Two Turkeys

Two Turkeys, watercolour

These turkeys live in a little wildlife park in Switzerland (Heitern, Zofingen). I think this is the first time I have seen these animals that close in real life. Their colours were quite vivid, especially the reds and purples of their heads and the deep darks of their bodies. I simplified the setting a lot to make the birds stand out.

Dancers, watercolour

Waiting, watercolour 30cm x 40cm

For this painting, I aimed for a more 'sketchy' feel, so decided to cut the number of washes down to the essentials. Initially, I wanted to leave the background white but this looked a bit too stark, so I added just a light wash with more or less the same colours I used for the figures.

One challenge when drawing the figure is getting the proportions of the hands right; they are in fact larger than one would think. Maybe because they are so complicated, one tends to draw them smaller than they really are.

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.