"Sailing Home" watercolour painting

I made this one up as I went along.  Unfortunately I forgot to put in the reflections for the boat and house.  Oh well, never mind!  I'm trying to develop a rougher, more loose style.  Perhaps I should have put a boat on the foreground beach.

 

I'm still waiting for my Bob Ross starter kit to arrive so I'll have to plough on with watercolours until then.  I'm quite looking forward to trying oils.

"Snow Tracks" winter scene watercolour painting

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With the current hot weather getting me all hot and bothered I thought a nice little winter scene would help cool me down.  To be honest, I actually prefer winter to summer.  I don't really mind the early dark nights and I like to look at the stars.

This one came from a Ron Ranson book.  The bottom of the sky is a Raw Sienna / Lemon Yellow mix with Ultramarine at the top.  The clouds are a mixture of Paynes Grey and Alizarin Crimson.

I love to paint wide expanses of land where you can see for miles.  In hindsight, I think a little figure by the gate may have enhanced it slightly.

I never did any painting yesterday.  You can blame Xbox Live for that.  It's so easy to get distracted!

Tuscany in watercolour

Such a beautiful part of the world Tuscany, I'd love to go there one day.  I've managed to keep the foreground uncluttered for a change.  It's so easy to overdo it.

 

Looking at the blogs of all these oil painters, I think I'll have to invest in some oils soon and finally have a go.  I've only ever painted in watercolours before, mainly because it's so cheap to set up.

 

Must dash, I'm off to the International Food Fair in Brum for dinner!

Driftwood clock I made

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I thought I'd just put this on here for the hell of it.  This is a driftwood clock I made recently.  Every time my dad visits the coast he goes beachcombing for driftwood and anything else the tide has washed in.  You can see some of his stuff if you scroll to the bottom of this page.

I made this clock from some pieces I found drying out in his greenhouse.  The wood is simply nailed together and then it's just simply a hole through the middle for the clock movement I bought cheap on eBay.  I'm hoping to sell them at the car boot alongside some paintings.

Ossaia, Italy in watercolour and Bob Ross DVD

I finally managed to get hold of a Bob Ross DVD from my LoveFilm subscription - I was only on the waiting list 12 months!  I have to say though it was well worth the wait.  I've never tried oils before but he makes it look ridiculously easy.  He's also one of the nicest blokes I've ever seen.  Such a shame he passed away so early.

 

This painting I found in a book.  I have to admit I've never been to Italy.  To be honest though, it actually reminds me of Somerset.  The hill could be Brent Knoll.  All that's missing is the dirty great M5 motorway running alongside!  I'll be in that neck of the woods soon, scampering around Brean Down.  I may take some paintings with me to the Brean car boot and see what happens.