Exploring Sculptural Watercolour: A Unique Fusion of Depth & Light
Discover the process, inspiration, and craftsmanship behind Prue Bishop’s groundbreaking sculptural watercolours.
1️⃣ Inspiration: The Heart of it All
🌍 Where Creativity Begins
The foundation of Prue Bishop’s work is deeply experiencing landscapes firsthand. Whether collecting vegetation to mix the perfect green for the Chartreuse region or using Google Earth to explore Arctic landscapes, each painting is rooted in research and lived experience.
📍 Example:
When painting the Swiss Alps, Prue physically observed the subtle seasonal color shifts to ensure authenticity in her work.
📌 Explore how real-world experiences shape each painting
2️⃣ The Creative Process: From inspiration to Artwork
🖌️ 10 Paintings for Every Final Masterpiece
Unlike traditional watercolor artists, Prue creates at least ten watercolor studies before constructing a final sculptural painting. This ensures perfect perspective, depth, and emotion.
📍 Example:
The Chillon Castle painting required vanishing points that extended beyond the table—a feat requiring precise calculations to make the depth feel real.
📌 Discover the step-by-step transformation
3️⃣ The Materials: Traditonal Meets Innovation
🎨 Time-Honoured Watercolour, Reimagined
Prue Bishop honors centuries-old watercolor traditions, using specific paper sizes and historic pigments while integrating balsa wood, layered cardboard, and cutting techniques to bring depth to her work.
📍 Example:
She follows Turner’s color theory, ensuring each piece contains a three-pigment palette for perfect balance and harmony.
📌 Learn how materials bring dimension to the art
4️⃣ Final Assembly: How It Comes Together
✂️ Cutting, Layering & Sculpting Depth
The final artwork emerges when the watercolor studies are carefully cut along painted lines, layered, and backed with structural supports like balsa wood.
📍 Example:
In "The Trillion-Ton Glacier," the piece needed a real curve to capture the movement of ice—so Prue sawed the painting in half and physically bent it.
📌 See how sculptural watercolor takes form
5️⃣ Global Warming & Environmental Themes
🌍 Painting the Planet’s Changes in Real-Time
Living in the Alps for decades, Prue has witnessed the climate crisis firsthand—with disappearing snow, receding glaciers, and shifting seasons. Her Global Warming series reflects this urgent reality.
📍 Example:
During COVID lockdowns, she dove into scientific research—studying National Geographic reports, Scott Expedition data, and satellite images—to document climate change through her art.
📌 Explore how landscapes are disappearing
6️⃣ A Lifelong Dedication to Watercolour
📜 Mastering a Process That Has Never Changed
For 25 years, Prue has refined her sculptural watercolor process without ever needing to alter its core principles—proof of its timelessness and authenticity.
📍 Example:
She stretches her paper using a traditional gummed tape technique and follows a meticulous process of cutting, layering, and assembling.
📌 Learn why sculptural watercolor stands the test of time