fireball

Another one in my "series" of little watercolours of rocks. This one is different in that it has black lines, and I tried to keep the colours more subdued and earthy (to a point, obviously).

Watercolours look so fantastic when the paint's wet, but are often pretty dull in comparison once they dry. It really depends on the particular brand and colour you're using, I think. Maybe one day in the future I'll try to use oil or acrylics again, for that shiny, wet look.

Pigments are an interesting thing... they can have such amazing qualities. I guess a computer screen isn't really the same way - we can get pretty much any hue on command with a computer, but there's always going to be something compelling about a limited choice, about the idea that some colours are more expensive than others. The history of pigments is fascinating (especially when some strange material had to be got from mummies or some weird, particular source. So romantic!).