Sitges, Spain, 22" x 15".
A commission based on a photo provided for me. The 3 main challenges for this painting were 1) the scene with few shadows and light/dark contrasts. The Background mountain range was darkened a little to create more of a contrast with the middle ground buildings. 2) A bit of careful painting of the sky around the two church towers (I never use masking fluid). 3) The detail in the buildings had to be simplified to match my loose style.
Cala Mijas, Spain, 15" x 11".
A quickish 30 minute sketch (I was pushed for time!) of the sea front at Cala Mijas on the Costa del Sol. Based on a photo of mine I should say - not done plein air. Having a limited time does force you to make simplifications and helps a looser style. And a third of the painting is basically shadow and the side of a building. Palm trees were quite easy - just dabs of paint with a medium sized mop brush.
Cala Mijas, 22" x 15"
A beach cafe scene at Cala Mijas on the Costa del Sol. I decided a different approach on the sky. The whole area was whetted first - uniformly. While still damp, I laid down the sky wash. I think it allows for more even colour, but you need to watch out for the wash accumulating in dips in the paper if it's not stretched. Getting a hair dryer on the job can prevent this. Also while the sky was still damp, I laid down the sea wash and allowed a bit of bleeding between the two. Resist the temptation to touch up the sky or go in again with more colour. Many a time I've painted the sky with two washes and you do loose a bit of freshness.
Watercolour of St Tropez, 15" x 22" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.
My second painting of this 'off the beaten track' beach in St Tropez, this time with the light behind me. Success with a watercolour is far more likely I think with the light coming towards you or from the side. Here I think I can almost get away with it by having 1) medium tone background 2) figures in lighter tone and 3) dark shadows below figures - not too much.
Watercolour of St Tropez, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.
The small but perfectly formed La Ponche beach in the old part of St Tropez and a little off the beaten track. Anyway, I thought it made a great subject, mainly for the old buildings running down to the water's edge and their lovely warm tones. The beach was painted fairly roughly - a splattering of clear water while still damp and some dry brush strokes dragged across.
Watercolour of Newquay, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms.
5 Fishing boats in a row at low tide. Background was left very understated and cut around the tops of the boat cabins. The perspective of the chains and ropes leading to the bows of the boats and channels of water draining away to sea hopefully helps the composition, and leads the eye in. One of the last things I did was painting dabs of darkish paint on the harbour floor for the seaweed.
Landscape Watercolour of Newquay, 15" x 11".
Towan Beach at low tide and the most central of Newquay's many beaches. At high tide the beach gets covered and people retreat to the Promenade with its shops and cafes or to the grassy slopes on the clifftops. I think this kind of composition works well in watercolour with the contrasting bands of light and shade and the cool blue/green grassy cliffs against the warmer tones of the sand.
Landscape Watercolour of Sitges, 15" x 11".
A view along the sea front at Sitges on the Spanish Costa Brava towards the Church and the older part of town. Steps for this painting were 1) sky (a little yellow ochre on the right and darker going left). 2) Background mountains and middle ground town buildings, leaving a few spaces for highlights on roof tops. 3) Beach and then sea, leaving a few specks of white paper. 4) Figures and highlights.
Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11"
A windy day on the sea-front promenade of Arrecife, Lanzarote. Well it's windy there quite alot during the winter months with storms coming off the Atlantic. Normally I do skies in one pass, but this one had an initial wash and a bit of cobalt turquoise, then allowed to dry a bit, followed by some darker patches. Bendy tall palm trees add to the effect of the win and of course you can have all the long leaves going one way.
Painted on Saunders Waterford paper, 140 lbs.
Landscape Watercolour of Costa Brava, 15" x 11".
Another view of the main beach road in Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava, with the restaurants on the right, old town in front and the beach on the left. I think a useful trick now and again to aid the composition is some dark foliage in the foreground corners, emphasised by the near shadows.
Painted on Saunders Waterford paper, 140 lbs.
Recent Comments