Tag: Cornwall

Watercolour

Minimal Seascapes

Evelyn19 Comments

A few simple minimal seascapes…..

Cornish Seascape Abstract 1 - NB

Swift abstract splashes of watercolour….

Cornish Seascape 2 - NB

Minimal, no fuss, no detail….

Cornish Seascape Abstract 3 - NB

Simple swipes of complementary colours across the paper in Windsor Blue Red Shade, Indigo and Buff Titanium….

Cornish Seascape - Mousehole Harbour 4 - NBAbove is a minimal abstract watercolour of Mousehole harbour (Cornwall, UK)….

And below is a soft grey sky, misty blue ocean and a sandy shore….

Cornish Seascape Abstract 8 - NB

I love the soft translucent washes of colour….

These simple minimal seascapes were a mixture of wet in wet and dry brush technique. I used Arches cold pressed paper, 140 lb.

There’s something wonderfully therapeutic about brushing beautiful watercolours over lovely watercolour paper, with no agenda or pressure to create a “masterpiece”…. it gives me a wonderful sense of peace and calm….

You can click on the images to view them larger or view them in my Art Gallery

Photography

Beach Colours

Evelyn26 Comments

There is always a lovely selection of colours and textures at the beach and harbour….

Seaside Textures 4 - NB

Seaside Textures 5 - NB

Above are two sections lovely peeling paint from the same boat, beautifully weathered by the salty sea air. Also on the beach today was something slightly unusual for the UK coast…. Portuguese man o’ war…..

Portuguese Man O' war 1 - NB

They are very beautiful but very toxic….

Portuguese Man O' war 2 - NB

I was very careful not to touch them….

Portuguese Man O' war 3 - NB

The colours are just lovely….

Portuguese Man O' war 4 - NB

Portuguese man o’war are not commonly found in UK coastal waters, they prefer warmer waters….

Portuguese Man O' war 5 - NB

I was interested to learn that Portuguese man o’ war are not a jellyfish they are a siphonophore, a colonial organism – a colony of organisms all working together….

I’m always amazed what you find washed up on the beach….

Watercolour

Cornish Roof Top Sketches

Evelyn17 Comments

When I visited my sister in Cornwall a few weeks ago I spent a little time doing some sketching outside the front of her house. As the house is quite high up on a hill you get a nice view of the Cornish roof tops. So I decided to sketch a few.

Cornish Rooftops Pencil Sketches - NB

I used a HB pencil on A4 sketchbook paper. This was good practice for me – I need lots of practice at drawing! Reasonably happy with my basic sketches I started to think about painting them….

Cornish Rooftop Colours - NB

My sketches were going to be painted with watercolours but first I needed to decide on what colours to use. After doing several tests on some spare paper, the colours above are what I chose to use. Cornish roof tops are predominantly grey with lots of yellow lichen growing on them. The chimney pots are lovely – very old fashioned terracotta pots in lots of lovely different shapes and styles…

Cornish Rooftop Painted 1a - NB

You can click on the images to see larger views. I did make a classic beginners mistake when painting these – I diluted my paint slightly too much. Hence the colours aren’t quite as strong as I would like. But I’ll put that down to experience and try to improve on that in the future! On the whole though, I like how my Cornish roof tops turned out. Here’s some closer views…

Cornish Rooftop Painted 2 - NB

Cornish Rooftop Painted 3 - NB

Lots more sketching is on the agenda in the future to hopefully improve my drawing and painting skills…..

Watercolour

Quick Watercolour Seascapes

Evelyn26 Comments

Today I managed to find an hour to do a couple of quick watercolour seascape sketches….

St. Clements Isle Watercolour - NB

Above is a watercolour sketch of St. Clements Isle, just off the coast of Mousehole, Cornwall, UK. This is one of those paintings that is best viewed from a slight distance. This watercolour is loosely based on the photo below:

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This is the other watercolour sketch I did this afternoon:

Turquoise Seascape - NB

This watercolour is of nowhere in particular and just came straight out of my imagination. I started this by wanting to just use up the left over paint in my palette and it kind of turned into a seascape…

I enjoyed doing these quick seascapes this afternoon. Both measure approximately 6″ x 4″ – just the right size to go into my watercolour sketchbook. Both were done on 140 lb watercolour paper.

Photography

A Black Diamond

Evelyn10 Comments

a-black-diamond-edit-nb

A black diamond in a shimmering sapphire ocean under an aquamarine sky…

St. Clements Isle, just off the shore of Mousehole, Cornwall, UK, on a beautiful sunny day. I love the blue tones…

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A very vintage and creative view of St. Ives, Cornwall, UK. I used one of the photographed papers from my Winter Erosion Bundle as a texture over a St. Ives photo. I love the vintage effect and colours…

Photography

Colour & Texture Inspiration

Evelyn8 Comments

lobster-pot-detail-nb

This the detail on a lobster pot at St. Ives harbour, Cornwall (UK). I love these wonderful seaside colours ~ they work so well together

indigo-denim-rust-nb

This is a piece of hand bleached indigo denim with a rusty key I found, again the colours and textures work so well together. They inspire me…

lobster-pot-detail-2-nb

Back in St. Ives harbour, more lobster pot details. These wonderful colours make me want to get my paints out… I see Cerulean Blue, Emerald, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and background colours of Paynes Grey and Raw Umber…

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Fishing nets catching the sun in St. Ives harbour. All the above photos were taken  using a Canon 60 mm macro lens.

These photos inspire me to the point where I can feel an art project developing in my mind…