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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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Dunstanburgh Castle, November afternoon

by on April 30, 2012 in Limited Edition Prints, North East Prints

Dunstanburgh Castle, November Afternoon

Dunstanburgh Castle, November Afternoon

In November 2009 my birthday fell on our day off, a Monday, so Susan and I decided to celebrate by driving up the Northumbrian coast to Newton by the Sea to have lunch in The Ship Inn. After feasting on crab sandwiches and some local ale we walked along the beach towards Dunstanburgh Castle. I stopped to do a small sketchbook watercolour (yes even on my birthday) to capture the striking low light.

There was no wind and the sea was like a mill pond. I took some photographs and wasted little time in the studio to set about producing this watercolour which sold last year from a charity exhibition at the CastleGate in Newcastle in 2011. I did reproduce it as a limited edition print and sold another copy this afternoon to a couple purchasing it as a 40th birthday present for their daughter. There are only 25 copies in the edition which can be seen at my Studio and Gallery in Ponteland.

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Grainger Street

by on April 24, 2012 in Limited Edition Prints, North East Prints

Grainger Street

Grainger Street

The popularity of my limited edition prints is partially down to the fact that I usually include figures in the paintings which bring the painting to life. Over the years I spent considerable time observing people going about their daily business in cities like Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Venice, Florence and New York. I’ve developed a kind of shorthand for drawing them on the move in my sketchbook which I can refer to when I come to do a studio painting. I will of course take photographs as it’s impossible to draw people in detail walking about the streets unless they are deliberately modelling for you.

It’s the figures in this painting which are the dominant point of interest. Folk have often commented that they love the old man shuffling along with his newspaper sticking out of his back pocket, the two old ladies nattering away with their shopping bags and the road sweeper who has stopped to light up a fag. The original painting sold many years ago but the limited edition print titled Grainger Street is still available online or from my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

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St Mark’s Square, Afternoon Sunlight

by on March 27, 2012 in Italy Prints and Originals, Limited Edition Prints

St Mark's Square, Afternoon Sunlight, Venice

St Mark

St Mark’s Square in Venice holds very special memories for my wife and I as it was in the Basilica that Susan gave her life to God over 25 years ago. She had a dramatic conversion to Christianity which transformed her life from one of hopelessness and despair to one of peace, joy and faith in Jesus Christ. Whenever we go to Venice, we like to reflect on that pivotal point in Susan’s life and reflect on the amazing things that God has done in our lives since that day of new birth.

So it goes without saying that I’ve painted St Mark’s Square on more than one occasion, both on location and in my studio. This particular scene is an A4 studio painting based on a smaller sketchbook watercolour which I’ve published as a limited edition print with only 45 in the edition. The original was given to my youngest granddaughter Anya when she was first born, “my first watercolour”.

Other paintings of Italy can be seen in my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland and on my website www.alanreed.com

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Mubarakiyya Souk, Kuwait

by on January 31, 2012 in Middle East Prints, Painting on Location, Top Sketch Book Tips

In 2009 I spent a couple of weeks painting on location in Kuwait. Several different subjects attracted my attention and demanded to be painted. One was the entranceway to the Mubarakiyya Souk in Kuwait City.

I found a suitable place to sit outside the entranceway in the warmth of the January sunlight and peering into the darkness, I was able to pick out the architectural details and the movement of the locals wearing their Abayas and Dishdashas. Working directly onto the handmade watercolour paper in my sketchbook with paint, I was able to capture the flowing fabrics of the clothing and the rich rusty reds of the interior of the souk.

My activities attracted some attention from the locals who were both curious and friendly. These studies later became the catalyst for two studio paintings, one A4, the other a 21” x 14” watercolour which has also become a popular limited edition giclee print. I made a conscious effort to retain the fluidity of the sketchbook studies in the studio paintings, the smallest of the two already being sold.

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Ponte Vecchio, Firenze

by on October 18, 2011 in Painting on Location

You never quite know who you are going to see whilst painting on location. I was crossing Ponte Vecchio when working in Florence recently and noticed BBC’s Fiona Bruce being filmed by a camera crew. I’m not sure for what programme, perhaps another series of Fake or Fortune? 

I’ve painted several watercolours on location of Ponte Vecchio, usually from Piazza Michelangelo, however on this occasion, I decided to do one standing next to the window of a rather expensive ice cream shop at the end of the bridge on the other side of the road. After being charged €6 for the smallest tub of ice cream available, I embarked on a small sketchbook study of the bridge bathed in the late afternoon sunlight.

The Duomo in the distance was both my starting point and focal point of interest with the strong angles from the foreground buildings taking the viewers eyes towards the main part of the subject, the bridge itself with its shoppers and colourful flags. Using this simple study and some of the reference photographs I took, I hope to work this up into a larger original watercolour in my Studio.

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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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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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Manchester in the Snow

by on July 22, 2011 in English Scenes, Football and Rugby Prints, Painting on Location, What's on the Drawing Board

Manchester in the Snow

Manchester in the Snow

In 2009 I was exhibiting at Manchester’s Buy Art Fair. I decided to do an original watercolour of one of Manchester’s famous architectural landmarks, the Printworks that overlooked the venue of the Art Fair that year, the Urbis building. A number of weeks before the fair I spent a weekend in Manchester when it rained for much of the time. I managed to do a very “wet on wet” study of the Printworks which helped to capture something of the mood and atmosphere of the city. Along with the reference photographs, I was able to start on the studio painting.

Before embalming on the finished painting, I did an A5 study of one of the figures I planned to place in the painting, a rather portly gentleman sheltering under an umbrella. To make sure the painting was going to work, I then did an A4 watercolour on hand made paper with a deckled edge which I used to refer to for colour and composition.

You will notice of the photograph of what’s on my drawing board, a book on Adolphe Valette, a French Impressionist who lived in Manchester for several years and is best known as L.S. Lowry’s tutor. I went to see some of his stunning paintings at the Manchester Art Gallery which I have to say were a real inspiration. The moody, foggy scenes that Valette painted helped me to decide the palate which I ended up using which involved a greater use of Lamp Black than usual.

The small painting of the large man sold almost straight away when on display at the Buy Art Fair and a few weeks later I sold the large studio watercolour to a customer in Manchester which is also available as a limited edition print. The A4 original watercolour study, however is available online.

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Show me the Monet

by on May 7, 2011 in Latest News

You may recall a blog post earlier in the year where I wrote about being filmed for a BBC Series titled “Show me the Monet“. Well, the 10 episode series begins on Monday 9th May on BBC 2 weekdays 5:15-6:00pm. I have been told that I am appearing in the program on Wednesday 18th with my painting of Grey Street viewed from Emerson Chambers.

“The series following the fortunes of amateur and professional artists from all over the United Kingdom, as they battle it out for a spot at the Show Me the Monet grand exhibition and sale at the Royal College of Art in London, where members of the public and the art world alike will bid to buy the best of the art work on show.

Contenders could stand to make some serious cash, but first they need the seal of approval from three of the art world’s toughest critics. To win a spot at the exhibition and the chance to sell and make some money from their work, hopeful artists must first face the Hanging Committee, where their hopes and dreams could be made or dashed.” Quote taken from the BBC Website.

The painting I submitted actually began with me doing a sketchbook study in watercolour on location as preparation for a painting demonstration I was doing at Waterstones the book shop one Saturday morning last September.

Using the sketch and some reference photographs, I drew the basic shape of the buildings and figures in readiness for the demonstration. I was able to work quite quickly on this particular painting and as you can see form the photograph, I managed to complete most of the building on the right hand side of the painting. I was able to finish off the rest of the scene in my studio.

The filming of my appearance on the program was an enjoyable but slightly disappointing experience for me as my work was not selected for the Royal College of Art, but I’d much rather try something and fail than not try at all. I’m looking forward to finding out what artwork the judges did pick in the end.

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