Landscape Watercolour, Alexandria Egypt, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs
An archway very close to the old Citadel in Alexandria and a glimpse through to the bay beyond. I am sure this archway had some great significance - there were two large plaques either side of the entrance with arabic script on them, and a guard sat on a blue plastic chair with his worry beads.
Landscape Watercolour, Alexandria, Egypt, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs.
Another street market view in the central area of Alexandria fairly close to the port. Yes the parasol covers are really low in places, and maybe they all started off life in different colours but the strong sun has bleached them all to a neutral shade. And just above the parasol level are a spaghetti like conglomeration of wires going backwards and forwards between the buildings.
Landscape Watercolour of Alexandria, Egypt, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs
White Minibuses (well they start off white) are abundant in any Egyptian town or city and I am sure can be a challenge to any visitor wanting to chance their luck with on a trip: They don't seem to have any signs about where they are going and the locals just seem to flag them down to get on board. Plus the pace of traffic in Alexandria when it's flowing can be almost like a dodgem fairground ride. Beware.
Landscape Watercolour, Alexandria, 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper 140 lbs
Another Alexandria street scene and I think there's loads more to come as I took many photos on my visit. They lend themselves so well to watercolour with the lights and the darks. This was quite a busy scene and working to a quarter sheet which is my norm, you have to decide what to leave out and it came down to missing cars and people - so imagine many more of both. I've left in the trademark yellow-topped taxis and ladies in traditional dress.
Landscape Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford Rough Paper
View South along the bay in Alexandria. I am constantly experimenting with the rendering of palm tree leaves (of the Date palm variety). The main trunks are normally an easy choice - one thickish dry brush stroke and a bit darker at the top or bottom. But then the leaves, I flip between doing them with a rigger brush, or a sword brush or even a smaller pointed mop. This time I elected for dry brush strokes on the foreground tree and ditto for the shadows. Must try not to put on too many leaves else it looks over worked or false and aim not to make it too symmetrical.
Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 300 gms
My last painting of narrow Alexandrian streets for a bit and I tried to be a bit more adventurous with the initial wash and a bit of Alizarin Crimson on the right hand side to make the sense of darkness of the street yet still a bit of warmth. Anyway hope I got the feeling of the heat of the place and the dusty ground.
Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT paper 300 gms
The many street markets in Alexandria have agreat buzz about them with many different products on offer - all the normal mediterranean veg, herbs & spices, and plenty of fish and shellfish. The nice thing is that unless you're in a tourist area you won't get the high pressure sales from the vendors if you approach too close. But it's about as far from the aisles of Tescos as you can imagine. I went a bit looser with this painting which I think turned out okay to catch the essence of the scene.
Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 300 gms
In the myriad of streets around the port area of Alexandria, it's easy to get lost or disorientated. Stumbling on a view of a main road or the sea front allows you to get your bearings again. The area has many different types of architecture - the old juxtaposed with the new. In this scene I was struck by the earthy coloured old building with it's old turquoise shutters in the centre of a market area and a newer 70's style office block behind, looking completely out of place. Numerous old parasols cover and shade market produce up the sunny side of the street.
Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 300 gms
I might have given a bit too much space to the beat up old red car in the composition here, but hopefully with the glimmer on the bonnet it adds to the impression of the strong sunlight. The street vendor on the right was selling shiny fresh green peppers - it must be tough to try to make a living out of selling just one type of veg! I can remember his parasol had seen better days.
Watercolour 15" x 11" on Bockingford NOT Paper 300 gms
Continuing my series of streets in Alexandria (more to come from my reference photos) and may be went a bit looser on this one which I prefer. Tried to capture the feeling of the heat of the day and that the place needs a massive makeover with all the unfinished tower blocks with multiple floors just being a shell.
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