Captivating bird studies & beautiful watercolour botanicals...
"Tricia Hood's watercolour paintings & drawings depicting flowers and birds, are as delicate as the subjects and the medium itself..."
In 2018, a short course in natural history illustration led Tricia Hood to rediscover her original love of sketching and drawing. She found herself hungry to expand her artistic skills into colour. So began her journey in painting flowers with watercolour paints. Tricia’s love of detail comes through in her delicately executed drawings & paintings. Her love of botanical style watercolour paintings has expanded to include still life subjects. “It was a natural progression into bringing more detail and colour into my watercolour paintings.”
Watercolour is a delicate and somewhat unpredictable medium that captivates artists with its wonderful layering characteristics. It’s a medium often associated with nature journaling and illustration. The most famous botanical floral tomes of artists such as Joseph Banks and Pierre-Joseph Redoute, were painted in watercolour. Their beautiful etchings and hand painted plates depict roses, rare botanical plants and still life paintings.
Why do you Paint with Watercolour?
The many virtues of watercolour shine brightly when painting delicate flowers and botanical art. I connected with the delicacy of watercolour painting as I have a light, delicate style of painting and drawing. In addition, I like the portability of watercolours and find they’re easy to clean up. To create depth in the petals of flowers, I build up many layers of paint. This demands both patience and a gentle touch. So this medium fits my unique, colourful & delicate style quite nicely.
What subjects do you like to paint in watercolour?
My watercolour paintings mostly include flowers, birds and creatures from my Adelaide Hills garden. I then began to pair these with objects like teacups to which I have an emotional connection. So came about the still life paintings. I love the small, delicate birds which frequent my garden, and the noisy native bees. Still life subjects connect ‘heart and home’.
Have you painted any ‘collections’?
The ‘Peonies in a Teacup’ series is the first collection I painted and am still working on. An example of the pairing of nostalgia and botanical art. The teacup evokes memories of family, nurture and hope. Of connection. On a deeper, personal level this series of watercolour flower paintings depicts my own journey through hardship and connection with myself.
Can I Commission a Watercolour painting?
Commissions are taken by negotiation and you can find out more, HERE.
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Botanical & Floral Watercolour Paintings
Floral watercolour paintings are my favourite subject. Building layers of colour brings out the depth and beauty of nature. Watercolour is a perfect medium for painting flowers, because it lends itself to bringing out the translucence of petals and leaves. It’s not always possible to spend time in nature. So being surrounded by paintings of flowers and foliage is calming and grounding. Just as it is when you sit under a tree or walk through a garden.
Bird Studies in Graphite Pencil & Watercolour
The garden is my place of inspiration. Gardens are generally a grounding, peaceful place for most people. I love to watch the antics of the delicate, small birds in my Adelaide Hills garden. They bring me so much joy. The small birds are feisty, determined little survivors, with strong social family groups. The blue wrens especially are brave, cheeky little warriors. They will sometimes hop under the chair I’m sitting on. They’re quite curious and seem to come solely to check me out.
Acrylic & Mixed Media
Acrylic paint and mixed media lends itself to bold and bright contemporary paintings. Tricia Hood explores whimsical and flouncy floral themes as well as exploring botanical paintings.
Back to Artwork Introduction
Read about where Tricia Hood finds her inspiration.
Metal Art
A lesser part of Tricia Hood's work is plasma cut metal art and smaller 3D steel sculptures. The plasma cutting is all done by hand. Subjects focus on nature and florals