Original Watercolours by Tim Wilmot

Sultan Suleiman Road, Jerusalem

Landscape Watercolour of Jerusalem, 15" x 11"

The wide Sultan Suleiman road leading west towards the Damascus Gate of the old city. Steps in this painting were, 1) wash of sky and foreground, then left to dry.  2) Castle shadows and background buildings, cutting around figure and cars.  Lastly 3) figures and shadows.  With the figures, I normally paint in the faces first, then any bare arms and legs.  Shadows for me would be the last stage.  I think maybe those 2 palms on the right could have been a touch lighter in tone.

 

Haria Lanzarote 2

Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11" 

The small town of Haria in northern Lanzarote, is in the centre of the Valley of the Palms - a wide green valley dotted with random Canary Island Date Palms, with extinct volcanoes around the perimeter.  A bit of dry brush strokes for the palm trunks is a quick way of understating them against the light.

 

Street Corner, Old Jerusalem

Landscape Watercolour of Jerusalem, 15" x 11"

A busy street corner in the old part of Jerusalem, just opposite the Damascus Gate.  There was a varied mixture of shops here, street vendors and even a Hotel in the middle.  What attracted me was the challenge of simplifying the scene (extracting many people and a few cars whizzing around the junction here), and I think the blinds with their stripes added a bit of interest.

 

San Bartolome Lanzarote 2

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

Even on a dull overcast day, it's still bright on Lanzarote, emphasised I guess by the white-washed buildings.  San Bartolome is almost in the centre of the island and has a nice square and church.  Very very quiet when I visited there.  I took the liberty of introducing a few more palm trees for my sketch than existed in reality, just to try and improve composition and interest.

 

Tajaste Lanzarote 3

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

A 'sleepy' little town in Northern Lanzarote, slightly off the beaten track.  The building on the right I think was a children's nursery with lots of paraphernalia out front in the playground, but I decided to simplify the scene and remove all that detail.  I had to include the obligatory Canary Island Date Palm and Dragon Tree for authenticity of the location.

 

Promenade in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, 3

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

The reflections in the first floor windows of this modernish shopping centre along the coastal road in Puerto del Carmen I think made for an interesting subject and just a hint of a palm tree reflection on the left side.  Just a few brush strokes for the line of trees on the right and dry brush strokes for the palm tree leaves are an easy effect to achieve.

 

Promenade in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, 2

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

Running for several miles along the seafront of Puerto del Carmen, the promenade whilst not entirely level is a great place for a leisurely walk and now has a cycle path.  This part of the island is unusually green with irrigated tropical gardens and lush date palms.  I was pleased with the foreground shadow of rather dry brushstrokes and resisted the temptation to do a bit of wet in wet where the timing and pigment thickness is everything.

Cadeques Spain 7

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

A sheltered corner of Cadeques with the afternoon sun streaming in to light a corner cafe.  This painting was finished quite quickly for me and I think it looked better for not being overlooked.  The foreground shadow I added as a later stage to bring a bit of balance and I believe it improved the composition.

 

Los Fariones Hotel, Puerto del Carmen

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

I thought this made a nice composition, the road you in, a few focal points around the pedestrian crossing and the contrast between the back of the Hotel and the sun hitting the road.  In hindsight, I probably could have made the back of the Hotel darker or the road in the middle distance lighter to make more of a contrast.

 

26 July Avenue, Alexandria

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

The Corniche (also known as 26 July Avenue) is the extremely bustling main road that runs along Alexandria’s coastline. Running along the Eastern Harbour it's one of the major corridors for traffic in Alexandria with cars, coaches, lorries and motorbikes sharing the roads with horse and carts.