Category: Work in progress

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St Ives Painting take 2!

I have decided to have another go at painting the same photograph of St Ives but using a different style!

I was quite pleased with how my painting of Venice turned out using a stippling method. I felt drawing the buildings in the background in the ink gave it some structure, then when I added the watercolour paint I didn’t need to worry too about the detail, as it was already there.

St Ives gets ink

So I decided to paint St Ives using the same pen and ink method, only this time not using stippling but using my lovely old ink pens. Dipping in the pen regularly into the ink gives a different vibrancy as the pen stroke is not consistent. I am still struggling get the depth of field correct, with the boats in the water, but hey I am not going to worry about that too much!

St Ives just started

Next stop add some colour. I am quite happy with the sky, so now just need to work on the foreground sea but already I prefer it to the other one, which is shown at the bottom of this page.

St Ives Painting using Pen and Ink

My second version of the St Ives painting is now complete, my aim was to give more definition to the background of the buildings of St Ives. However I am not sure how well it works, which one do you prefer?

Original St Ives Painting

St Ives harbour

This is the original, I suppose that is the joy of art, everyone is allowed to have their own opinion as there is no right or wrong!

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Adding Texture

texture on painting

Using Gesso to add texture or give depth

I have been playing with a different technique, this involves adding texture to my watercolour painting. First of all I apply Gesso to my initial sketch, which is of the tide coming in at Godrevy, during the summer.

texture in Watercolour

I have used the Gesso in the areas where the tide comes and there are small patches of white foam, and also for as the waves are breaking a little further out.

Laying down some colour

Then I put down my initial watercolour wash, painting over the Gesso.

Texture created using Gesso

This close-up shows the paint on top of the Gesso texture.

Then I add some more paper but also then remove some of the paint in the texture area.

Low tide at Godrevy


Hopefully it has created that feeling of the tide coming in.

Here is another one that I have done.

Tide coming in on a Cornish beach

What do you think? I like it and I think I could do a whole series in this style.