Sur When we first visited Oman in 2007 we were fortunate to go on a day trip to the coastal town Sur. It’s famous for its building of Arabian Dhows. I recall doing a couple of sketchbook watercolours in the heat of the day, the high sun catching the top of the clouds. These studies of Arabian […]
On 29th January I was notified that my new watercolour titled Mont Blanc and Manganese Blue had been selected Royal Watercolour Society Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2016. It’s the second time one of my paintings has been chosen. In 2013 my painting “Jebel Akhdar, Oman” won the Artists Prize in the same competition. It’s very difficult […]
Painting a sunrise on location like this Oman Watercolour Sketchbook is one of the hardest challenges as a watercolourist. The main problem is that the colours change so quickly. By the time you have laid your first wash and waited for it to dry. The rising sun will have brought a complete change to the […]
Accademia Bridge Last night Susan and I watched the BBC 2 programme Shakespeare in Italy narrated by Francesco da Mosto. Part of the programme was set in Venice. It was Susan’s home for 5 years and a place which has been a content source of inspiration for my Italian collection. One of my favourite views […]
A simple composition like this titled “Dhow, Reflections” is actually one of the most difficult subjects to paint successfully in watercolour. Over the last five years I’ve made many sketchbook studies of Arabian dhows whilst painting on location in the Gulf and find them a delight to paint. This particular painting was inspired by a […]
In one of my recent blog posts I talked about a commission I received when I first went full time as an artist. This was back in 1984 at the age of 22. It was to do two watercolours of the River Tyne near North Shields for a leading North East businessman. He wanted me […]
A few weeks ago I was doing a watercolour demonstration for a class in Rothbury. As part of the lesson, I was showing the students how to begin a painting, in particular the sky. This is often the most difficult part of painting a landscape or seascape and can be quite daunting for the inexperienced. […]
Norfolk Burnham Overy Mill is just a short walk from Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk. It’s a delightful area for any landscape artist to paint with the low lying land, estuaries and big skies. We’ve stayed there as a family for the last two years. I’ve seized the opportunity to paint on location, rising early […]