Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Latest watercolour demo video - all about connecting areas of your painting

My latest watercolour demo video - all about connecting areas of the composition....

 

 

Bristol Savages sketch night - "a good prospect"

Watercolour, 15" x 11"

Bristol Savages, Wednesday night sketch and the topic for the evening - "a good prospect".  So I interpreted this as a god view, here over rolling hills and maybe a location like the UK, Ireland or perhaps France.  There were two main stages to doing the painting.  First step was the initial wash, very weak at first and the stronger greens at the foreground.  Then, almost a second wash starting from the top, defining the far trees, hedgerows, shadows and painting around the houses.  Smoke was added as a last stage with mainly white paint with a hint of cobalt blue.

 

Old stone wall, Marshfield, England

Marshfield, South Glos, UK, 15" x 11".

The capped top of an old stone wall in the village of Marshfield near to where I live was the focus of this one.  Lots of different lichens and mosses growing over it and the little pig enclosure along side it could also have been another focus.  I had the grass on the right side of the wall, join with the parked car for a bit of continuity.  While the shadows were still damp they had some splattering treatment.

 

Weir Lane, Marshfield

Marshfield, England, 22" x 15".

A plein air painting from a sketching trip last year.  The scene is of a lane leading up to a farm behind the village, with some old barns to one side.  I introduced a few strategic puddles to get some reflections in.  Also when I was doing the first was of the lane, I left out little areas which easily became stones once a shadow was added.  Trees were done with an old mop brush in a fairly loose fashion.  The dark yew tree left of centre was done with thinker pigment and upward strokes to give the appearance of the way they grow.

 

Rivermead Farm near Saltford, Bath

Saltford, Bath, 22" x 15".

A plein air painting of 'Rivermead Farm' near the banks of the River Avon near Bath.  A nice peaceful place to paint outdoors with no distractions (It's on a short road that ends at the river and a small boatyard).  Apart from that, what attracted me to this scene is the light and the diagonal shadows.  Maybe I could have put in some chickens to make it more farm-like.  The trees were painted in quite loosely with the right hand one being allowed to bleed and drip.

 

Promenade des Bains, St Raphael France

Watercolour of St Raphael France, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms

A view looking through the trees and palm trees running along the coast at St Raphael and over to the other side of the bay.  A chance to run wild with the brush with all those leaves and branches.  Thinner branches and leaves were done with a 'dagger' brush.  Green was mixed with ultramarine blue and cad yellow.  Of course the darks and shadows on the ground went in last.

 

South Stoke near Bath on Fabriano Paper

Landscape Watercolour of South Stoke Bath, 15" x 11".

I mostly have used Bockingford and Saunders watercolour papers over the last few years but decided to try Fabriano's top of the range paper (well cotton I think) in the rough.  It had a stiffer feel compared to Saunders, and had a bit if a shiny surface too.  I think you get accustomed to certain papers, and for me this took a bit of getting used to.  It's a brighter surface and less absorbent I felt than Saunders.  Probably a little rougher than the equivalent Saunders as well.  It would probably be good if you like giving your paper a lot of abuse and rubbing out.  Nice paper, but would need quite a few sheets for me to get used to.

 

 

Farmyard, South Gloucestershire

Landscape Watercolour of South Gloucestershire, 15" x 11".

A farm near to where I live with some changes (apologies to the farmer).  The background hedge and trees on the left were painted with an old brush and fairly thick pigment.  Chickens are almost small triangles hovering above the ground, with a bit of shadow underneath them.

 

Barn at Iron Acton Farm, Bristol

Landscape Watercolour of Iron Acton nr bristol, 15" x 11"

A nearby farm I visit many times for it's great 'Farm Shop' selling fresh local produce.  It was after a recent visit, I was just reversing out the car park and had this view with the main barn centre and smaller buildings and lean to's hanging on the sides.  I made up the farmer (I don't think they have a dog - sorry).

 

Potato Fields, Lanzarote

Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs

A quick study of a typical potato field on the Island of Lanzarote.  Potatoes are one of the main crops on Lanzarote and they're a great local speciality tapas - Canarian Potatoes or wrinkly potatoes, served with spicy mojo sauce.  Because the whole island is a series of dormant volcanoes, lava rock is in plentiful supply as a crushed black mulch for the crops, keeping the moisture in, and a building material for the boundary walls around the fields.