Eymet, France, 15" x 11".

I can't remember where exactly this is in Eymet, but I think the central market area of this town in the Dordogne region of France.  The foreground has had a bit of wet in wet treatment to give those cauliflower effects - I know some watercolourists avoid them but I love them.  It's what watercolour does, so why fight it?  Also using proper watercolour paper helps.  I am using Saunders Waterford, rough paper.  If I used anything cheaper you just would not achieve the same results!

I am running another live, online watercolour demonstration on Sunday April 10th at 6pm UK time (BST).

All you will need is a good/reliable internet connection, and a headphone or PC speakers to hear my audio commentary (Worldwide Conference call phone numbers will also be provided if you want to connect by phone).  If you want to, you'll be able to ask plenty of questions.  There is a £5 GBP fee to attend this live session.  It will not be uploaded or available to anyone apart from the attendees who have paid to watch.  I should be able to send you a link to the recording of the demo afterwards, which only you can see.  I want to try and keep the class size small, around 10 attendees.

The demo might be an hour to an hour and a half in duration (depends how many questions/comments I get!).  You can also paint along with me as I will try and paint in stages.

You need to register to attend (please do this as soon as possible and not on the day) and I will then send you payment request from me for your £5 fee.  You will then be sent an email with the simple connection instructions for the demo...

My subject for the painting will be an unusual view of Bath Abbey in the UK..

 Hopefully meet up with you on-line for this next demo!

 I will continue to post recorded videos here and up on YouTube.

Avebury, England, 15" x 11".

Avebury Village near Bath in the UK and a popular area for ramblers and tourists visiting this ancient site.  This is the largest stone of many here.  Not sure what it is called, but I think it is 40 tonnes in weight.  I was pleased with the composition on this one - with the large stone right, balanced by the two figures on the left.  The figures connected with the stone shadow and to the background.  As you can see, the foreground grass has some 'splattering' going on to give it a bit of texture of the meadowland here.

Fabriano, Italy, 22" x 15".

A shopping street in central Fabriano (where the Fabriano watercolor paper comes from) Italy.  Based on a reference photo of mine and I wish I had taken many more on a visit there.  100's of subjects in this town and typical of many 'medieval' towns in this part of Italy.  Buildings left and right were given vary loose treatment.  Well the one on the right was just some dry brush strokes to give the impression of window frames etc..  Buildings also had plenty of extra colour added to them while the first wash was drying.

Chipping Sodbury, England, 15" x 11".

Horse Street Chipping Sodbury.  A summer shot based on the length of those shadows and the painting was based on one of my reference photos.  These old buildings generally have white window frames and the decision has to be made - how many do you paint in?  Previous pictures I think I've overdone it and the picture looses that fresh feel.  So here I just put in a few white lines with white gouache - it was the last stage of the painting, and hopefully it still retains that looseness.

Montpon Menesterol, France, 15" x 11".

A road junction and railway crossing in the French South West town of Montpon, dominated by a large building.  I decided to make a feature of the shadows and let watercolour do what it does best - blending, running, bleeding and creating interesting patterns out of some boring dark shadows.  Adding a bit of clear water at the right time while it's still moist adds another dimension and a little bit of splattering.

Here's a link to my latest YouTube video - an English street scene with cars and people.

If you could 'Like' and add any 'Comments' for my feedback that would be much appreciated.  Thanks for watching.

Athens, Greece, 15" x 11".

The Monastiraki area of central Athens.  This one was a real challenge for watercolour - light from behind and a scene with few contrasts - the sky, buildings and road almost the same tone.  So presented with this I had to make the darks darker especially on the left side and make something 'artistic' on the right side by introducing the part shape of a car and join this to the blue car.

Porthleven, England, 22" x 15".

A plein air painting done on a cold but sunny October day.  I didn't have any issue with the paint drying too quickly!  This is a view of the harbour at low tide looking towards the entrance, lit up with the sunlight coming from the left.  The first wash went over the whole area except for the boats.  Then when this was dry I loosely painted in the background buildings and harbour wall, again painting around the boats.  Next was the foreground, leaving out the channel of water.  Last were the boats, their shadows and then the figure (and dog).

Burrowbridge, England, 15" x 11"

Burrowbridge, and the 'mump' hillock in this Somerset village.  This painting was based on a reference photo sent me by fellow artist Jem Bowden and a plein air trip I could not make.  I adopted a very loose style here - not too much detail at all apart from a few straw bails and the couple of figures.  Those figures are much smaller than I normally do, but I think they turned out okay.  All in all, quite a dark painting with that stormy sky.