During the Melbourne coronavirus lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, I was desperately seeking an artistic escape. A chance to play and learn without the baggage of what I “should” be creating. Inspired by the game Gris by Nomada Studio, and artists such as Denise Soden, Dr. Oto Kano, and Australia’s Jane Blundell, I decided to pick up watercolour painting.

Cameron Lam. Photo supplied

Immediately I was hooked. Not only the sensation of being a curious excited amateur again, but I was mesmerised by the medium – how the colour dashed across the page, and the endless possibilities of texture and hue. Watercolour is a notoriously difficult medium to control, it has its own ideas, but in these moments a collaborator was exactly what I wanted.

Watercolour palette making, pigment research, sketching and life drawing has become an ongoing love and hobby, as testified by its complete takeover of my Instagram page.

 

Turning Colour into Music

 

One of things that drew me to watercolour is how you can see the pigments are at play in each paint. Each pigment powder has not only a hue, but an...