Boats in a harbour

There’s something about the first entry of a new blog akin to a blank piece of paper before the first brush stroke – so much potential. So it is I begin this with a degree of nervous trepidation, a bit like whenever I endeavour to paint or sketch in public. And, like then, I’ll just try to crack on oblivious to any passing spectators and hope that it all works out okay – or that I at least lose myself in the moment, for I find that’s one of the greatest joys of painting.

So here’s a starting point. This is a recent sketch of boats in a harbour in in France. I was pleased with it mainly because it’s progress on previous sketches and I think it’s heading towards the right balance of control and looseness. (Although I’m not pleased about the hard edges of the clouds!) I did a very simple pencil sketch, mainly concentrating on the front central boat after which the view was too complicated to worry about getting all the detail in. I’m not particularly interested in creating any kind of photographic record, more capturing and conveying a sense, a mood, a time of day, a quality of light – and preferably as quickly and economically as possible.

I hope that over time I’ll be able to use this blog as a means to compare and contrast my development, and I also hope that over time I’ll be able to get some valuable feedback from other painters and watercolour enthusiasts.