Weston-Super-Mare, UK, Watercolour, 15" x 11"

Memories of a sunnier time at Weston and the back of the pier.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms.

#watercolour #StcMill #watercolorpainting

Staithes, North Yorkshire, Watercolour, 15" x 11"

A composition I have done before...but I just changed the direction of the boat.  For me, this sort of scene has everything.  A light value background kept really simple.  Then some middle ground interest with shadows to give form and depth.  And top it off with some reflections.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms.

#watercolour #StcMill #watercolorpainting

Sherston, Watercolour 15" x 11"

Second Plein Air painting on a summer trip to the pretty village of Sherston.  We don't often get hot days in the UK, but this was quite a warm day, you you had to work quick on the painting.  Luckily I found shady spot number 2, pitched in the shade of a large house looking up this street.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press 300 gms

Just to show what it's like painting outdoors in the UK in summer, here's my second effort in a town local to me, Malmesbury.  So a quieter spot this one and meant to be a study of the end of the church, some tomb stones and a tree casting shadow.  But as the painting progressed, a fine misty rain came down and spoiled the show...

Painted on Saunders Waterford, cold press 300 gms paper - not waterproof paper but damned good!

Corsham UK, 15" x 11".

A plein air painting whilst out with the Exiles painting group in the summer of 2017.  The bunting always seems to be out in Corsham.  From a composition point of view, a nice way to have something framing the top of the picture and connecting the left with the right.  This was a particularly sunny period just before the heavens opened (typical British Summer) and we all sheltered rapidly in the nearby coffee shop.

Painted on Saunders Waterford Cold Press Paper, 300 gms

Corsham, England, 15" x 22".

I don't often do churches as a main focal point, but it was a lovely peaceful spot for a bit of plein air painting until some maintenance workers started up their garden brushcutters.  I think one of the biggest challenges of painting plein air is loud noise.  I just can't concentrate too well.  Anyway, I managed to complete things before they got too close!  I tried to emphasise all the different angles of the grave stones.

So above was a photo kindly sent in by one of my subscriber friends (Thanks Tony!), and a question about how to handle a scene like this...  So I had a go and this is my effort...

As you can see, I...

1) Changed from landscape orientation to portrait, and moved the horizon up a notch or two

2) Moved the dominance of the central about away from the middle

3) Simplified the background - just think about shapes and not what they are

4) Reduced the number of boats

5) Concentrated on those reflections - they are the key part of the painting

Ross on Wye, England, 15" x 11".

The shortish High Street in the beautiful town of Ross-on-Wye.  My reference photo from a visit was taken on an overcast day, so I had to improvise with the shadow work.  It's quite a nice scene for getting in that really dark background in the middle and the introducing a figure and car to have some light and contrast against it.  The only delicate part of the painting was doing the Union flag in the centre (you can almost miss it).

Ross-on-Wye, England, 15" x 11".

A second attempt at this scene from a slightly different angle to get more of the lovely Market Hall in.  I wanted to try and replicate some of the warmth of the red bricks of the Market Hall in the shadows across the road.  As I did with my last one of this scene, I have some figures and cars emerging from the shadows and a connection with the foreground and background.

Ludlow, England, 15" x 11"

Another plein air from a recent trip to Ludlow.  I managed to position myself right on the side of the road and up against a market stall selling pies, so quite a busy spot.  But it did have a great view down the High Street to some lovely timber clad buildings down the end.  It was a very busy place to paint from but thankfully I did not get too many interruptions (apart from a near miss with the local bus)