Funchal, Madeira, 15" x 11".

A view up the Rua Brigadeiro Oudinot in Funchal and the mountains to the North often shrouded in low lying clouds.  As you can see, I had a bit of fun with some splattering.  It needed it.  What pedestrian crossing is in pristine condition unless it's just been painted.  A bit of a challenge with the row of white municipal buildings on the left - very monotone, so I had done a pre-wash if you like of some colours I already had in my palette, just to make it less white.

Watercolour of Albifeira, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.

A quiet street leading down to Albufeira Old Town.  Here, I have tried to give a sense of warmth with a predominant yellow ochre wash, almost down the whole painting, and a fiery bougainvillea flowering at the entrance t the car park.  When the first wash was bone dry, I then painted the building shadows with mostly cobalt blue and a touch of burnt sienna and yellow ochre again.  The very dark shadows and windows were mainly neutral tint with ultramarine blue.

Watercolour of Olhao, Algarve, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms

A fairly quick sketch and looser style painting of a quiet back street in Olhao on the Algarve.  There's a fair degree of contrast here between the light shining on the shop blinds and the darker shadows on the right.  Neutral tint was added to ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson to get that dark tone, and a weaker mix as I went left into the light, with some added cobalt blue.

Portrait of an unknown youth, 11" x 15"

Well this is supposed to be a blog about watercolour landscapes but I recently succumbed to doing a portrait as a bit of a change. It must have been at least 30 years since I did my last watercolour portrait and it'll probably be many years before I attempt another.  One thing for sure, I find they take twice as long as a landscape, and always the temptation is to capture the likeness of the subject.

Saunders Waterford Rough Paper, 140 lbs.