etail is an intriguing subject as too much emphasis on detail will make your watercolours lifeless. This seems like a contradiction but the minute you take up a small watercolour brush you can get lost in the detail and the work can easily become tight. One of my favourite paintings is Goya’s portrait, , which can be seen in the National Gallery in London and also viewed online if you’re unable to get there. Dona Isabel wears a beautiful black lace shawl, and this is a fantastic example of successful detail in a painting. However, when you view the lace up close it looks more like a Jackson Pollock abstract painting than lace. The success of the lace is the
