SPRING IN THE CITY

 

Before I get to my latest painting, I have noticed that this blog has been getting a lot of visits from people all over the world so I want to thank each and everyone of you. I hope you enjoy what you find and that you come back often!

Now that winter is a distant memory (or perhaps not so distant), weather has been warmer which has allowed my to explore a little of the area we now live in. On a warm cloudless day a week or so ago, we walked into the city taking note of interesting places to come back to. One was this building situated on the end of a block with a wonderful facade. I noted it was built with a pleasing combination of large red stone blocks and matching red brick. There were sculpted columns and gable head along with dragon head gargoyles! Beautifully arched windows finished off the front while the roof had decorative tiles and copper flashing. Most of these details continued along the longer side. I wanted to contrast the roof of the building with the deep blue sky behind and to include some of the trees newly in leaf. I often do a smaller study such as this mostly to see if it would be worth doing a larger painting. Size is 10 x 8 in (25 x 20 cm), oil on canvas board.

SANDERLING AT REST

 

Walking along the shore, I would often come across scenes like this. Sanderlings, either singly or in a group would run back and forth as the water surged and ebbed probing frantically with their bills in a sewing machine fashion. Then after feeding, a period of rest often followed where the birds would move higher up on the beach usually well away from the water and rest, occasionally preening. These times were the perfect opportunity for me to sit and draw them while they remained relatively still. This painting came from those studies. Here a single bird rests on one leg facing onto the wind in a pose that I hope captures something of its character. Size is 12 x 9 in (30 x 23 cm), watercolor on Strathmore paper.

ABANDONED

 

Now that I have my collection of ink pens at hand, I began thinking of doing something a little more complex and settled on this scene. I did a watercolor of this abandoned house that I saw on Lantau Island in Hong Kong some time ago and was pleased with the result. For this one I kept the composition a little simpler and tried to use the light and shadow to greater effect. The black areas were brushed in using ink then I began cross-hatching for the lighter areas. Details were either drawn in or stippled with various dots and dashes and for this I used a 0.8 mm pen. Size of this one is 11 x 8 in (28 x 20 cm), ink on paper.

ALONG THE ALGARVE VII

 

This was another of a series of paintings I did during our trip to the Algarve a few years ago. Like most of those studies, I kept it small. This one was more as an experiment to see if I would be able to capture something of what I saw on a bright but slightly overcast day. The rock formations of the area especially had really captured my artists' eye. In this backlit scene, it was mostly the color of the water that first attracted me to paint. During my first attempt, the water had somewhat eluded me so I recently repainted the sea and with a few other touch-ups here and there, I was finally happy with it. Size is 5 x 7 in (13 x 18cm), oil on canvas board.