Watercolour Wednesday

A rapid watercolour from the Boathouse Studio series.

i will be watercolour painting today.     Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday.

a bientot

Olive tree in Olhao Courtyard

This is one of the series of watercolours I am painting based on the shadow play and the olive tree in the courtyard at the school in Alhao, Portugal.  http://www.artinthealgarve.com

I worked quickly with this painting…and because I had to allow some drying time during the process, I also worked on two other paintings at the same time.     The is the way I choose to work and recommend others to do the same.      This method alleviates over working an image.

Using yellow ochre I sketch out the basis of the composition and add some loose colour in the background  to suggest shadow play,.

 

I then begin to add strong colour to the olive tree trunk….I am using a mix of Winsor & Newton  Sepia, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, naples yellow and  Daniel Smith Raw Umber Violet.     

The blue in the painting is Winsor & Newton gouache Cobalt turquoise Light. 

It is important to note that I always have the whole painting in my mind’s eye as I work.    Remember everything is interconnected, and so the shadows are of equal importance as the actual olive tree.    One can’t exist without the other.

 

I have added some of the same blue and some Winsor & Newton Gold Green into the background as well as the trunk of the tree.     This creates harmony, rhythm and balance into a composition.

 

All the whites are dry, white paper….indicating in this case the white walls of the courtyard….a perfect place to observe shadows.

 

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

http://www.artinthealgarve.com

A Bientôt