Estuary

A quick sketch of an estuary, not sure where this is but the general theory is 'somewhere in Scotland' :-) I really like the colours in this sketch and I really enjoy this palette. Its the same palette used by Ron Ranson and Steve Cronin: Ultramarine Blue, Light Red, Raw Sienna, Lemon Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Umber and Paynes Gray. (Burnt Umber not used in this painting but it's part of my 7 colour palette).

Having said that I've been experimenting with Prussian Blue, Phthalo Blue and Cerulean Blue recently as I'd like to do some semi-abstracts of The Blue City in Morocco. You can view the Google Image Search here: http://bit.ly/1siQwyo

I'm going to try this one again today, maybe on larger paper and I'm going to try and be really aware of some great advice from Steve Cronin: "Never paint over the same are twice unless you have a specific reason to do so". It's really good advice. My aim is to lay down confident brush strokes and don't work over them - just leave them! :-) Anyway, we'll see how it goes...

Estuary. 12" x 9" Watercolour.

Shetland Cottages

If you read my last post you'll remember I mentioned about an exercise in mixing greens but I got side tracked by a photo of a small group of cottages in Shetland. In this painting I used a slightly different palette swapping out Ultramarine Blue for Prussian Blue. I think the greens mixed using Prussian Blue are really nice. In a way this was a small exercise in green mixing but the main thing that's happened in this painting, which is quite a big deal for me, is the semi-abstract foreground. It's a new style for me - bold strokes that dry with hard edges and very little detail in the foreground. It's given me a sense of freedom from the shackles of naff foregrounds consisting of a few tufts of grass or reeds in the bottom corners. I really want to try lots more semi-abstract paintings, maybe just in the foreground and mid ground or maybe the whole painting could be semi-abstract. We'll see how it goes... One other thing about the semi-abstract foreground is the expression and a feeling of more genuine art in my paintings. That's got to be a good thing!

Lots more to come soon. Thanks for reading.

Reference Photo

"Shetland Cottages" Watercolour 14" x 11"

Simple Landscape in Acrylic

Sunlit Field. 12" x 10" Acrylic.

Somewhere in America

Here's an acrylic painting of somewhere in America. This painting started off as an exercise in mixing very pale neutral colours such as those in the background of this painting. It's surprising how neutral a colour is in nature or a photograph. The yellows, greens and oranges in the background of the photo are very neutral, virtually grey. In the painting the colours are a bit too saturated and overall you lose the hazy distant feel to the painting. Anyway, I still like it and I gave the painting to my Mum for her 75th birthday! :-)

Somewhere in America. 14" x 10" Acrylic.

Reference Photo

Woodbury Castle #2

Another painting taken from the Woodbury Castle photo set. I'm really happy with most of this painting, although I could have done a fair few things slightly different to make it a lot better. Silly error placing the two blue-grey trees right in the middle of the painting that stand out and are too central. I think the main problem is there's not enough tonal contrast between the foreground and the middle ground but I'm not over critical or negative and I really enjoyed painting this one and am on a fairly good road of practise and learning. I always think "I'll do another version of this one tomorrow and it'll be a lot better as I will know what mistakes to avoid" but I never do; I always go on to a different photo to paint...! Anyway, you never know, there may be a version two! p.s. Lots of sandpaper used to create the sparkle of light on the trunks and ground and a brand new Stanley blade used to scratch out some of the white grasses. Thanks for reading and see you next time.

"Woodbury Castle #2" - 14" x 11" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Woodbury Castle #1 - A freeform improvised painting

Tonight I fancied painting some trees from photos I took last weekend at Woodbury Castle in Devon, UK. You can see the full set of photos here:

http://ianinglisphotos.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/woodbury-castle.html

I used one of these photos for general reference. The top half of the painting was copied from one of the photos and the further down the painting I went, the less I used the photo. In fact most of the bottom half is from imagination (using the photos for just a bit of inspiration really). The painting is a bit messy but that's okay. I learnt a lot from doing this painting and will do a whole set of Woodbury Castle paintings, learning from the previous attempts... looking forward to it :-)

Update - High quality Image of Budleigh Salterton

The photo of my latest acrylic painting of Budleigh Salterton was a quick phone pic, low quality of course. Here you can find a high quality image of the painting:

http://ianingliswatercolours.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/budleigh-salterton-from-sandy-bay-cliffs.html

Update - New reference photo added

Hello! A while ago I posted about my first acrylic painting, Tunisian Mosque #1. I have uploaded the reference photo for you to see and compare to the painting. You can see this here:

http://ianingliswatercolours.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/first-acrylic-painting-tunisian-mosque-1.html

Budleigh Salterton from Sandy Bay Cliffs

Greetings! I Went for a long walk today in the sun from Orcombe Point in Exmouth (Devon UK) to Sandy Bay. Found a nice view from the cliffs looking towards Budleigh Salterton. Here's an acrylic painting I did this evening. Found it quite tricky as it's been a while since using acrylic. about halfway through the painting I relaxed a bit and found my brush-strokes and was able to finish it off. The composition could have been improved a little bit but I'm happy with the colours. I will scan a decent quality photo soon, this pic is taken with my phone. Thanks for reading, see you next time.

"Budleigh Salterton" Acrylic on canvas paper. 12" x 8".

Here's the original reference photo.

Red Wall Blue Chair

A different type of subject for this painting. I was really taken by the reference photo I found on the web and I originally intended to use acrylics for this one. A while ago I did a couple of acrylic paintings and thought that I would stick with the acrylic medium for a while but the desire to do more watercolours is quite strong! I will do some more acrylics soon but for now, here's another watercolour! Quite happy with this painting and I think I will get it framed and give it to my brother as a birthday present.

'Red Wall Blue Chair' 12" x 17" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Countryside

I found a good photo on Twitter taken somewhere in the Southeast UK. My favourite subject again, agricultural landscape.  Quite happy with this painting, all but the foreground was painted with a small hake.

'Countryside' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

French Bridge

I think the reference photo is of somewhere in France. I really enjoyed painting this and I do like painting clusters of buildings in the mid-ground. Fairly happy with this one and would like to paint similar subjects in the future. The buildings were painted using a No. 10 round brush and the bridge painted with a small hake.

'French Bridge' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Tunisian Mosque 2

The reference photo for this painting was again taken from the book 'Charmes de Tunisie'. It's a fascinating subject to me, I really enjoy the composition, the collection of shapes and subtle differences in warm and cool tones of the building and its shadows. This is my second acrylic painting and really enjoyed this one!

'Tunisian Mosque 2' 12" x 10" Acrylic.

Reference photo.

First Acrylic Painting - Tunisian Mosque 1

In December 2013 I decided to try a different medium to watercolours and attempted my first acrylic painting. I found a book on a charity stall called 'Charmes de Tunisie' which is full of lovely photos of Tunisia. Although the title of the book is French the text in the book is in English. I've painted a couple of paintings from this book and I think there will be more to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed using the medium of acrylic and I will definitely be painting more.

'Tunisian Mosque 1' 7" x 10" Acrylic.

Reference Photo.

Sunlit Fields, Oregon

I found the reference photo for this painting by searching Google images for 'Sunlit Fields'. It's a lovely subject with a nice palette. This painting is actually unfinished but I think I will leave it as is. I may try a another painting using this photo sometime in the future.

'Sunlit Fields, Oregon' 15" x 11" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Sheep in Snow

Continuing with a need to use a different palette to my usual green agricultural landscapes I found a lovely photo on Twitter of some sheep in snow. I really enjoyed painting with the cool colours of a snowy landscape and I'm fairly happy with the painting. The sheep are not as loose as I would have liked and the trees are a bit flat but overall it's okay.

'Sheep in Snow' 15" x 11" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Harbour Sunset

After painting a few landscapes with a similar palette, I fancied a change of subject and colour. This painting was quite a change from my usual subjects and I really enjoyed using a colourful palette. Fairly happy with this painting although a bit more colour reflecting in the sea would have been a bit better, I think.

'Harbour Sunset' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Best Way to Spoil a Good Walk

For this painting I took a screenshot of the photograph used by Steve Cronin. I like the light in the sky in this painting and fairly happy with the background and mid-ground. Not that keen on the foreground, reasonably happy with the trees although I do need to practise them more! I post photos of my paintings on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ianjinglis - and this painting has been 'favourited' 20 times and retweeted 10 times to date. It's nice that other people are enjoying my paintings :-)

'Best Way to Spoil a Good Walk' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Polish Countryside

Another agricultural landscape. I felt really relaxed and in the zone creating this painting. I also had a 'time limit' in mind - approx 20-30 minutes. I think this painting took just over 20 minutes. This is my favourite painting I have done to date. It has even had critical acclaim from a professional landscape photographer, the comments being: "Nice! Great light in this!". Really chuffed with that! The palette, as usual is limited the main colours being Ultramarine Blue, Raw Sienna, Lemon Yellow and Payne's Grey. The brush used was a medium hake, as usual the thin grasses put in with a rigger. I will be framing this painting soon and I will post a photo of it framed and hanging, soon. I do tend to give away a lot of my paintings as I think they make good presents but this painting I have to keep!

'Polish Countryside' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.

Yorkshire Landscape

Continuing with the interest in agricultural landscapes, this next painting from September 2014 is a landscape in Yorkshire. Really happy with this painting. Very pleased with the light in the sky and the patterns, light and composition of the background and mid-ground. I'm even happy with the foreground! Apart from the thin grasses in the foreground this painting was done with a small hake brush. This painting is my second favourite painting I have done to date. (My favourite being 'Polish Countryside').

'Yorkshire' 14" x 10" Watercolour.

Reference photo.