Awarded the McLeod Scholarship in Art to study in Great Britain, Nancy attended St Martin's School of Art, in London for 2 years. She worked briefly as fashion illustrator for South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and a fashion designer for a US fashion house before finally settling down in the beautiful South Island of New Zealand.
Nancy has illustrated eight books as well as authoring her own books on Flowers and Cats. She publishes an annual calendar and has been commissioned several times to produce stamps for NZ Post, the Pitcairn Islands and a rhododendron issue for state of Bhutan
Fortunately for us, Nancy has also produced a series of Videos: Nancy Tichborne teaches Watercolours 1 , 2 and 3.
I have her Watercolours 1 video and found it a great teaching source. With lots of tips, and a practical lesson to follow.

 

 

What are the main brushes you use to create your work?
I use the Robert Simmons (USA) "Series 86" RS brushes. These are a mix of sable and synthetic. I use a size 14 for 90% of my work - although this is a big brush, it has a fine point and a good reservoir (i.e. water holding capacity). I can paint anything from a cat's whisker up with this brush... I have had one brush for over ten years and still uses it..

Favorite brand of paints?
Watercolour paints - I uses mainly Maimeri (Italian) but want to stress that (whichever brand you get) that they must be Artists' Quality - any student range just doesn't have the strength of pigment.
The only pigments Maimeri don't do are Aureolin (I uses Rowneys UK) and Permanent Alizerin (Winsor & Newton). The latter must have "Permanent" written on the label.

White Tree Paeony, Watercolor

What brand and weight of paper do you prefer?
Arches (France) 300gsm - mainly hot pressed.

Where do you start when creating your paintings?
(Do you have an image in mind or create something to match a flower that catches your eye)
When I see a possible subject I (if possible) take lots of photos. It's often a fleeting moment of light showing through a flower/whatever & the moment has to be captured quickly. I definitely have "an eye" for a possible subject -this has come from experience.

Agapanthus, Watercolor

How do you keep improving your work?
There comes a time when you have read every book on techniques, watched every video, been to lots of workshops and yet you are still not satisfied with your own paintings.
You want to explain something you have seen and, rather than using words, we reach for a brush rather than the pen.
Getting this message over it is natural to exaggerate. You do it when you are talking by putting more emphasis on certain words, by speaking more loudly or softly, it is the same with painting - you can exaggerate the colours and the tones, you can pick the right brush strokes and make them heavier or lighter and you can elongate or shorten a subject.

A large flower can be made even larger to a point where it overflows the border.
So forget the techniques for a while, they should come naturally if not instinctively, and concentrate on the message. Your urge to communicate must be more dominant than the method used to get there. Losing yourself in this ambition is an exhausting process. I can often judge how successful a painting is by how drained I am by the end of it!

Any other thoughts you might want to pass on to aspiring artists?

What I want to say in my paintings is quite simple. There is no hidden meaning, no symbolism, no angst - just an abiding passion for the sensual nature of light showing up texture in nature. I try to draw attention to hairy bits, prickles, decay, wetness, crumpled petals, thick waxy petals and thin transparent petals. Dark mysterious holes in the undergrowth, brilliant light that bleaches all detail, reflected light that shows warmth and back lighting that forms halos. To show luminosity in natural settings I have become what can really only be described as a negative painter.

  

    Pomegranates, Watercolor.
This sounds rather damning but all it means is that I paint around the subject as opposed to painting the subject itself. I paint the shapes between the shapes. Very rarely do I paint a subject with no background or with a white or light background.

Watercolours, considered a minor medium for decades, has gained much more respect in the last half century or so. It enjoys a following today that could be described as popular market taste or even fashionable. Despite this I am committed to this difficult medium. To reflect nature, living and breathing, to make paintings vibrate with energy, to enjoy a riot of light and colour - watercolours are my only choice.

To have a look at Nancy's work or any of her publications and Videos visit her web site www.watercolours.co.nz