Arrecife, Lanzarote, 15" x 11".

The harbour in Arrecife called 'El Charco' at low tide.  Something I think that works well in watercolour - having horizontal bands of alternating light and dark as you come down the picture.  And even in the lighter area of the water, there's still some even lighter areas with highlights on the boats and figures.  It's something I try to put into practice often whether it be boats in a harbour or cars in a car park, I'm always thinking where can I introduce contrast.

Kissamos, Crete, 15" x 11"

The main road into this most western town on the island of Crete.  Quite a loose painting and done fairly quickly in under an hour (with the aid of a hair dryer).  Looking at the composition now, I'm not sure why I had two such dominant figures there.  Maybe I was thinking I was painting on paper twice the size! Perhaps they fit the composition, especially as they are connected with other shapes around them, rather than being too isolated.

My next live, online watercolour demo will be on Thursday May 7th at 7pm GMT (UK Time).  It might be a beach theme this time!  Sorry, no cars.

All you will need is a good/reliable internet connection, and a headphone or PC speakers to hear my audio commentary (Conference call phone numbers will also be provided).  If you want to, you'll be able to ask plenty of questions.  It's FREE by the way!

The demo might be an hour to an hour and a half in duration (depends how many questions/comments I get!).

You need to register to attend (please do this as soon as possible and not on the day)...

My subject will likely be this beach scene.  On the suggestion of a regular attendee to my sessions, if you would like to paint this scene below yourself before the 7th and email me a photo of your picture, I will share with other attendees and we can all discuss your efforts - like giving you a critique if you wish.

Bristol Harbour, Bristol, 15" x 11"

A practice sketch for one of my paintings submitted to the Harbourside Art Prize 2014.  I do sometimes do a 'sketch' prior to doing larger scale versions of the same subject.  Very often I change little from the draft to the larger painting, but it's a good practice for the composition, where the horizon will be, number and placement of figures and so on.

Chania, Crete, 15" x 11".

A busier corner of the Old Venetian Harbour in Hania Crete.  Background hills were made lighter at their base to add to the feeling of distance.  Foreground was painted in with the side of a big mop brush - helped of course by using rough paper.  All the darks are across the middle, and the actual scene in reality had hundreds of people walking up and down the quayside - to paint them all would have been extremely difficult and tedious, so I only added in a few.

Chipping Sodbury, England, 15" x 11"

Another view of Horse Street in Chipping Sodbury, which I have done a few times now.  This one is maybe a little looser in style and a bit more mixing of colours on the paper rather than my palette - it's always interesting to see what hues appear when doing this, perhaps more difficult with any other painting media.  As the paint was drying, in the darker areas, bits were lifted to break up the monotony. 

Chania, Crete, 15" x 11".

A jetty in the 'Venetian Harbour' of Chania on the island of Crete.  The view here looking towards the light, we have some background warehouse buildings, some figures and the various canopies over the boats moored on the left.  In the way I have painted this scene, that left hand side is just a group of shapes where the strong light is reflected and random shadows produced by vertical supports and angles.  In the dark areas, just as the paint was drying, I dragged the blade of a blunt penknife across to form rigging and ropes.

La Cala de Mijas, Spain, 15" x 11"

View towards the Castle Tower in the town of La Cala on the Costa del Sol.  The long row of cars were left a little vague with not too many details save for a few highlights for roof tops.  A Dagger Brush loaded with plenty of dark paint was used for the trees left and right.  I put in a simple Spanish Flag flying from the top of the castle for authenticity.

Fuengirola, Spain, 15" x 11".

Fuengirola Bus Station with its pyramid like roof tops. The roofs were painted as the sky wash was still a little damp, so they were allowed to blend in with each other.  When the first wash was dry, I painted all the darker areas and figures.  Just a few of the figures plus the coach and car were painted around to leave some highlights.  A little bit of white gouache was used to make the smoke and rubbed in with clear water around the edges to give a softer look.

Wickwar, England.  22" x 15".

A view up the High Street in Wickwar, a village close to where I live.  This sort of picture makes for an easy composition, with similar height buildings either side of the road, and a disappearing column of parked cars going into the distance, leading you in.  Maybe those two guys on the right are stumbling towards Wickwar Social Club which sells the cheapest pint of beer in the area!  The sky had a couple of stages - first a light wash, then second, after drying, I went in with some darker clouds, blending with the background buildings.  That blending was aided by some dabbing with a paper towel.