Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Umbrella Pine Trees, Cagliari, Sardinia

Cagliari, Sardinia, 15" x 11"

I love trying to get the form of trees.  They all have their own character and shape.  Here are some Umbrella Pines (or Pinus pinea for the arborists out there) or parasol pines as they are called in France.  Very characteristic tree with a spherical crown flattened at the top and a strong, straight or leaning trunk, creating a lovely parasol shape.  So a scene of bright sunlight, the intense green of some healthy pines (they can get a bit grey and thin if drought stressed), terracotta buildings and blue sky.  Oh, and a couple of figures thrown in.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

 

Slipway Watermouth Bay North Devon

Watermouth, North Devon, 15" x 11"

A composition based on this sheltered bay in North Devon.  The slipway here at low tide is a long way from the water's edge.  Just to the right of it is a small building - not sure if it is the harbour master or something to do with the lifeboat station.   My reference photo was taken on a very overcast, but bright day, and I imagined it here being sunny with the late afternoon sun coming from the South West.  I introduced a figure to balance the boat on the left.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

Palette and Piano at the Bristol Savages, May 2018

Watercolour, 22" x 15"

Once a year at my painting group, the Bristol Savages, we organise a "Palette and Piano" event.  So the format is 3 artists paired with 3 pianists and over 20 minutes the artist paints with some matching music.  I was very lucky to be playing along with the great Allan Schiller.  I chose the subject and went for a snow scene - a figure with dog walking in the snow and leaving some footprints.  So 20 minutes to do a painting and watched by 90 guests!  - No pressure then!

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

 

Shady side of the street, Cala de Mijas, Spain

Cala de Mijas, Spain, 15" x 11"

Maybe a midday scene this one and off season, so quite streets and just a solitary figure out in the sun.  I normally like to have figures going into or out of the shadows rather than having then in isolation and also rarely paint with the sun behind me as in this one.  So I decided to go in heavy with the shade on the left to balance the brightness on the right.  A bit of wet on wet with the soft edges on the buildings on the right and the skyline.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

 

Plaza de la Constitución, Mijas

Mijas, Spain, 15" x 11"

The Plaza de la Constitución in Mijas - a spacious square in amongst the narrow streets of this pretty hillside town on the Costa del Sol.  Done with my 3-colour palette and quite a simple composition with the corner of the square, looking into the sunlight and the palm tree almost mirror-imaged in its own shadow.   The major fronds point towards the figures in the street.  Very loose detailing of the windows on the buildings.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms.

 

Across the field to the forest

Watercolour 15" x 11"

Another rural scene leading on from my last posting.  I am trying to perfect the look of tall pine trees.  They seem to loose their lower branches, save for a few stubs, and then gain more of a lollipop look about them.  Here the forest is mixed in with some deciduous species and the foreground is winter grass.  Good to do a bit of scraping to get the grassy look, which I don't normally do.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press Paper, 300 gms.

 

End of the Lane

Watercolour, 15" x 11"

I am trying to do some very rural scenes now and again - try and get away from the normal street scene, bright sunlight sort of thing.  So just picking an ordinary country lane, trees in the background.  The time of the year would be I think mid winter - still a few russet leaves on the oak trees and some fallen debris on the ground.  But I had to have a little sunlight coming into the scene.

Painted on Saunders Waterford Cold Press, 300 gms

 

Bristol Savages Sketch Night - "The joys of the open road"

Watercolour, 15" x 11"

Bristol Savages sketch night and the topic for the evening was "the joys of the open road".  So we have 2 hours to produce a painting and no access to any reference material (e.g. do a google search on your mobile!!).  Always a challenge and always enjoyable.  Most of the artists came up with a similar theme - a windy country road, a vista and some figures...

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms.

 

Bristol Savages Sketch Night - "Nothing new under the Sun"

Watercolour, 15" x 11"

Bristol Savages Wednesday night sketch night and the topic from the Chairman was "Nothing new under the Sun".  So we then have 2 hours to come up with a painting without recourse to reference material.  I took a typical French countryside view - a chateau, a few pencil-thin Italian Cypress Trees and some deep shadows across the scene.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press, 300 gms

 

Red roof, Chania fishing port, Crete

Chania, Crete, 15" x 11"

Tricky part with this painting was getting the trees right - their edges against the background and the softness of their colour.  I let watercolour do what it does best - with combining wet washes a nice combination of colours appear and interesting bleeding patterns - just were I want them in the tree canopy.

Painted on Saunders Waterford, Cold Press Paper, 300 gms