Learning Through Masters: Why I Create Painting Studies — And How You Can Bring One Home

Over the last few months, I’ve been carving out time to deepen my understanding of watercolor, pastel, and mixed media by studying the work of artists I truly admire.
Not copying — but deconstructing: slowing down, observing their choices, and trying to understand how they build light, simplify shapes, or express mood with just a few strokes.

This process has been one of the most enriching parts of my artistic journey.

Ann Blockley- poppy- A5- watercolours and ink on watercolour paper. 

Why I Do These Studies

Every artist learns from others.
Some do it silently; I like to do it actively.

Taking a painting I love and breaking it down — colour by colour, mark by mark — teaches me things I could never learn by simply looking. How they reserve the whites. How they let pigments bloom. How they simplify a tree, or describe water, or shape a mountain with just a few decisive strokes.

Who I’ve Been Studying

🎨 John and Ann Blockley – Their watercolours have a magical looseness paired with incredible control. Studying their pieces teaches me to let go and trust the flow of the medium.

 

Trees on Landscape- inspired in Ann Blockley. Watercolour and ink on Watercolour Paper. A5.

🎨 Tony Alain – I adore how he simplifies landscapes into bold, harmonious shapes. His compositions remind me that sometimes less really is more.

Landscape inspired on Tony Alain's work. 22.5 x 30 cm.

🎨 Elena Degenhardt – Her wave and water studies are extraordinary. Reworking her pieces helps me understand movement, translucency, and the emotional power of water.

Breaking Wave 2 - inspired on Elena Degenhardt. 22.5 cm x 30 cm.

Breaking Wave 1- Inspired on Elena Degenhardt. 22.5 cm x 30 cm.

Water Study. Inspired on Elena Degenhardt. 22.5 x 30 cm.

These studies are not original concepts of mine — they are interpretations, a way to learn through doing. But in the process, they take on a little of my own hand and voice too.

Available as Small Collectible Pieces

Although they are part of my learning, these studies often turn out beautifully — and they genuinely look lovely framed and hung in a home.
(I have several around my own house!)

Because they are studies, I make them available at much lower prices. They’re perfect for anyone who loves art, follows my work, or wants something special without commissioning a full original.

If You’re Interested

Feel free to reach out — I’d love to show you the pieces I currently have available.
👉 You can contact me directly through this link.

And if there’s an artist you’d like me to study next… let me know. I love discovering new inspiration.

Featured Image: Landscape - following John Blockley. A2. Watercolour and Ink on Watercolour Paper.