In Isolation: Water

In Isolation is a series split into media elements: pencil, water, ink, and salt. While traveling across the world on academic sabbatical in 2019 and 2020, I decided to “go back to basics,” exploring and improving techniques with graphite, watercolor, pens, and various sketchbooks to document what I saw on four continents. When COVID-19 prompted severe lockdowns, creative work became restricted to scenes and supplies inside our Melbourne, Australia apartment. In Isolation evolved into a series of images, made by hand, recording the anxiety, boredom, and intimacy of quarantine.

It may not appear so, but all of these works are watercolor. Each work is made by glazing, where successive layers of translucent watercolor build deeper and darker values. I use software to separate a photo into 12 tones from black to white. I cover the lightest area with masking fluid and then apply the most diluted color wash over the whole page. When dry, I mask the next lightest layer and paint with a darker coat of color. Some of the “sketchier” paintings are freehanded and made without masking fluid, yielding a looser look with points and dabs of color.

For other works in the series, see In Isolation: Ink, In Isolation: Pencil, and In Isolation: Salt.