Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Plaza Provincia, Madrid

Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".

The Plaza Provincia just adjacent to the larger Plaza Mayor in central Madrid. Steps for this painting were 1) Sky (leaving out the roof of the tower right) and foreground (foreground a little darker coming towards us).  2) Roof tops, painting around the upper windows.  3) After that's all really dry, the buildings go in very dark with the warmish tones of the main building.  Paint around the figures.  4)  Shadow of buildings with a little cobalt in them.  5)  Figures and bollards.  Lines on pavement.  6) Highlights on bollards and some window frame details.

 

Plaza Mayor, Madrid, 2

Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".

A gentle incline up to a side entrance to the Plaza Mayor, with sturdy columns up on side of the street.  Steps in this painting were 1) Sky and background buildings of the square.  2) A wash over the rest of the painting of a mixture of cobalt blue and yellow ochre, dropping in more pigment in various spots on the columns.  3) After drying, I then added in the shadows and figures.  4) Lastly some highlights on the columns and scratched out lines of the pavement in the shadows.

Painted on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper, 140 lbs.

 

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Watercolour Landscape of Madrid, 15" x 11".

A huge arcaded square in the centre of Madrid surrounded by restaurants and artisab shops.  The subject of cafe tables & chairs is a very complex one, made easier here for me because most of it's under shade so there's just an impression of people with silhouetted figures and the odd highlights.  Leave a few table tops showing the white paper here and there.  My drunken waiter makes another appearance.

On Saunders Waterford Rough Paper, 140 lbs.

 

Calle Mayor, Madrid 4

Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".

Another sketch of one of the main streets in central Madrid Calle Major.  The sun is behind this time, throwing light on the buildings in front.  The shadow in the foreground wasn't there in reality, but I think it improved the picture.  Light vehicles against the darker background, add a bit of contrast and there's a bit of painting around the figures leaving the white paper showing.

 

Vila Vella Old Town, Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava 3

Landscape Watercolour of Costa Brava, 15" x 11".

The old part of Tossa de Mar looking down on the newer part of town and the sandy beach in front.  I think this made a slightly better composition than my previous Tossa sketches, doing away with the boats and having the light coming from the side rather than painting into the light.  Some of the buildings in the foreground were actually quite light and I darkened them up a bit to make a bigger contrast with the figures.

 

Lynmouth Sea Front and Quayside 2

Landscape Watercolour of Lynmouth, 15" x 11".

The seafront at Lynmouth in North Devon, looking towards the bright red medieval tower on the quayside and the Exmoor hills meeting the sea in the background.  There was a lot of architectural details on the facades of the Victorian buildings here and I suppose the decision was whether to put them in or leave them out.  Well I put some of them in with a bit of white gouache, so a compromise.

 

Plaza de Oriente, Madrid

Landscape Watercolour of Madrid, 15" x 11".

The curved buildings with their Cafes on Plaza Oriente which have wonderful views over the Royal Palace and formal gardens.  I tried to exaggerate a bit the warmth of the buildings catching some late afternoon sun and show a bit of contrast with the figures against the dark background in the distance.  The signs were a little made up to add a bit more detail to the sketch.

 

Borough Market 2

Landscape Watercolour of Borough Market, 15" x 11"

My depiction of Borough Market based on a photo of mine and trying to capture a dark & wet January day.  This is one of the entrances to the market with the impressive classical frontage. Apart from the obvious wet in wet on the reflections in the road, I added a little chinese white to the grey tones of the building as an experiment.

 

Sultan Suleiman Road, Jerusalem

Landscape Watercolour of Jerusalem, 15" x 11"

The wide Sultan Suleiman road leading west towards the Damascus Gate of the old city. Steps in this painting were, 1) wash of sky and foreground, then left to dry.  2) Castle shadows and background buildings, cutting around figure and cars.  Lastly 3) figures and shadows.  With the figures, I normally paint in the faces first, then any bare arms and legs.  Shadows for me would be the last stage.  I think maybe those 2 palms on the right could have been a touch lighter in tone.

 

Piraeus Port, Athens

Landscape Watercolour of Piraeus, 15" x 11"

Pireaus, the port for Athens and the largest port in Greece.  This is the main road / dual carriageway that runs around the perimeter and is punctuated by at least two dozen gates and ferries leading to all the Greek Islands and beyond.  The building is probably a government office but offers an interesting contrast to the shadows of the larger apartment blocks on the right.