PETER TOOKE

I am largely a self-taught artist. I work mainly in watercolour. 

I was born in Hertfordshire. Visits to family in East Anglia, with its big skies, black soil, fens and numerous waterways, left lasting impressions.

The earliest artist I can remember being aware of was Rowland Hilder. At a young age, I was taken to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where I particularly remember Dutch art from the 17th & 18th centuries. 

I love watercolour painting because of the fun and jeopardy which the process of playing with water and pigment on paper brings. Painting wet-in-wet, wet-on-dry, dry brush, lifting paint out, creating effects with salt, a blade, a sponge, cotton buds and more: all these techniques can generate impressions of light, texture and mood. 

You can plan a painting so far but once you start  there are many variables at play. There is only a short timeframe within which you can correct mistakes. The finished picture might be pleasing but it may well be very different to the original vision!