Demonstration for Newton Poppleford Art Society

Did a watercolour demonstration for Newton Poppleford Art Society yesterday afternoon. The theme for this one was 'Rocky Coastline' so I chose to do a seascape at Bigbury Bay, which is quite near Burgh Island... reached at high tide via sea tractor. I don't think you could get much more rocky than this bit of coastline.
Painted on a stretched half Imperial sheet of Bockingford rough.

'View from Berry Head, Torbay'

This is a view I know pretty well. Berry Head, which is what I'm standing on, is a headland at the southern tip of Torbay. It is a national nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It's also a nice place to paint.

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'Durle Stone from Berry Head'

This scene is just a few miles south from us, Berry Head being at the southern tip of Torbay. It is a very rugged part of the coastline here, with tall cliffs and lots of hidden coves. There are many views worth painting along here. I've even brought painting groups here.

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'Sgwd Isaf Clyn-Gwyn'

In the late 80's I lived in south Wales for a couple of years. One of my favourite areas for walking was the Brecon Beacons National Park. In particular, the 'Waterfall Country'. The area around Ystradfellte contains a great many waterfalls and this one, 'Sgwd Isaf Clyn-Gwyn', is in the Mellte Valley.
It resembles a mini Niagra and here it is shown in the autumn.

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'Watercolour Demonstration Painting'

I was tutoring a painting course at Art Holidays in Dorset last week. This was one of my evening demo's, a rocky scene in Torquay. It's one of those spots you can paint many times and it'll always look different. I'll be back there again next week for another painting break.

'Rocks and Water'

This demonstration painting was done during one of my 'trouble-shooting' sessions. On the final day of a course I ask my students if there is any last thing that I can demonstrate for them. On this occasion I was requested to do demonstrate water splashing against rocks. Someone else asked if I could show how to portray wet sand. Luckily, I could do both of these in the same painting.

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'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.

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'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.

'Saltern Cove'

  This peaceful little cove is quite near to where we live. It was a warm, hazy scene and I wanted this to come through in the painting. After drawing the outline onto a sheet of stretched paper, I diluted several colours, separately, in the wells of my palette (cobalt blue, raw sienne, raw umber & alizarin crimson).

  I then wetted the entire surface of the sheet with clean water. After allowing this to settle in, I began dropping in these colours, wet-in-wet, allowing them to mix on the paper. This inititial wash creates a very atmospheric look, which will influence any washes that are applied on top.

  Once dry, I began working from the distant headland to the foreground, with wet-on-dry washes.

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Blue Mood Wins...

Well, I took my two sketches along to Bovey Tracey Art Society with the intention of painting the 'warm' scene. I showed the sketches and explained what I was going to do and several people voiced their preference for the other sketch. What to do? I decided to ask for a show of hands and, to my surprise, the 'Blue Mood' won by a landslide. I was sure that the warmer version would win the day.
Still, I went with the crowd and did this larger version in about an hour and a half. Stopping from time to time to answer questions and pause for the, all-important, tea break.

'What Mood Am I In?'

I have a watecolour demonstration coming up later this week, for an art society. The subject is 'Rocky Seascape'. I have a reference photo to work from, of this local landmark known as 'London Bridge' (even though it's in Devon!). Although I'll be using a photo, I will not be copying it. I'll only use it as a starting point. I want to put a little of my own personality into it, otherwise there's no point to the exercise.
For both these small colour sketches (6"x6") I first applied what I like to call a 'mood wash'. The one on the left received a pre-wash of raw sienna, with a touch of Alizarin crimson. Once dry, I painted the scene with a limited palette of Raw sienna, Alizarin crimson & Cobalt blue. As you can see, the effect of the 'mood wash' was to give the painting a warm glow.
The one on the right received a pre-wash of Cobalt blue, and was then completed with a palette of Cobalt blue, Alizarin crimson & Permanent yellow light. This led to a much cooler interpretation of the scene.
Still not sure which one I will choose but, having done the colour sketches, I am more sure of the outcome(s).

'Beacon Cove, Torquay'

Rocks again! Another demo from a recent painting workshop on the subject of 'Torbay Seascapes'.
I'm fortunate enough to live quite close to some impressive coastal scenery where the rocks are a beautiful red. This painting started with an all-over wash, mixing colours on the paper, wet-in-wet. Once dry, I built the painting up in wet-on-dry washes, from light to dark.

I think the rock on the right looks like some kind of sea monster, rising from the sea.

'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.