbye for now.

London and St Ives

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Mon, 25 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

A trip to London and St Ives. It wasn't a sketching trip, but I managed to fit in more sketches than I expected. A 5-hour train journey was a great opportunity to practise little views in squares. And on the way back, a good excuse to try some new magic pencils I bought at the Tate. Weather in St Ives was cold and showery, so I didn't sketch much. But our hotel had a spa and a pool, so I enjoyed some much-needed relaxation. Our cat was happy to see us home. Though he doesn't look happy in the picture!

Yellow and red in Phibsborough

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sun, 24 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

After aimlessly walking around for a while, I decided to sketch everything yellow that I came across in this residential street in Phibsborough (inspired by a recent USk Malaga theme!!). When I ran out of yellow things, I moved to red. Not a big vista sketch, but better than going home empty-handed.

The little book of everything

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sat, 23 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Random sketches, from observation, playing with repetition. Inspired by Andrew James.

More circles

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Fri, 22 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

A thought - is it about protecting my energy, setting my boundaries? I have had something pulling on my energy lately. It's taken me a long time to realise, than it came to me after I had painted these little beauties and I was writing in my studio book. A series of protective circles.

Various papers (cold press, Etchr, Seawhite of Brighton, etc.). The ones I like best have Glacier Green in them. And Haze Indigo, I think.

Each is about the size of closed fist. My hands are small. Can I make them larger?

Street View World Tour 7 May - somewhere in Brazil

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Thu, 21 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

@matlet took us to Brazil for Street View World Tour. I couldn't stay for the last location, but it was a fun session. I still have my copy of 28 m2. Memories of lockdowns!

Just dropping watercolour into water

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Wed, 20 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

In reverse order of execution. Done on different papers, some really smooth and thin, some more textured.

Some days, I know that I can't paint "a painting". There can be many reasons, too busy, too tired. Or just energy sucked out of me. But I want to turn up anyway. That's who I am. I always turn up for myself. And I'm always glad I do, particularly when I would rather take to the bed and distract myself with doom-scrolling or dark thoughts. So, on those days, I might just scribble. On this occasion, I painted big water shapes on the page and dropped watercolour in, no thinking, no judging. So happy I did.

Just off Capel Street

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Still lots to sketch on Capel street. This time we were looking at some old shops that are just a façade at this stage, probably awaiting demolition. You'd think we would try to preserve some of our heritage! I had brought a tiny tin with 6 half pans of watercolour and it was lovely to play with this reduced set. Then I returned to my inktense pencils and Ecoline markers. I wanted to capture the people on the street. That's a whole other journey! But removing cars and adding benches has certainly brought people back on the streets, including urban sketchers of course!

Freemasons Dublin Grand Lodge

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Mon, 18 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Another great location for USk Week - Louise contacted the Freemasons and got us access to the Grand Lodge. Such a treat! And yes, I sketched the same room again! Worked in inktense and markers. I added some acrylic markers when I got home, including some gold which seemed appropriate - although I was probably a bit heavy-handed. We had lunch there afterwards. It felt very special!

Previous times I sketched there, in 2020 and 2018!

Urban Sketchers Week - Dublin Sketchers' special sketchwalk

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sun, 17 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Loved our sketchwalk with Dublin Sketchers on Sunday 3rd May, in celebration of International Urban Sketchers Week. We had a map of locations, starting at 11 am and finishing at 4pm (in the pub), with about 45 minutes at each location. It can be challenging, but also exhilarating, to sketch quickly and then move and settle and start all over again! All while chatting to sketchers from Dublin, and also Galway, Gorey, Northern Ireland and other parts. You could say it was our first National event for Ireland!

As the International logo for this year was green, I tried to incorporated green in all my sketches. Worked mostly with pen, inktense and ecoline. Some watercolour when I had more time. I enjoyed the fast pace, and the chats along the way. Text added at home, everything else done on location. Was completely exhausted the next day! And Brendan took some photos and put a video together. A great memory of the day.

Around our neighbourhood. It's lilac time

noreply@blogger.com (MHBD) — Sat, 16 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Tried some more flowers and leaves from our neighbourhood walks. I love the smell of lilacs. I need to add some gouache to this one to catch the soft light of it. The red leaves, I don't know what they are. I might cut it up.