Landscape Watercolour of Mykonos, Greece, 15" x 11"
Mykonos, a small Greek Island and part of the Cyclades group. It's a very popular tourist destination I suppose because it's not too commercialised and has the iconic Aegean scenery of pretty villages and white washed houses. My sketch is of the New Port, a few miles away from the main Mykonos town and an early part of the morning when the air is still.
Landscape Watercolour of Cadeques, Spain, 15" x 11"
Another sketch of Cadeques and the Eastern side of this pretty bay. There were two key things I wanted to achieve with this painting: 1) Try to get a warm glow on the central buildings, closest to the light. This was done with a little yellow ochre dropped into the initial wash, and 2) the sparkle of the sunlight on the sea with some patches of white paper left and a few drops of gouache.
Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 11" x 15"
A short stretch of inland waterway in Bristol called 'Welsh Back'. This old part of Bristol is a popular place for Bars and restaurants, including part of my subject here (on the left), a boat called the 'Apple' and of course it's main theme is a range of local ciders, one of which is over 8% alcohol. Not to be drunk before any serious painting.
Landscape Watercolour of Fuengirola, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
Fuengirola port is a hive of activity all year round and it offers a full range of facilities to the public. It is also a very popular area for outdoor café culture and has excellent terrace restaurants incorporating bars offering an interesting night life. The port is currently a high priority topic with local authorities who plan to turn it into the largest port of its kind in Europe in the not-too-distant future.
The port is split into two distinct areas; one is the traditional fishing port where local fishermen bring in fresh fish every day for the local market. It is very interesting to take an early morning or late afternoon stroll alongside the working fishing boats to see the morning catch or watch the fishermen mending their nets by hand. On the distant horizon at night, they can also be spotted, fishing by floodlight till dawn.
Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough paper 140 lbs
Another sketch of the Waterfront area of Bristol near the centre of the city, and a near dusk scene. The picture I felt needed some interest with the background lights coming from the Bars, and their reflections done in parts with a little body paint.
Landscape Watercolour of Lynmouth, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
A view looking at the North Devon seaside town of Lynmouth looking towards the high coastal cliffs which form the edge of Exmoor. The Rhenish tower on the quayside was destroyed by the terrible floods of 1952 which swept down through the town. The tower has the resemblance of something medieval and the design originates from buildings on the Rhine.
Landscape Watercolour of Brixham, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
The harbour, looking towards Brixham town and one of the old restored double masted sailing boats which take part in the annual festivals here in Devon. I suppose the composition is fairly simple. An initial wash went over the top half of the picture, then the lower half, getting darker towards the bottom. While the sea wash was moist, thicker, darker pigment was dragged over to form the waves and foreground interest. When the top half was dry, I continued with the background town buildings, again kept simple and just indicating some roof tops and lighter patches. Last stage was the boats, boat reflections and then the masts.
Landscape Watercolour of Bristol, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
A subject closer to my home and the Bristol waterfront area. This was once about 30 years ago, more like an inner city dockland area - somewhere you would definitely avoid at night. Now it's been very well developed with waterfront apartment blocks and many bars and restaurants, popular at nights and weekends. This painting was based on a photo taken after the annual harbour festival when the whole area takes on the feel of a marina with all different sizes of boats and yachts. I suppose the main challenge of the subject was to simplify it with the many lines and background detail that was there.
Landscape Watercolour of Weston Super Mare, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
Another painting of the harbour in this North Somerset town and a favourite UK resort well known for it's low tide which reveals miles of beach (sadly mostly tidal mud towards the sea). Two local ferries that operate in the Bristol Channel, the Westward Ho Ferry and the smaller Bristol Queen, are moored up here. In the distance is the town centre behind brightly lit hotels on the seafront.
Landscape Watercolour of Lanzarote, 15" x 11" on Saunders Waterford Rough Paper 140 lbs
A scene of the long promenade running along the coast of the capital 'town/city' of Arrecife, and here, just by the marina, it's constructed of wooden boards, aged and worn by probably the foot traffic and winds off the sea. The pyramid roof on the right is a popular bar frequented mainly by the locals.
