Yet another tutorial from my day job.

Another tutorial from my day job.

Watercolour tutorial...architecture.

Watercolour Tutorial, from my day job.

Need to use Bigger Brushes.

Ok this is a cropped version of painting below, zooming into the central area, looks a lot better with bigger brushes.

Winter Tenby , Mixed Media 16"by11"

Again this was done with the same working method as below...the essentials that attracted me to this scene were:
1. The dark foreground foil.
2. The soft graduated tone of the beach
3. the typically winter colours of the sunlit landscape.
4.The marvellously dark grey clouds
Theres something really poignant about a winter sunlit landscape...like its a pathetic attempt at reverie....bit like that feeling I used to get as a teenager on a Sunday afternoon when I knew I hadn't done my maths homework for Monday.......

Down to the Beach, Tenby, Mixed media approx 11" by 11".

Liked the shape this ramp made as it slithered down the hillside, its also kind of significant for a lot of people I know, as kids and adults we have walked down in anticipation of the "beach" my kids have walked down this ramp too...kind of a gateway to a special land..of icecream...surf....sand...where the normal rules of life are dispensed with..its ok to waste time and do nothing...you all lie on the beach with virtually nothing on, and wade into the freezing sea like its the most normal thing........if you tried introducing it anew today it would rightly be banned...

Tenby Sunday Afternoon. Mixed media approx 11" by 14"

Saw this scene after a good lunch and a good pint....in a haze of Sunday afternoon bonhomie towards the world.

Early Sunday Morning Aberystwyth. Mixed media Approx 14" by 11"

This painting eventually landed roughly where I wanted it to, but took the scenic route, I took a video of the painting process which I hope to post shortly.
Plan was basically:
 1. High contrast foreground area of surf.
2.Rest of painting muted greys, but getting the colour of the sea correct.
3. Seaside promenade buildings on left to be a froth of hinted detail.
These points are what attracted me to the scene in the first place, I tried to convey them in an immediate and simple way.

Clean Winter Sunshine Tenby approx 11" by 14" Mixed media.

This is the start of a few paaintings with a NEW working method...how many times have I said that before...basically it involves:
1.taking a photo of a scene that really strikes me...
2.then taking a video of same scene with a narration describing the main 2 or 3 elements that attract me to the scene.
3.In the studio I then paint a "foundation" of watercolour, with tones and colours as accurate as I can.....
4.then to freely apply thick acrylic , I use as large brushes that I can, to try and get something of the freshness of what attracted me to the scene in the first place.

This seemingly convoluted method of getting back to the essence of the landscape, is bourne out of dissatisfaction for Plein Air painting, which can deteriorate into 3 hour numbing exercise....the light/weather/mood changes and the painting can sometimes get  diffused.
Just plain photos of the scene often look pretty uninspiring when printed in the studio.