The Artist - UK (2020-05)

64 artistMay 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

LINE & WASH

Love line

and wash

Discover how Milly England uses the line

and wash technique to add life to drawings

of historic houses and buildings

O

ne of my favourite techniques

to use in my work is line and

wash. I love the looseness of

the lines and the life it can

bring to an image – even an image of a

building with no people can be brought

to life by energetic ink lines and a fluid

watercolour wash.

Historic houses are perfect subject

matter to show this method off to the

full. For this article I used an image of

the National Trust’s Chastleton House

near Moreton-in-the-Marsh. When I take

photographs or find source images I

try to make sure that, where possible,

there is some sunshine and shadow

on the image, which helps to bring the

building to life when recreating it.

I find that working upright on a

drawing board, rather than working

flat, helps with the loose lines as well

as helping to see the overall image

progress as I work – I find that working

flat can create the wrong perspective.

This is true for drawing from life as well.

I prefer the result if the ink goes

on the paper first, followed by the

watercolour. It can look very different if

more ink is added once the watercolour

has dried – the result is a much heavier

line which can look inconsistent across

the artwork. I don’t concentrate too

much on the sky as the main focus is the

building.

Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-

Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, ink and

watercolour, 51/4 3 7in (13 3 18cm).

This shows the image before and after

a watercolour wash was added

Milly England

is an artist and illustrator. She studied

at Wimbledon School of Art before

working for Dame Julia Peyton-Jones at

the Serpentine Gallery in London and

then spent ten years with Damien Hirst.

Milly accepts private and commercial

commissions and plans to hold painting

workshops in 2020. For more information

see http://www.millyengland.co.uk

‘I love the looseness of the

lines and the life it can bring

to an image’

TA

St. Andrew’s Church, Ham, London, ink,

51/4 3 7in (13 3 18cm)

TA05p64_67_Milly.indd 64TA05p64_67_Milly.indd 64 03/03/2020 12:4703/03/2020 12:47