Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11"
The rear entrance to Ridgewood Community Centre in Chipping Sodbury, home to my local art club up there on the first floor. Not an obvious choice maybe for a sketch, being a fairly ordinary building with an older part of the left and the newer bit on the right. I took the liberty of reducing the height of the building in order to accommodate the larger foreground car park (sorry Ridgewood).
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11"
A traditional fruit and veg shop on Chipping Sodbury High Street. A few washes went into the background buildings and a good bit of yellow ochre for the shop in the middle. I deliberately made the roof lines sag in the middle to hopefully emphasize the age of the structures.
Painted on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
A painting completed in my local Art Society evening and a scene local to me. Sharing the picture with my fellow artists and locals, they would quickly point out what the buildings in the scene were thirty, forty years ago. Sadly yesterday's high street of local shops, butchers etc. are now replaced by charity shops and coffee houses.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
Brook Street in Chipping Sodbury, a small market town in South Gloucestershire. Not really a street but more of a lane in probably one of the prettiest parts of Chipping Sodbury and being situated back from the High Street, rarely visited except by the locals.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
The old market town of Chipping Sodbury and the town hall at it's centre is a popular venue for weddings, exhibitions, music festivals and private parties. It's a lovely old building dating back to 1452, and over the centuries has also been used as a school and for council meetings. It's Victorian Gothic facade was added in the mid 19th century.
Landscape Watercolour of Cheltenham, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
The Montpellier area of Cheltenham characterised by 19th century attractive villas and terraces, backing onto the surrounding spacious Montpellier Gardens - a lovely open space near the centre of the city. The area now has a very much continental flavour, with its café culture, chic bars, bistros and outdoor seating areas in the Summer months.
Landscape Watercolour of the Cotswolds, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
An imaginary scene of a Cotswold Valley, practicing the JZ technique of the sense of space, the distance and a landscape that may go on for ever and ever. The steps were initial wash laid down from top to bottom, increasing the values as you get to the bottom. Then after drying, a second wash goes in starting with clear water at the top, changing to a light blue for the horizon and again as you come down, increasing the values and forming trees, hedges and going around the houses. Last steps were the foreground branches and smoke from the chimneys.
Landscape Watercolour of South Glos, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
An anonymous country road to Old Sodbury, a little village near me. I don't often do winter scenes and often prefer to do paintings of a summer location with bright light and lots of shadow. But it's interesting how with a snowy scene it's not just all white, but on closer observation many other colours appear - yellows, blues, violets and so on and provide contrasts of their own with the trees and branches.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 140 lbs
Painted at my local Art Club, one evening and based on a reference photo, this is the iconic landmark building in the old market town of Chipping Sodbury and bares many similarities with clock towers in other nearby towns in the Cotswolds. It's now the Tourist Office (and staffed by very helpful people), bus shelter, loo and meeting pint for many local events. A very useful multi-purpose building indeed.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs
The bottom of the High Street and the War Memorial on a small roundabout used most of the time as an easy way of turning around and going back up the street, but this time of year (early November) a point of remembrance of all those who gave up their lives in two World Wars and other conflicts.
Painting with the light behind you is quite difficult I think in watercolour (probably easier with oil) - few shadows to define shapes, and little contrasts of tone. Anyway I gave it my best shot.
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