Willy Lott's Children

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14 x 21 in  -  35 x 53 cm     Watercolor     Willy Lott's Cottage is famous for being the building in Constable's painting 'The Haywain'. It is still clearly recognisable today after nearly 200 years.

The ref photo that I took a couple of years ago caught two children in the lower left. In the ref shown here I have photoshopped them to move them nearer the cottage. The children are of course, how the painting comes by its title.

I am pleased with this. However there are a few weaknesses. The main one is that I intended to go back and do a better shadow on the tree in front of the building.

Boats on the Hard

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14 x 21 in  -  35 x 53 cm     Watercolor     To my eye this one comes out as "too bitty" and so not enough unity. As the right side is so busy I should have kept the sky as a more solid wash. There are lots of other strengths and weaknesses but they sort of cancel each other out out and leave me thinking - well ought to do better.

To the right is the ref and below is the John Yardley painting I have shown before.

It is of almost the same scene but John was standing more to the right that I was when I took my reference photo.

A John Yardley Painting
As you can see John's work has such wonderful unity.

'Keep practicing' is what I must keep telling myself.

Piazza Tasso, Sorrento

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14 x 21 in  -  35 x 53 cm     Watercolor     This one turned into way more of a battle than it should have been.

This is the reference image taken a couple of years ago in Sorrento.

Firstly I decided to change the perspective slightly twisting the buildings so that they are at a stronger angle in the roof lines. The refereance is a bit head on. Strong diagonals make a greater interest.

The buildings on the far left need to be darker than in the reference otherwise the whole painting would have been just a bit too weak and make the viewer just wonder "what's it about". The painting itself became a bit of a battle with me wanting it to be loose but it keeping me painting tighter and tighter. I think it came out as a draw in the end but then again maybe the tight side did start to win through.

Shopping in Stresa

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm     Watercolor     This started well (the left hand side) but got a little too fiddly later. It's still OK as a picture though.

My objective was to do a John Yardley influenced painting but with more colour.

This is the ref I worked from. Taken last month.

Deb's Duck

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm     Watercolor    

This was a for a challenge, where we all get to paint from the same photo. This was done quickly and it shows. I can see a few places where it would have benefited from a touch more control but that's what happens when you paint quickly and don't think enough.

This is the reference photo chosen for us by Deb.

A week with John Yardley

I have been away for another week of "Painting with John Yardley". John does not really go in for teaching, he doesn't see himself as a teacher he runs the week more as a holiday. He paints every morning, 'en plein aire' if the weather allows. We are free to watch him and ask questions. He finishes the half sheet painting (21 x 14 in  -  53 x 36 cm) in around two hours it's extraordinarily impressive to watch.

A John Yardley Painting

This is a painting that John did during the week. It is of boats on the Town Hard at Walton-on-the-Naze. He kindly lets us take photos of his work.

Below are three pieces of my work from our six days of painting.

Painting at Dedham Hall
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14 x 20 in  -  35 x 51 cm     Watercolor     Pleine aire is hard, well I find it hard. This was the first painting of the week and probably the best work I did all week.

This is roughly the view I had while painting. This is the group of us watching John paint. I did the house en pleine air and added the people afterwards.

Walton-on-the-Naze
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14 x 20 in  -  35 x 51 cm     Watercolor     Not much I can say about this except that I am still clearly finding pleine aire hard.

This is something like the view I had.

Venice Sparkle
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14 x 20 in  -  35 x 51 cm     Watercolor     Rain kept us in the studio on the Friday. This was my effort, done from a ref photo supplied by John.

Addendum
For photos from the course use these links 2008 2007 or go via the RogerPf's photos sidebar on the right. Note each gallery has a slideshow option, use the link top right.

Addendum 2
In the comments I have been asked what "plein aire" is? It is from the french "en pleine aire" meaning "out in the fresh air" as opposed to painting in the studio.

On the Step

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm     Watercolor     I don't really know what to say about this painting, it sort of took on a life of its own.

The main colours used were perylene green, perylene maroon and prussian blue. Also used was a little bit of raw sienna and cad yellow used in the faces and hair.

This is the reference photo taken in London earlier this year.

Raven Beauty

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13 x 10 in  -  33 x 25 cm     Watercolor    

This painting started out with good intentions but quickly got away from me and became far too meticulous.

It's my fault I should have done more planning, more thinking, beforehand in order to get a looser free kind of work.

The reference photo was taken in Stresa at few weeks ago

Under the High Pier

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm     Watercolor     In this painting is the result of a two-hour challenge. I cropped the original reference tightly to focus on the people. What I was after was getting their reflection in the wet sand. I ignored some of the pillars of the pier because otherwise the composition was far too cluttered. One problem I knew I would run into is that the wet sand is a great reflector but it is that dreadful thing "sloping water".

I tried to paint some of the reflections of the pillars as shown in the reference but I soon found that this was not a good idea as the brain and just does not believe that water slopes even though in this case we have exactly that, where a wave has just washed over the sloping sand and left it glistening.

I think the referece shows that the work would have been better if I have been braver and gone darker on the core shapes.