Watercolour of Yate, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms

Well this was a bit of an experiment plus a challenge.  The experiment was trying to capture the tree, on the right hand side of this large pub, with all it's spring blossom, and I had to use the splatter technique as a later stage, and shield parts of the painting where the white gouache was'nt allowed to go.  The next challenge was painting with the light behind and trying to get some contrast in there - luckily there was some in the tall cedar trees.

Watercolour of Sidmouth, Devon, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough, 300gms.

A view looking done Old Fore Street Sidmouth on a sunny winter's day.  Many of the houses in this seaside town are built with rich red-coloured bricks, similar to the colour of the cliffs along the coast.  A chance to play around with cad reds, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.  A touch of cerulean blue on the right hand side to cool things down.

Watercolour of Sorrento, Italy, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

Piazza Tasso is the main square in Sorrento and a busy place for traffic and tourists.  This scene is looking towards the facade of the Baroque Church del Carmine (centre).  The scene was based on an old holiday snap and I had to do some imagination on the people and cars, plus I moved the pedestrian crossing a bit to help the composition.

Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

The Wickwar Road junction with the High Street in Chipping Sodbury.  Steps for this painting 1) Sky wash starting with weak yellow ochre on the right and getting darker to the left.  Wash continued down and warmer for the base wash of the road.  Careful to paint around car tops, road sign and figure.  2) Background buildings, then buildings left and right.  Added a second light wash to the road.  3)  Cars done with a fairly light wash but lower areas and car shadows with really dark pigment.  4) Completed with figure, street lamp and road signs.  A few dry brush strokes over the road to break things up a bit. 

Watercolour of Bursa, Turkey, 15" x 11", on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

Somehow, a Turkish scene always looks complete with a mosque and minaret breaking the skyline.  Here's a sketch of the old part of Bursa, Muradiye.  I think the distant white figure was almost an accident - a patch of paper left unpainted on the first wash, and then made into a figure with subsequent washes.  Minarets are always a challenge to get right - the symmetrical top, the rounded gallery and sometime a little wider at the base.

Watercolour of Yate, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

The Abbotswood Shopping Centre and Abbotswood Inn (formerly known as the double O two - a reference to the concorde aircraft program in the area) in Yate and a typical example of early 70's architecture with square plain buildings with flat roofs.  The pub is the building on the right.  Probably the focal point is the guy on the right, with a bit of high contrast against a dark background.

Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

There's a little bridge here over the River Frome and a view up to the ridge which sits above Chipping Sodbury Quarry.  On the right foreground, just an indication of the stone capped wall painted with quite thick paint on top of the base wash.  Again a bit of a challenge with the light behind, to introduce some shadows.

Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.

Another version of Market Day in Chipping Sodbury in larger format.  It's a bright winter's morning and the sun low in the sky, so longer shadows.  The sky was roughly painted - I left a bare patch in the middle, then soft clouds around that, and drop in a bit of cerulean blue here and there.  The road had a couple of washes, coming darker and warmer in the foreground.

Watercolour of Lanzarote, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms

A bend in the road and a chance to play with some deep shadows.  Steps in this painting were 1) Sky wash half way down then the wash for the road - lots of alizarin crimson, and more orange right for the pavement.  Cut around the cars and left hand person.  2) When dry, go in with building walls going darker at the base with a little neutral tint and ultramarine blue at the base.  3) Cars and figures.  Cars had a light was over them, then a darker bases and shadows with thicker pigment.

Watercolour of Yate, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms

A demo painting I did for my local art group.  Subject is one of my local pubs, the White Lion Inn.  Centre is a pedestrian crossing and behind, the pub car park.  The tower of St Marys is in the background and moved slightly for composition purposes.  The pub walls being white, were 'dirtied' up a bit with yellow and other colours, only slightly to not make it so white.  I think the diagonal shadow across the pub worked quite well.