John Salmon is a watercolour artist based in North London, known for his focus on traditional watercolours which often depict intimate landscapes from areas like Enfield and Edmonton. His artwork is characterized by its accessibility, both in terms of the subject matter and pricing, as Salmon aims to make original art available to a broader audience rather than just the elite. His paintings are typically small format, around 7 x 5 inches, on 140lb watercolour paper.
Salmon has shared his passion and techniques through various platforms, including his personal website where he displays his artwork, provides painting demonstrations, and discusses his methods and materials. He has been featured on blogs and art-related websites, where he shares insights into his painting process and the inspiration he draws from his local environment. His work also reflects a homage to the watercolour master J.M.W. Turner, who significantly influenced him early in his career.
For those interested in seeing more of his work or learning from his techniques, Salmon's YouTube channel features watercolour painting demonstrations and tips on how he paints. Additionally, he has sold his artwork worldwide and occasionally on platforms like eBay at reasonable prices, aiming to cover the cost of materials to continue his work.
The Watercolour Charger. is a tool invented and designed to assist watercolour artists in controlling the amount of water on their brushes, which can be beneficial for achieving specific effects in watercolour painting. Here are some of the merits of using a Watercolour Charger:
Enhanced Control of Watercolour Medium: The charger allows artists to apply water to the brush in a controlled manner, particularly by charging water into the root of the brush rather than the tip. This can lead to smoother gradations and more precise control over the watercolour medium.
Efficient Water Management: It provides a constant supply of clean water that is instantly replenished from a reservoir, which can streamline the painting process, especially when dealing with tonal washes. This efficiency can be particularly useful for artists who work on detailed areas or need consistent moisture levels.
Visibility and Precision: The horizontal plane method of charging the brush allows for better visibility of how much water is being absorbed, as the user can watch the brush tip and belly swell and shine. This visibility aids in gauging water absorption more accurately than traditional dipping methods.
Simplification of the Painting Process: By managing water more effectively, artists can focus more on the creative aspects of painting rather than the technicalities of water management, potentially leading to a more enjoyable and satisfying painting experience.
Cost-Effectiveness and Accessibility: The tool can be made from simple materials which you would normally throw away, making it an affordable option for artists looking to improve their technique without significant investment.
The Watercolour Charger, invented designed by UK artist John Salmon, is a tool used to streamline the process of managing water and paint in watercolour painting, specifically for achieving smooth gradations and controlling the flow of paint. Here's how it's used and the techniques it offers:
Construction and Use: The Watercolour Charger involves using simple materials which you would normally throw away to create a device that allows water to be charged into the root of the brush rather than dipping the tip. A narrow capillary cradle holds water, which the brush can then absorb in a controlled manner, either by the belly or the tip of the brush.
Control Over Water: Instead of dipping the brush to load it with water, which can lead to less control over the paint's consistency, the charger provides a constant supply of clean water. This allows for precise control over the water-to-paint ratio, enhancing the painter's ability to manage tonal values and gradients.
Gradations: The charger is particularly useful for creating smooth, even gradations. By controlling the water content in the brush, artists can paint lines or shapes that transition from one color to another or from saturated to less saturated tones without abrupt changes.
Straight and Curved Gradations: The technique involves painting straight or curved lines with varying water content to achieve a gradient effect. For instance, after painting a few lines, if the brush has too much paint, one can touch the brush tip to tissue to remove excess, then re-charge it with water to continue.
Hard and Soft Line Effects: By charging the brush with minimal paint (tip-charging) and then progressively adding more water (root-charging), artists can blend from a hard line to a softer, fainter one, which is useful for creating depth and interest in paintings.
Layered Gradations: For more complex paintings, the charger helps in layering colors to achieve rich, impactful effects without muddying the colors. It's particularly effective for non-representational work where color transitions are key.
Small, Detailed Work: While not exclusively for small details, the charger's precision in controlling water makes it invaluable for painting smaller, more intricate areas where precise control over paint flow is necessary.
Charging Technique: Although not directly named as a technique of the charger, the device supports the charging technique in watercolour where one wet color is dropped into another wet area, promoting spontaneous color mixing on the paper. The charger's control over water can enhance this effect by allowing for varied water saturation levels.
Innovation in Technique: For many artists, the charger represents an innovative approach to solving a common problem in watercolour painting, which is managing water on the brush to achieve desired effects. Its simplicity in design yet effectiveness in function could be seen as a mark of brilliance in addressing a niche but significant issue in the art form.
Practicality: The charger's design leverages everyday items to achieve professional results, which showcases practical inventiveness. It's tailored to enhance the user's control and experience, which might not be groundbreaking in a broad technological sense but is certainly significant within the community of watercolour artists.
Community Impact: John Salmon has shared his invention freely, which has garnered appreciation from the art community for its utility and the spirit of sharing knowledge. This aspect of the invention could be considered brilliant in terms of community support and education.
However, the ultimate judgment on how "brilliant" the invention is would depend on individual artists' experiences with it and how it integrates into their workflow. Some might find it transformative, while others might see it as an interesting but not essential tool. The charger's place in the broader context of art tools and innovations would be determined by its long-term adoption and impact among watercolour painters.
John Salmon has shared detailed tutorials on how to construct and use the Watercolour Charger on his website and through video demonstrations, focusing on how these techniques can improve painting control and quality.
He did not patent the Watercolour Charger. Instead, he has made the information about this innovative tool available to the global art community, requesting only that any communication mentioning the Watercolour Charger or its use credits him as the source and provides a link to his information. This approach is highlighted on his website where he discusses the device.