Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Newquay Harbour 7, Cornwall

Watercolour of Newquay Harbour, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford paper, Rough 300gms.

The slipway on the harbour and Newquay town behind.  It's a popular location for shellfish.  The larger fishing boats are reached with small tender boats, stacked up here at the top of the slipway.  At low tide there's quite a large sandy beach here, round one side of the harbour just below the cliffs.  There was a fair bit of negative painting around the tops of the boats and figures which was a bit tricky.  Had to add the Cornish flag just to authenticate the scene.

 

Tenby Harbour, Pembrokeshire

Watercolour of Tenby, Wales, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms

A painting based on a reference photo used by a fellow watercolour painter who did a demo at our local society one evening recently (if you follow my drift).  Steps were 1) sky and continued was over whole painting - blueish at the top and a bit warmer down the bottom.  2) Background buildings and roofs were allowed to bleed into the walls.  Left a highlight of a thin broken line for the top of the harbour wall.  3)  Boats, growing darker towards the bottom, then the channel of water.  Darker pigment was dropped in to create soft reflections.  4)  Figures and masts (white gouache).

 

Dartmouth Inner Harbour, Devon, 5

Landscape Watercolour of Dartmouth, 15" x 11".

Another sketch of the 'Inner Harbour' in Dartmouth Devon, looking towards St Saviours Church tower and the row of Georgian houses at the back of this small square harbour.  As regards composition, we have a couple of foreground figures walking their dog into the centre (rather than away from the centre), behind that a group of small boats.  Getting a dark shadow across the top of the boats is probably an easy way of defining the tops of all those vessels quickly, rather than spending ages on little details.  The shadow towards the right was painted into a wet wash to give a softer look.

 

Don't drink and paint?

One night recently I had a few beers and for some unknown reason, decided to do a sketch late that evening.  Subject was the 'inner harbour' down in Dartmouth Devon, at high tide.

Landscape Watercolour of Dartmouth, 15" x 11".

So, against the light, the far buildings silhouetted, and left background is the other side of the estuary.

The following morning, as an experiment, I attempted the same scene (this time without beer)

Landscape Watercolour of Dartmouth, 15" x 11".

I'm not sure which turned out 'better'.  Probably the brush work on the second and the figures were an improvement.  Water reflections I think on the first were better.

 

Inner Harbour at low tide, Dartmouth, Devon

Landscape Watercolour of Dartmouth Devon, 15" x 11".

The 'Inner' Harbour in Dartmouth, Devon.  I took a bit more time over this one with a) planning and b) initial drawing (mainly getting the boats right before painting).  It's low tide of course, and here you end up wth a sort of puddle in the middle.  Just right for a handy reflection of the far buildings and the buttresses of the entrance.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, 300gms Rough.

 

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Dartmouth Inner Harbour, Devon

Boat in Harbour

Watercolour of Boat for a Commission, 15" x 11".

A boat painted for a commission.  Man and dog are creeping into many of my paintings and not sure exactly why - I don't even own a dog.  It's nice now and again to paint a subject that somebody else has suggested and not have to rack your brains trying to come up with a suitable idea.  Sometimes I spend more time actually trying to think what to paint than actually doing the painting in the first place.  Maybe it's a good ratio anyway.

 

Dartmouth Inner Harbour, Devon

Landscape Watercolour of Dartmouth, 22" x 15".

The small Inner Harbour in the centre of Dartmouth, just next to the River dart and estuary.  Just on the quayside is the 'Railway Cafe' - a building that looks like it should be on a station platform somewhere, not here well away from any railway line.  This was painted during the winter months and places like dartmouth in the UK were experiencing really high tides, hence the water level being only a foot or so away from street level.

Painted on the usual Saunders Waterford Paper, 140lbs rough.

 

Boats along water's edge, Newquay Harbour

Landscape Watercolour of Newquay, 15" x 11".

Small fishing craft along the water's edge in Newquay Harbour.  Perhaps a bit of an abstract and moody one this for me with lots of complex horizontal shapes to contend with of the tops of the boats and the buildings behind, with the strong low light coming towards me.

 

Bristol Harbour

Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 22" x 15".

A scene of the internal waterways of central Bristol, with a couple of pleasure boats moored up.  Like a previous harbour shot featuring a jetty, I don't think having the jetty in front of the boats is as good as the jetty behind - spoils the reflections a bit.  Plus having reflections lighter than the water colour makes for some tricky 'negative' painting.

 

Puerto del Carmen Port 3

Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11".

These coastal cliffs rising above the harbour at Puerto del Carmen, have a lovely warm colour of the reddish brown lava rock and a nice contrast with the blue sea.  With hindsight, I think the jetty would have been better behind the fishing boats rather than in front, then I could make more of the reflections in the water.