Brook & Bramble Art

This was meant to be my foray into the traditional canal boat painting style. Bold florals, confident shapes, decorative flair, all the hallmarks of a very distinctive, very established aesthetic. What I produced instead was… an attempt. A sincere one, but an attempt nonetheless.

I remember being drawn to the style because it looks so assured when done well. Those crisp outlines, the controlled shading, the unapologetic confidence of the forms. Translating that into watercolour, with my skillset at the time, was perhaps optimistic.

The flowers are a bit hesitant. The shading is more careful than confident. The leaves flirt with the right idea but don’t fully commit. It lacks that strong, graphic punch that makes the canal boat style so striking, mine feels like it’s asking permission rather than announcing itself.

That said, I don’t hate it.

There’s value in trying on styles that don’t immediately fit. This one stretched me in ways I didn’t fully appreciate at the time, forcing me to think about structure, repetition, and deliberate mark-making rather than loose suggestion. Even when the result falls short, the exercise still leaves its impression.

So yes, it’s flawed. It doesn’t quite land. But it stands as proof that I was willing to experiment, to step outside what felt comfortable, and to accept that not every exploration ends in success.

Sometimes “an attempt” is exactly what it needs to be.