Preparing to Dance, watercolour

Two Dancers, watercolour

I like to catch the in-between moments in my paintings of dancers, rather than when they are on stage, for the relaxed and every day atmosphere they convey.

This time I chose a colour scheme based on green and red, which are complementary on the colour wheel. I made a preparatory pencil drawing of the same size as the painting to sort out the proportions and then traced it onto the watercolour paper.

I had to redo the painting, though, as I got the shape of one leg wrong when tracing and noticed it too late. Will have to make  a note to self to be much more careful when tracing that the paper does not move...

Pencil drawing of dancers

Putting out the flags for the Queen's 90th birthday

Two weeks ago I was back in London on yet another rainy day, but the streets were brightened up considerably by all those Union Jacks flying in honour of the Queen's upcoming birthday celebrations.

This is near the BBC (Langham Place), where my husband and me had lunch sitting in the window of a Pizza Express. We saw the newsreader Huw Edwards walk by to pick up some lunch, but I was too slow to take a picture both on his way out and on his return! He's probably quite glad about that.

Painting an Overcast Scene

The British climate certainly provides ample opportunities for painting this type of weather. In the past I might have avoided painting a scene in dull light and waited for the sun to return but I am now challenging myself by exploring this weather condition.

The danger is that the tones are all too close to each other and not providing enough variety in the painting. I tried to counteract this by playing up the colour in places to add interest.

Great Russell St., watercolour

Painting Urban Life

This is a view from Trafalgar Square towards Westminster. I really liked the contrast of the dark statue (of Charles I, incidentally) and the light coloured plinth it stands on. My main aim was to simplify all the architectural detail and record the busy street life, using heightened colour.

View towards Westminster, watercolour

Ballet Dancer adjusting her Shoe

Artists have always enjoyed painting dancers for the beauty and elegant lines they create. One of the most famous painters of dancers is, of course, Degas, who sketched and drew them in pastel countless times.

He is my inspiration in visiting the subject over and again. What holds my attention is the subtle changes of direction in the line of arms and legs and how to express that in watercolour.

I prepared for this watercolour painting by making a line drawing in pencil first to familiarise myself with the pose.

ballet dancer adjusting her shoe, watercolour

St Helen's Church, Wheathampstead, watercolour

This is another painting inspired by my visit to Wheathampstead. I really liked this church; its spire is quite unusual for our region of England but I saw a few more like it when traveling across Northern France, so assume it must be Norman in influence. 

St Helen's Church watercolour

Reflections

A few weekends ago, I visited Wheathampstead to walk on its heritage trail. It was my first visit to this beautiful village. I took a few pictures and look forward to painting a few more watercolours from them. What made me want to paint this subject were the strong contre jour effect and the reflections in the water.

I wasn't looking for a faithful representation of the subject but for a colourful impression

to reflect my mood on the day.

Reflections, watercolour