Landscape Watercolour of Venice, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
Another Venice Canal sketch and I'm sure I'll get sick of painting them soon. I think these canals make for easy composition with the towering sides of the building leading your eyes in to a focal point which has of course got to be a gondola or one of their trademark arched pedestrian bridges.
Landscape Watercolour of Faro, Portugal, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
With such a rich history, you’d expect to find an atmospheric old town in the city and you’d be correct. The Cidade Vella is crammed with tourists and locals visiting the handicraft markets or just wandering around looking at the old buildings, many of which show signs of the city’s Moorish ancestry.
Landscape Watercolour of Girona, Spain, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
Another painting of the Pont de Pedra or walking bridge, this time from the shady side looking over the side of the bridge to the background of the modern part of the city. I tried to understate this background with lower values to push it back in distance but still kept it warm to give the feeling of a not sunny afternoon. This contrasts with the cooler blue shadow in the foreground.
Landscape Watercolour of Girona, Spain, on Saunders Waterford Rough paper 140 lbs
The Pont de Pedra (translated as Bridge of Stone) over the Onyar River, just down from the Placa Catalunya in central Girona.
Constructed in 1850 of solid granite with 3 majestic arches and a main pedestrian walkway from one half of the city to the other. The bridges over the river Onyar are a nice way to walk from one side of Girona (Barri Vell) to the other (Eixample) and gives you great opportunities for views of the lovely colourful houses along the water's edge.
Landscape Watercolour of Venice, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
The very ornate front of Santa Maria del Giglio, and inside housing many works of art including the only painting by Rubens in Venice.
The richly decorated baroque façade would be a nightmare to replicate in a painting (especially when you are short of time), so all we can do as a watercolouist is simplify the scene and suggest pillars and statues with darker brush strokes - a bit of dry brush works wonders.
Landscape Watercolour of Bursa, Turkey, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
The Green Mosque (or Yesil Cami in Turkish) is a very historic site in Bursa and popular tourist spot. As well as the Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum here, there are many souvenir shops selling what I thought was good quality stuff and staff dressed in traditional ottoman uniforms. The Green Mosque, commissioned by Sultan Mehmet I Çelebi and finished in 1424, is set on a promontory overlooking the valley with great views over Bursa city. It takes its name from the green-blue tiles of the interior - but it has a pretty bright exterior also.
Landscape Watercolour of Alexandria, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
At first arrival in Alexandria the most common colour you see in buildings are drab browns and greys, but on closer observation you see warmer colours, reds, greens and warm ochres. I wanted to get in this quick sketch a feeling of those hues and the chaos in some of the back streets with cars parked anywhere, overhead cables all over the place, unfinished tower blocks with their upper storeys empty and without windows. But it's a beautiful place and great for painting subjects especially watercolour.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
Painted at my local Art Club, one evening and based on a reference photo, this is the iconic landmark building in the old market town of Chipping Sodbury and bares many similarities with clock towers in other nearby towns in the Cotswolds. It's now the Tourist Office (and staffed by very helpful people), bus shelter, loo and meeting pint for many local events. A very useful multi-purpose building indeed.
Landscape Watercolour of Mudanya, Turkey, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs
Another painting of my most favourite town on the Marmara coast, Mudanya. Mudanya is characterised by many wonderful old wooden buildings with their upper floors larger than the ground floor, overhanging them by a few feet. And now and again striking white buildings with ornate decorations on their facades offer striking contrasts.
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