I’ve been using tiny brushes (6/0) but I realised the other day that I really needed a tinier brush to get the level of detail that I wanted. Not having the patience (not sure whether this is a gift or a curse) to order and wait for one, I grabbed a cheap brush I bought recently in Sostrene Grene, and took a scissors to it. Well, it’s not the real thing but it works. The only draw-back is that water can collect in the thick bit near the shaft of the brush and drip down. So I need to remember to dry the brush every time I clean it and to only dip the very tip of it in the paint.

My earlier floral wreaths were in watercolour but I’ve now gone back to gouache. Gouache suits me. It’s forgiving. I find it easier to mix to get the colours I want, especially lighter and darker shades of a particular colour (see especially the purple flowers below). It dries quickly and you can adjust things that aren’t quite right. I like its vibrancy, and painting in the small scale that I’m using, the customary blocky-ness of gouache isn’t so apparent.

Here’s this evening’s creation!

This is small. The pebble is about the size of a lens on a pair of spectacles. I use a spray varnish which darkens the stone, gives the whole thing a bit (but not too much) of a sheen, and brings out the colours of the flowers quite well. I’m pleased with this one.

The mum one I did yesterday, I’m having second thoughts about. Having now done something on a darker stone and seen that it can look bright and vibrant, I think my friend’s mum deserves better. So I’ll do a better one, maybe tomorrow.