Watermouth Bay, Devon, UK, 15" x 11".

This was actually the result of a video I did, but decided to not upload to my YouTube Channel.  But the more I look at it now (it was done maybe 6 months ago) there are some qualities I quite like.  At the time, I wasn't happy with the boats.  They weren't as well defined as I normally do them.  But now they look a little more arty.  I think the theme for my demo was going to be wet in wet as a watercolour technique and you can see why...

My latest demo - this time how to get some inspiration from a TV program for a painting subject.

Funchal, Madeira, 15" x 11".

A view up the Rua Brigadeiro Oudinot in Funchal and the mountains to the North often shrouded in low lying clouds.  As you can see, I had a bit of fun with some splattering.  It needed it.  What pedestrian crossing is in pristine condition unless it's just been painted.  A bit of a challenge with the row of white municipal buildings on the left - very monotone, so I had done a pre-wash if you like of some colours I already had in my palette, just to make it less white.

Ludlow, England, 15" x 11".

A third plein air, painted on a recent trip to Ludlow, this time looking down Broad Street.  Typical UK summer weather - started off quite sunny, lovely shadows, then after 20 minutes or so, we had some light rain.  So I had to memorise as best I could those shadows, their shapes and intensity.  Luckily the rain did not last long.  It was a busy spot with many day trippers passing in front of me.  

Here is my latest demo video.  This time a rural scene and making some small adjustments to the composition.  I'm back with my full palette on this one!

Sainte Foy La Grande, France, 15" x 11".

Adding some bunting to a street scene can add another dimension.  Sometimes the upper portion of a street scene can lack a bit of interest, and adding in some bunting helps in many areas - adds interest, connects elements of a painting together (the left with the right) and helps with perspective (looking down the street and a 'zig zag' pattern of lines with flags smaller in the distance).  Some telephone lines do the same thing, but not as good as a bit of bunting in my opinion!

Ross-on-Wye, England, 15" x 11".

A second attempt at this scene from a slightly different angle to get more of the lovely Market Hall in.  I wanted to try and replicate some of the warmth of the red bricks of the Market Hall in the shadows across the road.  As I did with my last one of this scene, I have some figures and cars emerging from the shadows and a connection with the foreground and background.

Monsegur, France, 15" x 11"

A small market town in the South West of France, with the covered market hall on the left.  When the tone of two connecting objects are the same (but with different colours) like the sky and the far roof tops, I normally do them both in one go - first the sky wash and bring down over the roof tops.  Not too wet, just damp, and then quickly as possible paint in the warm roof tops and let the two blend together to give a soft transition.  It sometimes helps the feeling of the heat as well.

Ludlow, England, 15" x 11"

Another plein air from a recent trip to Ludlow.  I managed to position myself right on the side of the road and up against a market stall selling pies, so quite a busy spot.  But it did have a great view down the High Street to some lovely timber clad buildings down the end.  It was a very busy place to paint from but thankfully I did not get too many interruptions (apart from a near miss with the local bus)

Watercolour 15" x 11".

Bristol Savages sketch night, and painting topic for the evening was 'Morning has broken'.  Great opportunity to use my harbour scene again with a few slight changes.  So the sky had a patch of paper left for the bright sunlight and emphasised with a bit of lifting out of some sun rays on the background buildings with some paper towel dragged quickly across the surface when the paint is still moist of course.  A dagger brush was used for the twisty mast reflections.