'Distant Vistas'

Part two of my article is now in the March edition of Leisure Painter. 
Part two is on the subject of aerial perspective, often know as atmospheric perspective. Features in the landscape tend to become paler as they get further away. Their colours usually become cooler too. Once you understand this, you can make your landscapes much more convincing, giving them a feeling of mood and depth.

'Totnes High Street'

This view of the clock/bridge in Totnes High Street, Devon, is painted from the top of the hill. It also makes a good subject painted from the bottom of the hill, looking up. The strong sun, coming from the left, bounces light into the shady side of the street and the windows create reflections on the road surface.

'Looking Towards Meadfoot'

This is one of the views, in Torbay, which is part of the South West Coastal Path. The painting was done as a demonstration to my students, during one of my painting holidays this year. I wanted to show how to paint the atmospheric feel of the bay, and to portray a feeling of distance with the headland receding into the hazy background.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/david-webb-2640 

'The Devil's Slide', Lundy

  'The Devil's Slide' is a 400 foot slab of granite on the island of Lundy. This small island, 3 miles by 1 mile, is 10 miles off the N. Devon coast. It is owned by the National Trust and is accessible only by sea or air.
  We travelled there by boat, the MS Oldenburg, some years back. There are hardly any trees to speak of. It's like a mini Dartmoor, all on it's own in the middle of the sea. The coastline is very rugged, as you can see from this painting. There are similar views where I live in S. Devon, which I find very inspiring.
  I used a limited palette for this painting. My intention was to depict the play of sunlight and shadow and give some kind of feel of distance.

'Rocks, Sea and Sky'

I do like painting rugged scenery, such as this. Luckily for me, I live by the coast and I'm close to a variety of rocky views. This was painted as a demonstration for a workshop and, unusually for me, I used a little masking fluid here and there. I wanted to show my students a range of watercolour techniques so I used some for the distant sparkle on the water, plus a few highlights on the rocks. I was then able to cover all areas quite freely, with an all-over wash, not having to worry about going over the areas I needed to reserve.
Once the initial wash was dry, I peeled away the masking fluid and then rapidly built up the painting in a couple of harder-edged washes. The foreground grass, being warmer in tone, provides some much needed aerial perspective.