Winchester, UK, Watercolor 15" x 11"

Vernazza, Italy, Watercolor 15" x 11"

A couple of paintings from a weekend workshop I ran in Bristol.  Two very different scenes that we all attempted - Winchester and Vernazza.  I think a good format for the workshops I run is that I normally complete 2 demos in the day.  Attendees paint along with me, as in, I first do my drawing, then attendees do their drawings of the same scene, I do the first wash and then attendees do the wash and so on.  It seems to work well.

Both painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

Southampton, England, 15" x 11".

Low tide at Bartley Water, an estuary leading into the Solent.  This was a drizzly winter's day - very gloomy and everything 'grey'.  So slightly out of my 'comfort zone' here not being able to do any darks.  There were two wet in west phases - the background and the reflections.  I actually did the reflections first, then painted in the background trees to match them.  A bit easier that way when your paper is at an angle and you don't know how far the reflections will travel.

Landscape Watercolour of Lymington, 15" x 11"

A pretty, Georgian market town, Lymington is situated on the southern edge of the New Forest, between Southampton and Bournemouth and at the western end of the Solent.  Apart from the placement of the buildings, I 'invented' the boat, car and people.  My source photo I took had little interest and the painting needed a little action.  The shadow on the left was very dark pigment and some water dropped in to make it less boring hopefully.  I also simplified the background - there was far too much detail of windows and structures on the buildings.

Landscape Watercolour, Bucklers Hard Boat Yard, 15" x 11" on Bockingford paper 140 lbs

Bucklers Hard Boat Yard (try saying that, quickly!) on the banks of the very pretty River Beaulieu which flows into the Solent a few miles away. This boat yard has a famous heritage, building many wooden warships in the 18th and 19th centuries. I'm pleased with the composition on this and resisted the temptation to overwork the blue boat hoist.

Original Watercolour 15" x 11"

For some Lyndhurst is just a thoroughfare for the journey to Southampton, but if those people driving through stopped in the village they would discover just how much it has to offer.
Lyndhurst has been the "Capital" of the Forest area since William the Conqueror established the area as a royal hunting ground in 1079, and has been visited by Kings and Queens throughout the centuries who came to stay at the Royal Manor.