Polperro Cottages

Polperro Cottages
Watercolour on Paper
15.5cm x 23.5cm (6" x 9.25")

Last summer, Elaine, Doris and I spent a few days in Talland Bay, Cornwall to celebrate my birthday. It's a short walk along the costal path to Polperro in one direction and Looe in the other.

We all enjoyed the walk to and from Polperro, but our walk to Looe was less successful. It was a scorching hot day and Doris insisted on a taxi ride home (see Holiday Sketches).

Polperro is photogenic, but my photos didn't capture exactly what I wanted to paint. Some 7cm x 10cm thumbnails helped to explore and improve a composition. The initial pencil thumbnail was useful for deciding on the placement and configuration of shapes. It would have been handy if it had also given a definitive statement about dark, light and mid-toned shapes (see John Lovett - Thumbnail Sketches). I will include a 3 value tonal study when I next use thumbnails.

Polperro Cottages  – 7cm x 10cm (2.75" x 4") Thumbnail Sketches
Pencil and Watercolour on Paper
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook

The painting respects the spirit of the thumbnails except for the colour of the water. I prefer the turquoise in the second thumbnail, but if I try to adjust the painting, there is a chance I will spoil the reflections, so I will stick with what I have.

A Fuzzy Background

Aged Fencing - A Fuzzy Background - 26.5cm x 19cm (10.5" x 7.5")
Watercolour on Paper

Claudia Nice uses soft focus backgrounds for both her examples from the Aged Fencing topic in Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor.

This type of background is usually painted wet-on-wet. The challenge is if you try to paint around the foreground shapes, it is difficult to create a cohesive backdrop. Some people can do this, but I’ve ended up with sections that look like they come from different paintings. 

A popular solution is to mask the foreground shapes so you can paint over them. Recently, Steve Mitchell (the Mind of Watercolor) demonstrated how he does this with a combination of masking tape and masking fluid (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTpTZUZ_PA8&t=295s)

The technique worked well for Steve, so I gave it a go. I scaled up the thumbnail from the top of Thumbnail Sketches, masked off the stile, fence and some foreground foliage, so it looked like this.

Aged Fencing - All Masked Up - 26.5cm x 19cm (10.5" x 7.5")

Once the masking fluid was dry, I painted the background over it, left it to dry and then removed the masking to leave the slightly fuzzy setting for the fence - all I have to do now is paint the difficult stuff. 

Thumbnail Sketches

Aged Fencing - Preliminary Thumbnail Sketch - 15cm x 10cm (6" x 4")
Ink and Pencil on Paper
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook

Many art teachers and authors stress the importance of using quick thumbnail sketches to check and improve a composition before investing too much time and material in a painting that is doomed to fail – (see John Lovett - Thumbnail Sketches).

I used this approach recently while preparing for the Aged Fencing topic in Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor by Claudia Nice.

Over the summer, I collected a load of reference photos while out walking with Elaine and Doris. 

Aged Fencing

This stile has the makings of an interesting subject, but the composition can probably be improved. I drew a couple of simple thumbnails to explore some ideas using a rectangle with the same proportion as the paper I will paint on. 

Aged Fencing - Preliminary Thumbnail Sketch - 7.5cm x 5cm (3" x 2")
Ink on Paper
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook

Thumbnail sketches are also a good way to find the challenges in the drawing. These highlighted the importance of perspective on the step. If the step is out of whack, it upsets the whole picture.

I drew the slightly larger version at the top of the page to finalize the composition and to think about the tones in the picture. I will do a couple of simple colour studies before starting to paint.

Two-Layer Geometric Sketch

St Peter's For Bob
Two-Layer Geometric Sketch
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

The two-layer geometric sketch is the second “exercise” in Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann. It is another study that helps to reveal how much detail is needed in a painting. The five-value monochrome study explored the importance of tone. The two-layer geometric sketch introduces colour in a simplified form, so we can evaluate where more detail is needed.

The instructions for the exercise are to simplify each of the major shapes into a basic geometric form and assign it a colour. Paint each shape with a simple wash representing its lightest value and add a second layer where needed - primarily to indicate shadows.

Tom suggests using a limited palette of 3 colours – a red, a yellow and a blue. You can mix them, to create a green or purple, but if they don’t make a good green or a good purple, too bad. The intention is to ignore details and to treat colour simply. The result is supposed to look like a collage made from coloured paper.

I used the same subject as for the five-value monochrome study. Once again I failed to simplify things as much as Tom suggested - I did not reduce the subject to simple geometric shapes because the drawing is one of the challenges I’m trying to sort out.

The exercise helped to clarify some problems in the composition, but it also reassured me that my objectives for the painting are possible. I want the church and memorial to appear imposing, but the overall atmosphere to be positive and full of light.

I can see the background buildings and the church porch do not require much detail, but the foliage, even in the background, will need more texture. The church and the monument needed to be taller and darker.

My next steps are to finalise the drawing and use some thumbnail sketches to explore options for colours.

Five-Value Monochrome Study

St Peter's For Bob
Five-Value Monochrome Study
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

Liz Steel recently recommended Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann.

The subtitle of the book is “A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium”. It contains an interesting mixture of guidance, exercises and experiments. In the introduction Tom says:

The focus in this book is on awareness rather than technique. it is important to know how to make a warm, neutral, graded wash, but it takes a different set of skills to know when that particular technique is called for.

I want to spend more time learning to paint in watercolour and this book provides exactly the sort of structure I need.

The first exercise is to create a Five-Value Monochrome Study. Tom recommends this as the ideal initial study for a new subject because it helps to explore the role that value plays in the relationship between the major shapes.

He stresses the purpose of the exercise is not to create a carefully observed monochrome painting. The result is supposed to look too simple because the best way to find out if something needs to be in the picture is to leave it out.

I tried the exercise on a relatively unpromising photograph.

St Peter's For Bob - Source Photo

The first instruction is to break the subject down into at most 10 shapes. This turned into a challenge and I resorted to printing the picture and drawing shapes on it, but still couldn’t get below 14. I will try harder next time, but bent the rules just this once.

St Peter's For Bob - Sorting Out The Shapes

The study was a sequence of disasters. I mixed the first pale wash too dark and didn’t make enough of it, so I ended up with some blooms and a quite unpleasant looking result. I didn’t leave it to dry sufficiently, so when I applied the second wash, it just bloomed into the first. Making everything look even more unpleasant and not leaving much differentiation between the lighter tones.

With all these difficulties, the study is still a success because I’ve learnt a lot from it – the obvious lessons about mixing enough paint and leaving washes to dry, but also some subtler ones about how I want to paint the subject.

My intention for the picture is for the church and memorial to appear imposing, but the overall atmosphere to be positive and full of light - early on a bright summer morning.

The simple study indicates both of these objectives are possible. The church is commanding and there is a sense of space and light around it.

The shaft of sunlight in front of the church joining with the highlight on the right-hand bushes and trees is an important part of the picture. This is something I need to emphasise in the final work along with the light spilling around the edge of the church.

One of my biggest concerns for the picture is the copper beech on the left. Will the tree be believable without including its trunk in the picture? I think it is going to be ok.

Perhaps the most important result is the study has enthused me to paint the picture. The second exercise is a two-layer geometric sketch which I’m looking forward to trying next.

Ladram Rocks

Ladram Rocks

Mixed Media on Paper

26cm x 18cm (10" x 7") 

Ladram Bay and its fabulous sea stacks are about halfway along the coastal path between Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton.

Elaine and I encountered them last summer when we spent a week in Sidmouth . You can walk all the way between Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton on the coastal path, but we turned inland at Ladram Bay to have lunch at Otterton Mill and then completed the journey walking by the side of the river Otter. It’s an interesting and walk and not too taxing. The walk in the other direction from Sidmouth to Beer is more strenuous and tiring.

Ladram Rocks

Thumbnail Sketches

Before starting the painting I drew a few thumbnail sketches to experiment with the composition. They might not mean a lot to anyone else, but they helped me to make decisions about positioning the rocks and tonal values for the painting.

The Old Mill on Kneeton Road

The Old Mill on Kneeton Road

Mixed Media on Paper

26cm x 18cm (10" x 7") 

This view of the mill is based on a sketch I drew in December (see December 2015 Sketches). Before starting the picture I drew some thumbnail sketches to explore possible compositions.

The Old Mill on Kneeton Road
Thumbnail Sketches

The colour scheme and approach were influenced by the first demonstration on Chris Forsey's Pushing the Boundaries of Watercolour.

It’s All About Preparation

Old Mill Creek (Work in Progress)
Watercolour on Paper
24cm x 34cm (9.5" x 13.5)

This is my current watercolour project – a view of Old Mill Creek near Dartmouth.

The picture is at a make or break point where I need to start adding details to bring it all together.

This phase highlights any weaknesses in a composition and there are a few issues I wish I’d addressed before starting the painting.

Old Mill Creek, Dartmouth

I should have been more diligent in my preparatory thumbnails. The trouble is I liked the slightly unorthodox composition of the main reference photograph. This lulled me into a false sense of security. I drew a couple of sketches to experiment with the sizes and positions of the swan and the boats, but I didn't complete a full exploration of the the composition with tonal and colour thumbnails (see  Castle Cove - Thumbnail Sketches and John Lovett's article Thumbnail Sketches)

Background Trees - Test Swatches

One piece of preparation that paid off was some experiments I did before painting the background trees. The basic technique is similar to one I've used previously (see Silver Birch) - paint a pale green wash and add darker and darker greens to it as it dries, I refined the technique for this picture in a number of trial swatches.

Castle Cove, Dartmouth

Castle Cove, Dartmouth
Watercolour and Acrylic Ink on Paper
24cm x 34cm (9.5" x 13.5)

Castle Cove is a small beach reached by steps from Dartmouth Castle.

One of my focuses for this picture was to include a lot of drawn marks. The tree trunks are a mixture of watercolour pencil marks and acrylic ink lines. The cracks and the marks on the rocks are acrylic ink drawn with a variety of implements. Some of the highlights in the water are marks made with a wax crayon.

This is the first picture for which I've used coloured thumbnail sketches to experiment with different arrangements of colour (see Castle Cove - Thumbnail Sketches).

Castle Cove - Finished and Thumbnail

It is interesting to compare the final colour thumbnail with the actual picture. While I was painting, I thought I was being reasonably faithful to the thumbnail, but they are quite different, especially in the arrangement of tones.

Castle Cove - Thumbnail Sketches

Castle Cove
Watercolour and Acrylic Ink on Paper
7cm x 10cm (3" x 4")

At the last meeting of the Shelford Group of Artists (see Into the Light), I considered painting a view of Castle Cove in Dartmouth. I decided against it because I realised the picture would require a strong composition – a composition I was unlikely to get right first time.

Castle Cove, Dartmouth

Since the meeting, I’ve used thumbnail sketches to work on a composition – inspired by a recent article by John Lovett on his online watercolour workshop (see http://johnlovettwatercolorworkshop.com/thumbnail-sketches).

Thumbnails are small quick sketches. The sketches on this post are all about 7cm x 10cm (3" x 4"). John advises spending no more than a couple of minutes on each drawing.

Castle Cove, Pencil Thumbnails

John advocates thumbnail sketches as a technique for deciding on the tonal and colour composition for a picture work before committing your ideas to watercolour paper.

They are also fun to do and a great way to become more familiar with a subject which you haven’t sketched and are drawing from photographs.

Castle Cove, Coloured Thumbnails

John suggests using pencil sketches to decide on the tonal composition and coloured sketches to establish the colour palette.

Castle Cove - Initial Wash
Watercolour on Paper
24cm x 34cm (9.5" x 13.5")

This is the resulting composition transferred to watercolour paper with the initial wash in the sky and the sea.

Bessy’s Cove

Bessy's Cove
Watercolour on Paper
36cm x 25.5cm (14" x 10")

Bessy’s Cove is on the south coast of Cornwall. It is part of Prussia Cove and is a few miles east of Marazion.

The picture was inspired by a photo from Coast magazine of a stormy sky over Prussia Cove.

My intention was to paint the gesture of the coastline without going into too much detail.

I drew some preliminary thumbnail sketches. The first sketch was an experiment to decide between a portrait or landscape composition. The second, third and fourth sketches were all about understanding the shape of the shoreline and cliffs. I drew the last sketch to decide where to place the main elements and as a rehearsal for the real drawing.


Bessy's Cove - Thumbnail Sketches

This picture has given me an urge to paint some sea cliffs – which is a good excuse for another trip to the South West. Fortunately, Elaine enjoys walking on the coastal path. We could even rent a boat.

Peggy’s Neighbours

Peggy’s Neighbours
Watercolour on Paper
34cm x 24cm (13.5" x 9.5")

These are the buildings just to the right of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni) on the Grand Canal in Venice.

This is another picture in which I’ve used a design idea from John Lovett’s Studio Workshop post as a starting point.

The objective was to make a strong focal point from a uniform façade.

I used thumbnail sketches to reorganise the elements of the picture to create a focal point around the boats and the base of the pink building.

Peggy’s Neighbours - Thumbnail Sketches

I wanted to paint the picture in a loose style. With this in mind, I applied the first few washes with a 1-inch bristle decorating brush.

I am quite accurate with a half-inch brush, but this 1-inch brush is just too big and bushy for me to apply paint precisely.

It may seem obvious, but I am only just realising that for a loosely painted picture to work, the background usually has to be the loosest part of the whole painting.

An additional benefit of the large brush is if the initial paint marks are unfussy, I am less inclined to paint the details in a rigid fashion.

When I started to write this post, I tried to remember the location of the buildings. I looked at the photo for clues and for the first time recognised the distinctive palazzo creeping in from the left. I’ve been working with the reference photo for weeks without really looking at its left hand edge because it is not in my picture.

On The Mud



On The Mud
Watercolour on Paper
34cm x 52cm (13.5" x 20.5")


Wells-Next-The-Sea is an attractive harbour and tourist resort on the North Norfolk coast.

The harbour is about a mile from the sea. The channel that connects them shrinks to a trickle at low tide. Boats that are moored along the channel sink on to the sand as the tide goes out and float again as the tide comes in.

The stimulus for the picture was another idea from John’s Lovett's Studio Workshop post.  The objective was to incorporate empty space into the picture and to confine details to one part of the image.

On The Mud - Thumbnail Sketches

The composition is taken almost directly from of one of my reference photos. I made most of the design decisions by drawing different framing options on the photograph. I drew a couple of thumbnail sketches to experiment with some variations, but did not discover any improvements. The main benefits of drawing the thumbnails were to improve my understanding of the composition and to practice drawing it before starting work on the watercolour paper.

One of the things that attracted me to this scene was the opportunity to paint a large graded wash (see Wash Swatches).  I knew there was a fair chance that I would not get a perfect graduation of colour in such a large wash, but I anticipated that any imperfections would add atmosphere rather than spoil the painting.

Blakemere Moss

Blakemere Moss
Watercolour on Paper
24cm x 34cm (9.5" x 13.5")

Blakemere Moss is in Delamere Forrest near Chester. This is a view on a sunny but cold spring morning.

The Moss was originally wetland. It was drained in the 19th century, planted with trees and subsequently re-flooded in the late 1990s (see Wikipedia - Delamere Forest). It is an attractive area and a bit otherworldly because there are trees and the remains of trees emerging from the lake.

This picture is my second painting based on the design ideas from a John Lovett workshop. (see Studio Workshop). My objective for this picture was to create depth by using soft edges in the background and hard edges in the foreground. I stuck to my resolution to use thumbnail sketches to explore the subject and compose the picture.


Blakemere Moss - Thumbnail Sketches

My first decision was whether to use a landscape or a portrait format. I then experimented with the position of the horizon, the size of the far bank, the position and angle of the floating logs and the height and spacing of the foreground trees.

I’ve never got on with thumbnails in the past, but now I find them useful and enjoy drawing them. This is a beneficial side effect of the Daily Composition exercise from the Natural Way to Draw (see Daily Composition). I used to be too tentative with thumbnails, but now I dash them off quickly – 203 scribbly daily compositions have made all the difference.

As well as helping with the composition, the thumbnails serve as a rehearsal for the real drawing. By the time I start the painting I have already drawn the main elements half a dozen times, which makes starting the drawing less daunting.

Beach Huts

Beach Huts
Watercolour on Paper
24cm x 34cm (9.5" x 13.5")

A couple of weeks ago, I said that I wanted to spend more time working on composition (see Ye Old Dog & Partridge).

The next day John Lovett posted a description of his recent workshop, which focused on selecting subjects to paint and composing pictures (see http://splashingpaintblog.com/2011/11/28/studio-workshop-2/). It is an excellent post with a number of paintings to demonstrate the concepts he taught - it is a perfect study plan.

This picture uses the first technique from John’s post – it has a large simple foreground leading the eye in to the centre of interest.

Before starting the picture, I drew a number of thumbnails to explore the subject and decide on the composition. On the first page, I experimented with portrait and landscape formats and decided where to position the huts. This is the second page on which I refined the sizing and positioning of the huts.

Beach Huts - Thumbnails

This is the first time I've used thumbnails and the process was very helpful. I was working away from home during the week and drawing thumbnails was a useful and relaxing way to spend an evening in the hotel.

John is at least partly responsible for the existence of this blog. I nearly gave up on the idea of learning to paint until I found his book (Starting Watercolour) and DVD (Splashing Paint), (see http://www.johnlovett.com/).