Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Weston Super Mare Harbour at low tide

Landscape Watercolour of Weston Harbour, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.

Two local ferries that operate in the Bristol Channel, the Westward Ho Ferry and the smaller Bristol Queen, moored up at low tide in the tiny Weston-Super-Mare Harbour.  The harbour here is at the end of the grand sweeping bay of Weston and protected from the north by 'Knightstone Island'.  Probably just big enough for these two boats, it makes a nice scene on a sunny day looking across the expanse of the muddy beach at low tide towards the headland of Brean Down in the distance.

 

Hotel Panorama, Lido, Venice

Landscape Watercolour of Lido Venice, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.

Central Lido, Hotel Panorama and the dome of Santa Maria Elisabetta in the background.  The Lido, a narrow strip of land a short ferry journey from Venice with views to the lagoon on one side and the open Adriatic sea on the other, is a welcome peaceful spot after Venice. 

 

Minibus, Alexandria, Egypt

Landscape Watercolour of Alexandria, Egypt, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs

White Minibuses (well they start off white) are abundant in any Egyptian town or city and I am sure can be a challenge to any visitor wanting to chance their luck with on a trip: They don't seem to have any signs about where they are going and the locals just seem to flag them down to get on board.  Plus the pace of traffic in Alexandria when it's flowing can be almost like a dodgem fairground ride. Beware.

Zeytinbagi, Turkey, 2

Landscape Watercolour, Turkey, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.

Zeytinbağı is the new name for the old Greek town of Tirilye, and is a very pleasant place on the Marmara sea with lovely Tea Houses, Cafes and Restaurants (nice Fish Restaurants here or Turkish name 'Balik'). Apart from the busy fishing port, the architecture is a great attraction with the old timber houses and their upper floors larger than those below.

 

Lower Town, Staithes

Landscape Watercolour of Staithes, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.

Known to the locals as Steers, Staithes is a popular destination for those looking for a break in a picturesque North Yorkshire village. Steeped in history, the town is the former home of Captain James Cook who moved to Staithes in 1744, and who soon fell in love with the sea.  If you come to the town by car, be prepared for a fairly steep walk down from the car parks above town (unless you can be dropped off of course).  

 

Cliffs at Staithes, North Yorkshire

Landscape Watercolour of Staithes, N Yorkshire, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.

The pretty village of Staithes on the wild North Yorkshire coast is protected by impressive high red sand stone cliffs and 2 long breakwaters.   The Cowbar Nab is the strange local name for the cliffs I painted here and of interest I guess to anyone studying coastal erosion in the evidence of breakwater damage at sea level.  The cliffs were created over millions of years with many tiers and contain of course fossils of long extinct marine life (ammonites are popular finds along the coasts round Staithes).

 

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, 2

Landscape Watercolour of Las Palmas Gran Canaria, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough 140 lbs

Las Palmas, 'capital' of Gran Canaria, enjoys a great climate - sub tropical, not too hot, not too cold, and just enough rainfall to stop it turning into a desert.  Some days in the winter can be quite cloudy, yet still so bright.  Wandering through the quite modern city, with it's tall apartment blocks, you get glimpses inland toward the central mountain range.

 

Alexandria Street 8, Egypt

Landscape Watercolour, Alexandria, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Another Alexandria street scene and I think there's loads more to come as I took many photos on my visit.  They lend themselves so well to watercolour with the lights and the darks. This was quite a busy scene and working to a quarter sheet which is my norm, you have to decide what to leave out and it came down to missing cars and people - so imagine many more of both. I've left in the trademark yellow-topped taxis and ladies in traditional dress.

 

Westgate, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

Landscape Watercolour of Huddersfield, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140lbs

A view looking west up Westgate Street in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.  The Town has the third highest number of listed buildings in the UK, with architectural styles ranging from classical, to victorian and modern.  Overall you are struck by the warm ochre and reddish tones of the stonework in much of the construction.

 

Florence, Italy

Landscape Watercolour of Florence, Italy, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper, 140lbs

This was a bit of an experiment. Unfortunately I have not been lucky enough to visit Florence in person (although I studied it's architecture for my 'A' levels a long time ago), so I succumbed to the resource of Google Maps and Street View.  The challenge of course is the camera taking the shots is far higher than normal eye level so you need to compensate on the perspective a bit and the image was a bit shady so I had to invent my own shadows  and people of course! Hopefully I did the scene justice.