Watercolour
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Chion-in (知恩院)
I find it rather odd that the less paint I put on the paper the more effort it takes me to do so. I have long admired those who can seemingly capture the essence of a scene with just a few broad and (apparently) lazy brush strokes, rather than getting caught up as I often…
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Limes
I have become quite partial to limes of late, so a lime being cut open on a chopping board is quite a common sight in our kitchen these days. I was quite keen to paint a lime that looked as if it had the taste I crave from the fruit. In all honesty I think…
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An Audience
As I spend more time wrestling with my watercolour paints, I have realised that as well as applying ever more colour to the paper it is also possible to remove paint from the surface to lighten an area. This scene was created to experiment with ways of removing paint from certain places to create the…
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Tropical Beach
Loosely based on a photo taken on Mirissa Beach in Sri Lanka, here is another experiment using watercolours and quite a lot of water. Once again my first attempt was too wet, meaning that the background trees grew enormous as they spread over most of the sky! This second version was closer to damp rather…
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Wet Flowers
Having been advised to try watercolour paints on posh proper cotton watercolour paper, I decided to have another go at the “wet on wet” approach, where the paper is dampened before the paint is applied. It turns out that the amount of water is quite critical! My first go at what I thought would be…
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Two Doors
These doors don’t really exist. This image popped into my head whilst I was making a rather obvious choice between two alternatives. Now I suppose that contrasting a welcoming light beyond an open door with a locked door guarding an apparently dark room is a rather hackneyed image, but it summed up my thoughts at…
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Sunset at Galle
Sooner or later I am sure that my watercolour paints will do exactly what I want them to do, but in the meanwhile I have to be content if a watercolour painting bears even a passing resemblance to the image that I have in my head! This sunset is no exception – I was quite…
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Trichromatic Safari
Two things surprised me on a short safari that I took in Sri Lanks to see their native elephants* in the wild: The first was just how many other groups were chasing around the park looking for the same elephants that we were searching for – although I suppose that is just down to the…
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Tuk-tuk
The roads in Sri Lanka (as in many other countries) seem to be full of these three-wheelers. If you are looking for a lift they are very useful – otherwise they are something to beware of, both for pedestrians and for larger vehicle drivers. The tuk-tuk in the foreground of this painting is driving along…
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Torii
The island of Naoshima, situated in the Seto Sea just off the mainland coast of Japan, is well known for its contemporary art exhibitions and installations. However, as far as I am aware this torii gate which we saw on that island is not a piece of art, but in fact a real torii gate…
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Plaça Nova
Despite the name. Plaça Nova (New Square) is rather old, as are several of the buildings around it. However, this view is looking resolutely the other way at the newer buildings, in particular the building of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, which sports a large Catalonian themed frieze designed by Picasso (which I have rather…
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Walled Garden
A walled garden is usually a haven of peace, and often contains a variety of colours and textures to entertain the eyes. I think I have captured a bit of each of these aspects here, but I am sure that more could have been done. The choice of watercolour as a medium helps with the…
