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

The main road leading into the market town of Chipping Sodbury and on the right, the frontage of the Ridgewood Comunity Centre.  The source photo was care of Google Street View and I had to imagine an eye-line slightly lower than Google's camera (being high above a car of course).  I changed one or two minor details, like the cable across the road which in reality would be taken down by the next double decker bus!

 

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

The Calle los Volcanes, in Tajaste, Lanzarote, takes it's name of course from the nearby volcanoes of Lanzarote.  It's a typical Lanzarote town/village with mostly single storey white-washed villas, many with their large vegetable gardens mulched with crushed dark brown lava rock which is of course in abundance here.

 

Landscape Watercolour of Weston Super Mare, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

Another painting of the harbour in this North Somerset town and a favourite UK resort well known for it's low tide which reveals miles of beach (sadly mostly tidal mud towards the sea).  Two local ferries that operate in the Bristol Channel, the Westward Ho Ferry and the smaller Bristol Queen, are moored up here.  In the distance is the town centre behind brightly lit hotels on the seafront.

 

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

The Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Istanbul's Eminönü district by the Golden Horn, is among the city's architectural gems and often overlooked by visitors. It's not too difficult to miss as you pass it on the way to the grand Bazaar from the main ferry port on the Golden Horn and over a large square frequented mainly by pigeons.

 

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

A sketch of a typical Oxford scene with one of it's many spires, narrow side streets and one of the thousands of cyclists that you see about the place. Oxford is sometimes known as "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings topped with pinnacles and spires.

 

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

A quick study of a typical potato field on the Island of Lanzarote.  Potatoes are one of the main crops on Lanzarote and they're a great local speciality tapas - Canarian Potatoes or wrinkly potatoes, served with spicy mojo sauce.  Because the whole island is a series of dormant volcanoes, lava rock is in plentiful supply as a crushed black mulch for the crops, keeping the moisture in, and a building material for the boundary walls around the fields.

 

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

One of the many little secluded beaches to be found along the coast of Cadeques, and a great location for this Hotel with its' balconies overlooking the bay in front.  Known as the Spanish Saint Tropez, it's not too far from the French border, but has still been able to maintain it's Mediterranean 'fishing village' charm without feeling like a resort.

 

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

A view in central Bristol, from Princes Street looking towards Redcliff Back (a long stretch of waterways) and the spire of Redcliff Cathedral in the background.  In the centre is 'Princes Pantry' where you can grab their popular egg and bacon bap whilst sitting on their park benches outside.

 

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

The old round cornered Custom House on the west side of the swing bridge in Whitby, North Yorkshire.  At the heart of Whitby, this building I am sure used to be a custom house in centuries past, but now they're rented offices above a shop.  But it's still retained it's prominent, but badly sited blue sign.

 

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

Fatih district in Istanbul, away from the typical tourist routes. The Fatih area is home to the main mosques and the Grand Covered Bazaar. My subject was a typical scene of a street in Fatih looking down towards the Bosphorous. I was probably most pleased about the job on the car of all things and left it not too overworked. The danger is you start painting in detail on windscreens and then wheels and it all ends up looking too false.