This watercolour sketch is me indulging my love of retro pottery and passion for colour. I just love the colours and rustic feel of the Blue Rimini pottery from the 60s – it’s as if it was purpose designed to be a vessel for our scrubby Australian plants (even though it’s Italian). The colours of our gold banksias compliment the blues and greens of the pottery perfectly.

Sometimes I really enjoy the freedom and simplicity of painting things (especially plants) from memory; like a child does. There’s less importance placed on accurate representation and technique, and more emphasis on style. These banksias and succulents are growing in my neighbour’s front garden at the moment so I get a good look at them most days - they live in my mind’s eye. I will likely do a few more of these sketches in the coming months to practice before I attempt a large oil painting on canvas of this subject.