Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Venetian Harbour, Chania, Crete

Chania, Crete, 15" x 11"

A quiet corner of the old 'Venetian Harbour' in Chania, Crete.  A few small fishing craft are moored up close to a row of restaurants.  With reflections, I do lightly pencil in the vertical lines I need - the sides of buildings, the bow of a boat.  It's done with a 2B pencil and generally you can't see those reference lines in the finished painting.  One of the few paintings I haven't been able to squeeze some figures into.  Well it was very early morning and nobody was about!  That's my excuse!

 

Race Practice, Hotwells

Bristol Harbourside, 22" x 15".

Another of my accepted entries to the local Bristol Harbourside Art Prize 2014.  This is a composition of the Hotwells end of the Bristol Harbour, a popular place for dinghy racing.  The old red-bricked tobacco warehouse or factory is in the background.  With the water, timing is everything, with the adding of the darker waves just as the first wash is at the damp stage and not too moist.  Then when everything is dry, I go in with the boat reflections.

More information on the painting and to view other exhibited paintings from other artists are here on the Steak of the Art website.  What a great name eh?

 

Boats moored up in the small Fishing Harbour in Chania New Town, Crete

Chania, Crete, 15" x 11"

Fishing boats moored up in the harbour in Chania's new town area.  With the two very different sides of Saunders Waterford 'Rough' paper, this was painted on the 'wired' side as I call it.  The regular surface patterns show up most in the lighter sky areas.  Generally I paint now on the opposite side to this, where there is a more random pattern, and the graining effect on washes I think is better. 

 

A walk along the Bristol Waterfront

Bristol Harbourside, 15" x 11".

This is one of my accepted entries to the Bristol Harbourside Art Prize 2014 (all entries had to be a subject around the Bristol Waterfront area) and winner of the 'Porthleven Prize'.  It was a bit of a last minute painting and nearly did not make it.  I'm not sure what the red boat is called, but I spent the most time on that part, getting the curves right and the shadows, being a little focal point.  In the background and very lightly painted in, are the old cranes and the Industrial Museum building or M-Shed.

Bristol Harbour Festival 2

Bristol Waterfront, 15" x 11".

Yachts moored up at the annual Bristol Harbour Festival.  It was an overcast day so I went for the dull and dreary look.  Sky went in very quickly, cool blues were drawn across the damp paper.  Rather than paint the yachts in too loosely, I decided to spend a bit of time on the left two, putting in details of railings, masts and windows.  Last to painted were the reflections and ripples on the water with a small mop brush with a good point.

 

Watermouth Bay, North Devon, 2

Watermouth Bay, Devon, 22" x 15"

Perhaps a more unusual view for a painting of Watermouth Bay in North Devon, looking inland rather than out to sea.  There's a little narrow slip way here and I think a small lifeboat station and boat yard buildings.  The painting was based on one of my own photos - taken on quite a cloudy early summer day, so I had to imagine where the shadows might be if the sun was out.

 

Yachts Gathering, Bristol Harbour Festival

Bristol Harbour, 22" x 15"

One of my accepted entries to the Bristol Harbourside Art Prize.  A row of up market yachts at the Bristol Harbour Festival with the Arnolfini Art Gallery behind.  I can remember doing the painting on a warm summer's evening and the tricky bit was to get the hull washes not to dry too quickly and have them merge in with their reflections.  I only just made it and had to work pretty fast.  I try to avoid having to re-wet paper to get that merging effect.  The reflections were done with a medium sized mob brush, with a nice point.

The exhibition is currently open in Bristol at the Harbourside Art Gallery.

 

St Tropez Harbour - Boats Moored Up

St Tropez, 22" x 15".

A larger half imperial painting of a similar scene I did a while back.  This picture is currently being exhibited at my local art society exhibition at Yate Heritage Centre together with other members' works.  I can remember trying to resist putting too much detail on the right hand side - loads of boats there and fiddly details to avoid.  It was a very dark and gloomy day, but warmed up with the red tones of the buildings.

 

Watermouth Bay, North Devon

Watercolour of Watermouth Bay, North Devon, on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.

The tide's out a Watermouth Bay, over to the right, and the local lifeboat is left stranded for a while.  Quite a simple composition - I drew in the lifeboat, then added figure plus doggy to even things up a bit on the left.  Distant yachts were almost 'diamond' in shape.  First paint around their tops with the background hills then the ground around their hulls, and a darker belly.  Also the foreground was had some bits left out which then became either rocks or little pools offering some reflections.

 

Penberth Cove Cornwall

Watercolour of Penberth, Cornwall, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.

Penberth is a little cove/old fishing village in deepest Cornwall.  Apologies to local residents - I don't think dogs are allowed now in Penberth Cove, so Mr 'fatman' and his dog are only making a 'virtual' appearance in this painting.  I went quite dark with the boat shadows - a bit of neutral tint with ultramarine blue or alizarin crimson.  Bits of the foreground left unpainted, soon became rocks helped with a bit of a shadow next to them.