iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This cligraphic sumi ink painting of eucalyptus leaves has been sold.

Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Just Van Dyke Brown and Raw Umber for this study of the bush. I enjoyed seeing how much atmosphere and depth can come from such a limited palette. Still working on saying more with less.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A quiet study of eucalyptus, exploring simple brushwork, muted colour and the space between the leaves. I’m enjoying the influence of Chinese brush painting and the freedom of letting some forms almost disappear.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I’ve been exploring how little I can say with a brush. Inspired by Tōkō Shinoda, I’m experimenting with calligraphic branches, suggested leaves and the quiet space between them. I’m trying to paint less of the eucalyptus itself and more of its movement and presence.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Saturday morning calligraphic leaves in watercolour - indigo and Van Dyke Brown - from Kalimna bush.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A quiet moment in the bush. Simple shapes, muted colour and a little warmth catching on the bark. Calligraphic bush. #watercolour #australianlandscape #eucalyptus #australianbush #watercolourpainting landscapeart atmosphere stillness contemporarywatercolour

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

40-minute life drawing in sanguine Conté crayon on newsprint. Trying to capture the weight and quietness of the pose rather than every detail. A study in light, shadow and economy of line.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Two studies exploring the eucalyptus leaf through calligraphic brushwork: gesture, rhythm, restraint and ma (negative space) between the marks. Rather than describing every leaf, I’m interested in what a few deliberate strokes can suggest. Ink, water and paper.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A wattle painting sold as a gift for Father’s Day. I think I painted the flower heads about four times with a 10/0 script brush to get the darkness to work.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A branch of eucalyptus leaves, painted in soft watercolour washes with a Chinese calligraphy brush — a gift from Zack, found on his travels through Malaya. There’s something enjoyable about a tool crossing that many kilometres just to end up shaping leaves and shadows on paper.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

This eucalyptus branch painting found its new home today. There’s nothing quite like watching a piece leave the studio and into the hands of someone who truly loves it.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Today’s eucalyptus watercolour.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

A couple of conte drawings from yesterday’s life drawing. The second drawing was exploring foreshortening which I often stuff up.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

A study in mixing celadon colour in watercolour from Phthalo Green, Cerulean Blue and a touch of Raw Umber. We bought the bowl in Chiang Mai on the recommendation of the incomporable @duangtengtrirat The second photo has the bowl and calligraphy brush I used to create the painting.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Moon over Kalimna Park, at dawn. Watercolour on cold press paper.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Another painting sold at the Castlemaine Artists Market.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Painted the world just before it wakes up. Mist swallowing the hills, one lone bird, and a sky that suddenly feels huge. Watercolour taught me that what you leave out matters just as much as what you paint, and this is challenging because of the temptation to keep fiddling.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

There’s something about the way gum leaves hang — they’ve got this natural, easy line to them, like they’re writing their own little poem in the air.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Just painted a batch of cards to hand out. I cut up sheets of 300gsm hot press watercolour paper, then let the ink and a calligraphy brush do their work. Each one is slightly different, and that’s the joy of it.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

A study of eucalyptus leaves, painted in watercolour.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

First sketch in my Fabriano Journal. I usually start about 10 pages in as you don’t worry about doing a crappy drawing there.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

There’s something deeply satisfying about working with a single Conté stick. It asks you to think in terms of light and shadow rather than detail—to build a face through broad masses before searching for character. It’s a bit scary because you are often using the side of the stick.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I have sold a painting at the Castlemaine @marketbuildingart exhibition which runs until 4th. Oct 2026. There are approximately 170 artists exhibiting - each artist is allowed two pieces to exhibit. There is a great variety of work, styles and mediums on display. This replaces the one sold.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

These small studies are part of an ongoing exploration of how much can be suggested with the fewest possible brushstrokes. Watercolour on hot press paper

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

These watercolour tree studies are part of a continuing exploration of simplification—finding the essence of a subject rather than describing every detail.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The graphic nature of found eucalyptus leaves. Watercolour on hot press paper. #minimalist #watercolour #natureartwork #quiet

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

A small branch of eucalyptus found on the ground and painted on hot press paper. As usual I was drawn to the weathered leaves, their muted olive tones, and the warm red stems that seemed to hold the whole composition together.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

A small sketchbook study of medlar fruit. The curled leaves, muted colours and fruit hanging heavily from the branch. There's a quiet beauty in these later stages, when forms soften and colours become richer and more subtle. Painted in watercolour in a Fabriano artists journal sketchbook. .

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

A small pomegranate, from our garden - painted where it sat on the table. I loved the contrast between the weathered skin, warm reds and golds, and the quiet white space of the sketchbook page. Sometimes the simplest subjects hold the most character.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Early light, quiet colour, and a few fallen eucalyptus leaves. Pllenty of white space—to keep things calm and minimal.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

This morning I added a bit to this older watercolour of sunrise. Built up in light washes to keep the atmosphere gentle and slightly diffused. Trying to say more with less here—minimal marks, softened edges, and letting the white of the paper do some of the work.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Meditation in blue. A limited monochromatic palette — cool indigo and phthalo blue throughout — which I hope gives a mood of stillness that feels almost meditative. Guildford area.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Rust and shadow - a study in dried leaves. Does anyone else find dried leaves more interesting to paint than fresh ones?

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Pat found this eucalyptus branch on the ground and handed it to me to paint. There’s something I love about that — the ordinary made worth looking at. Calligraphy brush on hot press paper, taking my time with the shadows and the quiet detail of the seed caps.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Pat found these eucalyptus leaves on the ground—not picked, just as they were at playwright John Romeril’s property a couple of days ago. We were part of a group attending a performance about John’s life. Sadly John has dementia and the script was words spoken by the performers were all John’s.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I've been exploring how little I can say with a painting and still hold a feeling. This watercolour is really about simplicity —paring things back to just a few shapes and letting the space do the work. I'm less interested in describing a place exactly, and more in suggesting it.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

A quiet Sunday morning drawing, loosely after the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi. I’ve always been drawn to the stillness and introspection in his figures turned away from the viewer. Working on newsprint lets the sanguine marks stay soft and atmospheric.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Less is always more. Dried eucalyptus in watercolour — muted, minimal, and a little meditative. The unpainted space is half the painting.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

A little sketchbook pastel drawing after a Georges Seurat conte drawing of Paul Signac.

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Sam Grumont @samgrumont.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Collected from the ground at Kalimna Park — never picked from the tree. Fallen eucalyptus leaves have the best colour: muted blues, olives and warm greys. Minimal — just the forms, no background — painted in watercolour on hot press paper for clean edges and quiet tonal shifts.