Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".
A view up towards one of the arched entrances to Plaza Mayor in Madrid. With the light behind us, it's a bit more difficult to pull off as a watercolour, and it helps to have some dark shadows giving the form of the buildings and windows. Plus leaving some negative areas unpainted like the guy's shorts and the parasol.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 22" x 15".
A view looking down Chipping Sodbury High Street towards the hills at the southern tip of the cotswolds. The washes of the hills and buildings were given a bit of a hazy feel with a bit of scrubbing out while still damp. Mr Delivery person was put in as an afterthought after I'd put in the white van. Painting a row of cars sideways on is a bit difficult I think (that's the way they park each side of the wide street), so I've simplified it a bit.
Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".
One of the main entrances to the enclosed Plaza Mayor in Madrid. A slight incline, up through a majestic archway and then the square itself, with just a hint of the parasols shading the restaurant customers on the left inside the square. I think with hindsight the picture needs a few more figures in there on the street - the two there look lonely.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11".
Higher up the High Street in Chipping Sodbury and a scene of mainly private houses. Steps in this painting - 1) Sky, painting around roof tops and chimneys. 2) A main wash over the buildings and road, painting around the highlights on the cars. 3) Darken up the roof tops a bit more with a warm colour. 4) Second wash over the road coming darker in the foreground. 5) Windows, painted in loosely. 6) Car details and their shadows, then figures.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 22" x 15".
A view of the top end of Chipping Sodbury High Street, away from the shops and mainly private houses or offices. Sometimes between the houses, are small archways to small mews and back gardens. Most of the houses are characterised by repeated gable windows (easier to paint head-on!). Chipping Sodbury has apparently the second widest 'market town' high street in the UK! Major challenge painting the buildings here are whether to paint all the white window frames, so I've just suggested a few here, painted in with weak white gouache.
Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 15" x 11".
A scene looking across the Bristol Waterfront, with on the right, Pero's Bridge or the Horned Bridge, which joins Queens Square with the Millennium Square. Hopefully an autumnal feel with the low light level, long shadows, a bit of a stormy sky and the fallen leaves on the ground. The building on the far side used to be warehouses on the actual waterfront, but have now been converted to popular bars/restaurants.
Landscape Watercolour of Bath, 15" x 11".
The rear of Jollys Department Store form Queens Square in Bath. The trees in Queen Square are casting shadows over the light honey coloured buildings of Bath in this well-known square. Tricky bit in this painting was the timing of the dappled shadows on the buildings and road. The base wash was whetted and then allowed to go damp, then in with a darker pigment of the shadows, so a sort of wet in wet.
Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".
The Palacio Real de Madrid, or Royal Palace (but the Royals don't live there) with the formal gardens laid out to the east. A stunning building simplified by me (sorry) with all the architectural details and statues along the tops of columns - just described with little blobs. Hopefully there's the feeling here of a hot summers day.
Painted on Saunders Waterford Rough, 140 lbs.
Landscape Watercolour of Bursa, 22" x 15".
Yesil (pronounced yea-sheel) Caddesi in the higher, older Yesil neighbourhood of Bursa and just round to the left is the Yesil Turbe - the tomb of the 5th Sultan, Mehmet the 1st. The old buildings facing us our now souvenir shops selling quite nice stuff, carpets, lamps etc. The rising Uludag mountains form the backdrop to the composition.
Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 22" x 15".
A third demo for South Stoke Art Group, and the outdoor market in Corn Street Bristol. There's great tonal contrast in the scene which is great for watercolour. The period buildings were given simplified architectural details to describe columns and windows with dark dry brush strokes. There was careful negative painting around the parasols and figures.
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