International Artist – June-July 2019

Rouquemengarde, watercolor, 15 x 22" (38 x 56 cm)

The reflections were crucial to the design of this painting. The strong lighting provided all the contrast necessary and helped pick out the few features on the mill.

Nicholas Poullis

I

paint directly from life in

watercolour, so I carry my studio

everywhere with me while I work. It

is very portable—a lightweight easel,

a board, paints, brushes, pencil and

paper. Watercolour is the ideal medium

for working on site and the materials

needed are most effective when kept to

a minimum. Watercolour works best

painted pure. I paint mostly landscape,

architecture, urban scenes and marine

art. As with all impressionistic art,

atmosphere and lighting are always

important aspects of my chosen

subject. My palette is adapted to the

subject I paint, and with a few colours I

can capture what I want—watercolour

is always a translation of what is

perceived, like all realistic or slightly

abstracted painting. The colours I work

with allow me to produce a vast range

of colours and effects. I use a warm and

cold version of yellow and blue. With

these, other colours can be warmed

up and cooled down. I like natural

pigments that tend to sit on the surface

of the paper and produce granulations.

I use paint from the tube, not pans, as

it is immediate. Paper is very important

in watercolour because when you paint

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WATER-
COLOURFRANCE
DEMONSTRATION
Scenes from Everyday Life
Nicholas Poullis explains his process for plein air painting
with watercolours