Wadebridge, England, 15" x 11".
Wadebridge in Cornwall, England. Perhaps a tricky composition with the road sign and tree almost splitting the picture making two separate elements. So I thought maybe the shadow from the tree will help connect the two halves. The road signs were the last things I did on this painting - I had painted around them, then at the end just put in a light wash of whatever was left in my palette. White writing on the sign was done with white gouache.
Faro, Portugal, 15" x 11".
The corner of 'O Seu Cafe' in central Faro, Portugal. The road surface here are 'polished' cobble stones - impossible to paint every individual stone in a loose style, so instead I plump for a very light area up against very dark areas, smudging out patches with a dry paper towel to add a bit of interest to the surface. The left hand side of the painting was left deliberately vague with that white van almost disappearing into the shadows.
Chania, Crete, 15" x 11".
A small quayside in the corner of the new harbour in Chania, Crete. Spherical shaped conifer trees with old gnarled tree trunks line the street behind. The conifers had very 'soft' edges against the background buildings, so it was a bit tricky to decide how to handle them - in the end, I did the trees first, then while the tops were still damp, I went in with the darker tones of the buildings, and they merged to get that softer feel. As in most things in watercolour - timing is important to get different effects.
Old Sodbury, Cotswolds, 15" x 11".
A variation on a previous painting I had done a couple of years ago. With not having had much snow in the UK over the last few winters it's difficult to muster enough reference photos, so this scene here was totally fictitious but hopefully captures a quiet country lane in the Cotswolds in the middle of winter. My usual 'fat man and dog' are making themselves the focal point.
The Plough Inn, Charfield, 15" x 11".
Probably some of the cheapest beers you'll get in this part of the UK and good pub grub as well. While I was waiting for my food I took a quick reference photo on my phone as a basis for the composition. I changed a few things - e.g. the side extension roof tiles were blue-grey. I changed to a sort of warm terracotta to hopefully look a bit more appropriate against the cooler tone of the pub wall. Added a car and couple of figures as a focal point. Also I missed out a bright red parasol in the front pub garden as I don't think it added anything. Dangerous place to take a photo - nearly got run over by a speeding lorry when I was'nt looking.
Watercolour of Keynsham, Bristol, 22" x 15" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300 gms.
My second plein air painting, on a recent outing with local artist Jem Bowden. The afternoon brought out some much needed sunshine. Here's a view of the other side of the Lock Keepers Inn. During the painting a couple of boats came through the lock, so I had to remember the original water level of course. The sky had a pretty loose treatment. Washes dried fairly quickly, being outside, so there was no hanging about and the whole thing was done in an hour or so, despite the boat distractions.
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.
Watercolour of Yate, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough 300gms
Well this was a bit of an experiment plus a challenge. The experiment was trying to capture the tree, on the right hand side of this large pub, with all it's spring blossom, and I had to use the splatter technique as a later stage, and shield parts of the painting where the white gouache was'nt allowed to go. The next challenge was painting with the light behind and trying to get some contrast in there - luckily there was some in the tall cedar trees.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 22" x 15".
A Winter scene of the path leading to Brook Street in Chipping Sodbury, with the town Church tower in the background (the tower was moved to a more central position than it really is, to help the composition). There's a row of cottages here who have a nice view over the park to the right. On the path I introduced some lighter areas depicting puddles and an easy way of getting some reflections in. Trees top left were done in a 'random' fashion with a mop brush and fairly thick paint.
Landscape Watercolour of Chipping Sodbury, 15" x 11".
Another painting of the crest of Bowling Hill in Chipping Sodbury and looking towards the town of Yate in the distance. It's only a small little hill before you get to the town, but I've been able to stretch 4 paintings out of it so far. There's so many angles I could choose and the lovely row of cottages on the right are a nice right hand border to the composition. Trees and bushes were done with an old mop brush, not too large and dryish paint on a dry background.
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