Not Worth A Title

After not having sunshine in London for six months I dropped all plans for much needed housework today, opened my paints and let rip with whatever came to mind. This is the result. Nothing at all special but feeling tired of not enjoying my gouache as the watercolour paper is just too thick. I also wanted to refine the architectural details of the cathedral dome with brown ink but couldn't find either the ink or the pens. I can't even remember whether I threw them away some time ago. The 'portrait' is a face from my imagination sketched out just to use some old black paint left on my watercolour palette. I feel better having splashed my way through these mediocre works, but the constant awareness of just how much practice I need before I produce good work and the knowledge that I just don't have this time is slowly angering me. Never mind - something's gotta give.

"Quick Gouache - St Pauls Cathedral"

"Quick Gouache Sketch"

Trafalgar Square - Warm Up Sketch

In an effort to get out of the slump I am in I decided not to push myself to hard and just do some sketching. I have tons of photographs of iconic London landmarks and today I honed in on a photograph I hadn't taken much notice of previously. I took this a couple of weeks ago at dusk. It was hellishly windy and the light had just turned a weird grey. I hoped to paint some of these in oils, but thought some warm-up sketches to familiarise myself with the scene and its structure would be beneficial. It was a good exercise just to get the objects in position and work on the values and try to get some semblance of the water of the fountain blowing in the wind. I did this in about 35 minutes and although many details have been left out intentionally, I am pleased that I have accurately rendered the values. The details I would like to have put in could only be shown in a bigger format but I loved working with a dry brush again. I do however prefer the tinted version and I'll have to work out why some time.

"Trafalgar Square"
Gouache on Cartridge Paper - 12" x 10"

The tinted version.