Along the River

This is the third painting in my Autumn Walk series. I chose Bockingford hot pressed paper, mainly to use up the block because it is not my favourite paper. Over time, I have found that rough watercolour paper suits me better. I feel the colours tend to be greyer on this paper than on
Saunders Waterford, which is my preferred surface.

Along the River, watercolour 31cmx41cm

Autumn Colours

Last Sunday saw the local rowing club out on the river; there were several boats with beginners rowing along and every so often listening to the cox's instructions. I loved their bright clothing and the reflections they created in the water.

Autumn Colours, watercolour

Autumn walk

After a dreary Saturday, we had wonderful sunny weather this Remembrance Sunday, which was the perfect opportunity to go for a walk in the landscape. I enjoyed seeing the dappled light through the trees and the sun reflecting from the water.

This is my first painting from the photos I took. I used my large Jacksons squirrel brush almost throughout the painting, as the calligraphic marks seemed to suit the subject well and gave it an unforced feel. I am sure I will explore this theme further in the next few weeks.

Autumn Walk, watercolour

Ballet Dancer

Ballet dancers are a recurring theme of mine, as they create such gorgeous shapes. I again used Ken Bromley's Teal blue as my main blue colour; I like the greyish tones it creates with permanent alizarin red.

Ballerina watercolour, 30cmx40cm

Ballet Practice, Watercolour

Watercolour, 30cmx40cm

I wanted to paint this scene because of the the reflections, which gives two different aspects of the dancers. I invented a lot of the background to add interest to the composition.

This is in fact the second painting of the subject, as I hadn't done a tonal study first to sort out the lights and darks and ended up with an unsatisfactory first attempt. I then decided to do almost a reverse in the lights and darks to the first painting and am happier with the result.

Les gorges de la Jogne

I have a quite a large number of blues in my watercolour palette; cobalt, my mainstay, cerulean and ultramarine, all from Jacksons. Recently I bought Teal Blue from Ken Bromley and used it as my main dark blue in this painting. I like it; it leans more towards green in hue and makes a lovely range of light to dark blues.

Les gorges de la Jogne, watercolour

This is another watercolour based on my visit to the Gruyere region. The walk through this beautiful gorge is not too strenuous and provides wonderful views.

Mountain Landscape

This is another watercolour of Gruyere; my main interest in painting it was the hazy mountain range behind the little village on the hill. I loved their hazy blues.

Chateau Gruyere, watercolour