Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

The centre of the small town of Guatiza in the north east of the island of Lanzarote.  Centre of town here is just a cafe and a bus stop.  The town's claim to fame is that it's home to the Cactus Garden or Jardin de Cactus - a large sheltered hollow filled with hundreds of different cacti and succulents, plus modern sculpture.  Well worth a visit if your there.

That cafe was not meant to be a smiley face.

 

Landscape Watercolour of St Ives, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Probably a more unusual view of this much painted part of Cornwall, standing on the pier and looking in towards the town and the front promenade.  The town rises to the right and there's a great temptation to paint detailed roof tops and you have to watch out for those traps and just state a few of them catching the late afternoon sun.

 

Landscape Watercolour of Ilfracombe, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Ilfracombe harbour is the largest harbour on the North Devon coast and has been an important port for several centuries. It's a busy place with still some small commercial trawlers coming in and ferries off to other Bristol Channel locations. This view is looking up the hill (that shelters the harbour from southerly winds) and the town centre to the West.

 

Landscape Watercolour of the Algarve, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

The busy marina at Olhao (pronounced "oll Yow") on the Algarve and the pier stretching out to the main ferry point for the islands in the Ria Formosa natural park. Olhao. This is the biggest fishing port on the Algarve, and if you ignore the shabby appearance of the town centre there's a great daily fish market here on the waterfront and loads of restaurants along the Outubro Promenade serving fish and shell fish dishes.  I am gradually getting used to the Saunders paper now away from my usual Bockingford and doing wet in wet on Saunders is a hell of a lot easier.

 

Landscape Watercolour of St Ives, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Thought I would have a go at reflections and water. The subject is the small, white lighthouse on the end of the pier in St Ives harbour. Casting it's reflection into the harbour waters, the lighthouse is unusually constructed of cast iron - so it must be a regular job to keep it painted to stop it rusting.

 

Landscape Watercolour of Istanbul, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Divan Yolu Caddesi looking up to the small Firuz Aga Mosque (well relatively small to the very large mosques next door like the Sultanahmet). Divan Yolu was Istanbul's first main street going back to Emperor Constantine's day, and now still is a wide boulevard with open spaces leading to the main tourist spots and the grand bazaar.

 

 

Landscape Watercolour of Cadeques, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

The end of the main bay (called Gran Playa) in Cadeques looking sort of South West down the Costa Brava. A focal point for local fishermens' boats and other pleasure craft, the beach here is gravel and rough sand, and there's a couple of nice beach bars.  Since the beginning of the 20th century this beautiful village attracted the world of artists, Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso, to Gabriel García Márquez and Mick Jagger. But it's thanks to Salvador Dalí that the coastline still has it's old white houses.