Lydia Makepeace

Lydia & I have know each other for almost 10 years. We were paired as roommates, in the now shuttered NYCAMS program. What impressed me then & what impresses me now is Lydia's determination & commitment to research. She is always looking at new sources & incorporating them into her vast knowledge base. Her answers below are generous & I have elected to not place them in the Q&A format as the questions are self evident in the answers. If you enjoy Lydia's work please check out & follow her on all of the social media: facebook, instagram, etsy (her paintings make great gifts), pinterest & her newly redesigned website. Thank you Lydia for sharing your work with us! 

You’ll notice that the first picture is of my work surface. I do not use a palette for my current series of abstract watercolors inspired by aquatic life. I use Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors, which come in bottles with droppers, and I don’t premix colors before applying to the paper. Paint is either applied right from the dropper or diluted in varying amounts of water in medicine cups before being poured onto wet paper. 

No brushes are used to apply paint, only to pre-wet the paper. I find a Hake brush to be ideal for applying large amounts of water and evenly coating full sheets of 22” x 30” watercolor paper. Arches 300lb watercolor paper is my paper of choice. Arches is readily available and the heavier weight paper is especially suited for large paintings and heavy washes.

My favorite color is Ph. Martin’s Quinacridone Magenta because of its vibrant warmth, energy and the varied colors it creates as part of my glazing process. I’m forever running out. My least favorite colors are probably the brown shades because I am so drawn to vibrant colors. My love of color is limitless!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans reading this & I'll see you on Friday!