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

Istanbul 'Sirkeci' Railway Station, made famous for the destination of the Orient Express and numerous Poirot films and TV episodes.  It's a lovely old building looking very French/Victorian in style with the influence of the Ottoman empire.  Inside there's the Orient Express Restaurant and Cafe right on the main platform of the station, popular with tourists.

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

The whole of the West side of Tel Aviv is one long beach, and many of the access roads take you through areas sometimes in need of a little renovation, which is unusual for Tel Aviv because the city is modern and clean.  On the beach, you could be in a resort anywhere on the Mediterranean and difficult to believe you're in an area which has seen so many troubles in the past.

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

A scene of the long promenade running along the coast of the capital 'town/city' of Arrecife, and here, just by the marina, it's constructed of wooden boards, aged and worn by probably the foot traffic and winds off the sea.  The pyramid roof on the right is a popular bar frequented mainly by the locals.

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

Located facing the fishing port, this building was built in 1924 to originally house just the towns fruit and veg market but was also devoted to selling fish in the last 1950's. The wonderful selection of freshly caught seafood is housed on the ground floor while fruit, vegetables, freshly baked bread, and an open-air terrace with restaurant can be found upstairs.

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

Another painting of Alexandria, a popular painting subject for me, and a market scene near the port area.  I think the stripes of the shop blinds and other opposing horizontal lines make this for me. If I attempted the scene again, I might loose the car on the left. I think it probably draws the eye too much over that side, or at least I could have made it less overworked.

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

Late afternoon sun coming in on a short promenade in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, looking towards the south western tip of the island.  Biggest challenge on this painting was timing of the shadows of the palms trees, which were painted in before the trees and leaves themselves.  A bit of "wet in wet" to make sure the edges are not too sharp.  The alternative approach could have been to wait until the promenade wash was dry and then do some dry brush strokes for shadows.

 A rigger brush was used for the leaves, with the brush well loaded with paint.

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

This is the quant little footbridge joining the two halves of Staithes Town on the beautiful North Yorkshire coast.  I was lucky enough to have pleasant sunshine when I was there last year.  The river here is the primary subject for many visiting artists, especially at low tide and featuring the old rowing boats which are almost a trademark of the town.

My 400th post.