A few years ago a number of slate roof tiles that were removed from St. George’s Cathedral in Kingston during a restoration project happened to come my way. These beautiful, weathered and stained old slates had a character all of their own that was moody and dark and reminded me of early 19th century romantic landscapes. When I look at them I can see images inherent in the stone. It seemed such a shame to cover this up with paint, so after a few experiments, I found that transparent india ink washes replicated and complimented the natural colour, and was transparent enough to allow me to build up a bit of subtle watercolour on top.
Here is a progression of a slate from start to finish:
