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Painting of the Grand Canal, Venice

by on May 4, 2012 in Painting in Stages

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, a city which was Susan’s home for 5 years and a place which has been a content source of inspiration for my paintings of Italy collection. One of my favourite views is taken from the Accademia Bridge, looking at the Santa Marie della Salute. I’ve painted it several times on location and using the sketches, I have produced a number of studio watercolours which have included commissions. On one particular painting, I decided to photograph the painting in stages so that one can see the progression and development of the painting, from the initial pencil drawing through the sequence of washes, to the build up of detail.

After stretching a sheet of hand made Italian watercolour paper on to the drawing board, the first stage was to draw out the main elements of the composition with a B pencil. I like to paint a lot of the detail from observation with my brush, so there isn’t a huge amount of detail in the pencil drawing.

Next, I covered the whole sheet with a wash of clean water then ran in a gentle wash of Winsor and Newton Cadmium Lemon from about a third of the way from the top of the board. This helps to take away the starkness of the white and set the tone and mood for the rest of the painting.

One the yellow had dried I repeated the process of laying a wash of clean water except once it hit the architecture, I began to be more random with the wash leaving some of the paper untouched by water. I quickly ran in a wash of Rose Madder into the water but left some of the yellow showing through as pure yellow.

Before starting the sky, I masked off some of the detailed areas in the water like the poles and boats so that I wasn’t having to paint around them with the blue. I started off the sky with quite an intense wash of French Ultramarine and Manganese Blue, fading it out slightly as the sky came closer to the horizon and then painting around the architecture.

Once it had dried, I deepened the blue for the foreground part of the Grand Canal I then started on the buildings on the right hand side. The detailed photograph shows how some of the blue in the sky and water was used as shadow areas for the buildings.

I finished the right hand side before commencing on the left so that I could use slightly more stronger colours to give the impression of the left hand side being closer.

When I rubbed off the masking fluid, it meant that the colour underneath remained as a base for the poles and boats. Strong, dark refections on the left provided further depth to the painting and once I had added the smaller areas of detail to the architecture and boats, the painting was completed. I have two paintings of the Grand Canal available as limited edition prints available online or from my Studio and Gallery in Ponteland. I also have an original watercolour available of the Grand Canal which I painted using the same process described.

 

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Spanish Steps

by on April 30, 2012 in Italy Prints and Originals, Original Watercolours

Spanish Steps

Spanish Steps

Paintings of Italy have always proved popular with those folk who love all things Italian. My limited edition prints of Tuscany, Venice and Umbria continue to sell consistently well with folk buying online and from my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

Around 1998 I decided to add Rome to my collection of Italian cities and visited several times to produce a range of on the spot watercolours from which to work from. One such scene was the picturesque Spanish Steps. At about 9:30am I found a suitable fountain from which to rest my watercolour block on and began to paint the steps which were virtually deserted. By the time I had finished the painting, you could hardly see the steps for the people sitting on them, enjoying the warm October sun.

The scene above is the studio painting which I’ve since reproduced as a limited edition print. The location study can also be seen at my Studio & Gallery. Please contact for further information.

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Ravello

by on March 24, 2012 in Italy Prints and Originals, Limited Edition Prints

Ravello

Ravello

The Amalfi coast is a spectacular area of dramatic scenery. I’ve only been the one time which was for a week back in 2003 but I was inspired to do a number of sketchbook watercolours and this limited edition print of Ravello.

I have vivid memories of the brief trip we made to this small town perched high above the distant sea below. We had spent the morning getting to  Amalfi by boat so by the time we arrived at 12:45pm the shops had closed for lunch. It was 2:30 before we boarded a small bus that took us up the rather perilous road to Ravello. I quickly found this iconic view of the tree in the beautiful gardens of Villa Rufolo which is often a venue for wedding photographs. Indeed, we actually saw a newly wed couple being photographed in the grounds. After gathering some suitable reference material we took an even more memorable bus trip back to Amalfi.

The heavens had opened, so we were packed into the tiny bus like sardines. The rain was gushing down the 5 km of bending road like a Scottish river in full spate and the wipers seemed to have little effect in making the driver’s view clearer. In fact, the driver was oblivious to the conditions as there was a very attractive young blond lady standing almost on top of him and he was more concerned about holding a conversation with her than keeping his eyes on the road. Twenty minutes later, I was relieved to be back to sea level in Amalfi. Almost as quickly as the heavens had opened, the sun came out and we were able to take a rather more pleasurable journey by foot to the oldest paper mill in Italy, famous for its hand made paper. I purchased some and was also given several sheets of imperfect paper from the museum on which I later painted  a scene of Rome’s Colosseum.

Back in my studio I produced two original watercolours of Ravello, one of which I reproduced as this limited edition print. It can be purchased online or from my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

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Spring Exhibition

by on February 24, 2012 in Exhibitions

Spring Exhibition Invitation

Spring Exhibition 2012 Invitation

For those of you who have perhaps stumbled upon my bog and are not on our database, my Spring Exhibition starts on the 10th March at my Studio & Gallery at 17 Cheviot View in Ponteland. If you would like to start receiving postal invitations then please contact me on alan@alanreed.com or telephone 01661 871 800 or 0771 874 1546.

The exhibition continues until the 31st March and features new original paintings of the North East, Italy and the Gulf. I’ve published a new limited edition print titled “Grey Street,Snow Shower” which can be purchased at the Gallery or online at www.alanreed.com. There will also be a number of portraits on view too.

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Grey Street, Snow Flurry

by on October 19, 2011 in Latest News

Grey Street, Snow Flurry

Grey Street, Snow Flurry

I’m just preparing for my Christmas Exhibition. The preview weekend starts on Friday 11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th November where there will be a selection of new original paintings on display, most of which have been inspired by recent trips overseas over the last 12 months. It’s been an eventful year for Susan and I, with us both travelling to the Middle East and Italy and my television appearance on the BBC’s “Show me the Monet” with my watercolour of “Grey Street, Saturday Morning”.

Travel always gives me a deeper appreciation of home here in Northumberland, so there will of course, be several scenes of the North East, including the one above of Grey Street, Newcastle seen in a snow flurry.

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North Shields, Fishing

by on October 8, 2011 in Painting on Location, What's on the Drawing Board

North Shields, Fishing

North Shields, Fishing

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. I was working on several paintings that day, one of which was this 12″ x 9″ watercolour of some lads fishing off the Fish Quay at North Shields.

I was working off two photographs, one for the sky, the other for the figures and River Tyne reference. It was a scene I had painted on location about 10 years ago, so I was well familiar with the view. I began by laying a very pale yellow wash over the whole paper which I intensified at the point of the horizon. When that dried, I went over parts of the wash with some Rose Madder which you can see, particularly in the water. Once dry, I began to pick out some of the blue in the sky with some touches of Manganese Blue. Finally, after mixing the colour for the darker clouds with Rose Madder, Manganese Blue and Paynes Grey, I painted in the dramatic, carefully positioned clouds to bring a strong sense of mood and atmosphere to the composition.

I completed the painting in my studio in Ponteland which will form part of my Christmas Exhibition starting in November which will include other paintings of the North East, Italy and the Middle East too.

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Via di Santo Spirito

by on September 27, 2011 in Painting on Location

Via di Santo Spirito

Via di Santo Spirito

I’ve been working in Italy recently on a number of painting projects, many of which involved painting on location. This is always a challenging exercise, particularly when painting a street scene such as this one of Via di Santo Spirito. I wanted to capture the tall narrow buildings that were shutting out much of the early evening light that were towering above me and at the same time, indicating something of the sunlight that was catching the distant buildings.

I was virtually standing under the ornate lamp that provided an interesting focal point to the scene which meant there was nowhere for me to rest my sketchbook or place my small box of watercolours. I had to stand the whole time and balance my paints on top of my camera case strapped to my belt. Every so often, someone would stand in front of me, blocking my view and there was a steady flow of traffic adding to the confusion. However, after about thirty minutes painting, I felt I had recorded something of worth that captures a typical Florence street scene that I plan to work up into a larger watercolour sometime soon.

One of my small watercolours of Florence can be seen at the Newcastle/Gateshead Art Fair starting Friday 30th September- 2nd October.

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Florenze from Piazza Michelangelo

by on September 18, 2011 in Painting on Location

Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

Probably the best view of Florence is from Piazza Michelangelo. I’ve now painted several watercolour studies from the piazza which boasts stunning views of the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and the River Arno. Last Sunday afternoon was hot and sunny in Florence which meant that the watercolour paint dried very quickly, in marked contrast to the last time I painted this view. It was a cold, wet February afternoon, the light was fading and Susan had to stand over me with an umbrella to keep the rain off the paper!

It was worth the effort though. From these studies, I was able to paint a large studio watercolour titled “Florence from Piazza Michelangelo” which has been one of my best selling limited edition prints of Italy.

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Grand Canal Painting

by on September 2, 2011 in What's on the Drawing Board

I’ve been busy over the last few weeks finishing off a number of watercolours which will be on show at the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair 30th September-2nd October. The latest one to be completed is this one of the Grand Canal in Venice. It’s a scene I’ve painted several times before, both on location and in the studio.

The painting was inspired by my own studies painted from the Accademia Bridge and a number of different photographs taken by myself during my trips to Venezia. You can also see on the drawing board the limited edition print I have published of the Grand Canal which I kept referring to throughout the painting process. For other limited edition prints of Venice and Italy, go to my website www.alanreed.com

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Paintings of Italy

by on August 3, 2011 in Commissions, Painting on Location

Over the last few years I’ve received a number of commissions from clients who have a home in Italy and who have wanted a painting of their property. Each building has been quite different in terms of size and location but they have all had their own distinct charm and appeal.

In 2007 I was commissioned by an English couple to do a painting of their home near a small, compact Umbrian village called Panicale, which overlooks Lake Trasimeno. We stayed in an old Villa called Villa Le Mura which was being restored by its owners. In the evening we met up with our clients that evening for a lovely meal at Masolino Albergo Ristorante which served us authentic Umbrian cuisine.

The following morning I woke up before 7am and drove straight to the property to catch the early morning light. I was just in time. I found a suitable vantage point in between some olive trees which gave a delightful aspect of the house nestling in its own little valley. Initially it was shrouded by a shadow being cast by the hill behind me but as soon as the sun rose above the horizon it was bathed in a warm golden hue.

I quickly embarked on a small sketchbook study in a tiny leather bound book purchased direct from the Fabriano Factory in Le Marches from a previous trip and whilst the paint was drying I took a number of photographs of the rapidly changing early morning light. The owners served me a very welcome and much appreciated coffee before I crashed on with another watercolour study, this time of the olive grove which surrounded their home.

I returned to capture the evening light but we decided that the mornings work was going to be sufficient to enable me to do the finished painting, a 21″ x 14″ watercolour which the client was delighted with.

Susan and I will be returning to Italy in September for a painting project in Florence and will be happy to meet up with anyone wishing to discuss any possible commissions of properties, holiday homes or favourite views, places to paint in Italy.

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