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The photo shoot 
I went to Marlborough (Wiltshire, United Kingdom) and took around 15 photographs. This town is full of character. The wide High Street is lined with eighteenth-century houses and a church raises its bell tower at either end: St. Peters & St. Pauls Church at the west end and St Mary's Church at the other end. It is difficult to get a good shot of the whole centre with the perspective intact because the High Street is so large that cars are parked in the middle, cutting the view. The selected view shows the Town Hall and Kingsbury Street on its north side, with its old buildings and a row of shops under a colonnade. In the background, the tower of St Mary's adds interest. The Victorian Town Hall is interesting from an architectural point of view, but also to the painter: honey colour carved stones, red walls, large rounded corner stones, pillars, balustrades and a roof with a lantern… there is a lot to play with. |
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The material I used the following material for this watercolour:
Colours: Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, French Vermilion, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Deep. I am using a limited colour palette in order to give unity to the painting. The number of shades you can obtain by mixing these six colours together is impressive and more than needed for this cityscape. |
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The Drawing 
I spent around 3 hours to get the drawing right. I like subjects that I can sketch free-hand with a few reference lines and then explore with the paint. This is not one of these subjects. The perspective and proportions of the buildings required great attention, otherwise the painting would not work. I did not know how much of the initial drawing would be visible in the finished painting, but the solid foundation of the drawing warranted more freedom at a later stage. Because I would not have to worry about the balance of the painting, I would be able to concentrate on lights, colours and tones. |
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Applying the drawing gum 
The drawing gum (also called sometime Liquid Frisquet) allowed me to reserve white areas in the painting by covering the paper; so I could paint washes without breaking them to go around white or lighter areas. In this painting, I applied the drawing gum onto the window frames, the light areas of the buildings, the columns and the reflection of the lights on the cars. When the gum was fully dry (turned grey), I was able to start painting. |
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Painting the sky 
I wet the paper with some clean water where the blue part of the sky would be. I applied Cerulean Blue and then some Cobalt Blue wet on wet, starting from the top of the painting and letting the colour run down the paper. I mixed some grey for the clouds. Starting with an Ultramarine base, I added a little bit of Vermilion and then broke the purple obtained by adding a touch of Raw Umber. I added plenty of water to do a first wash. I then added alternatively some Ultramarine and Raw Umber on the wet wash, letting the pigment run and blend into the base colour. |
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The end of Kingsbury Street and the Town Hall 
I started by painting at the same time the bricks on the Town Hall and the end of Kingsbury Street. I wanted to make sure that the main building would stand out from the shadow of the street. |
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Completing the Town Hall and Buildings on the right side 
The buildings on the right side of the painting are in the background and in the shadow. The best option was to use muted colours. I decided not to use too dark tones to avoid creating distraction from the main building. |
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The buildings on the left side 
The shops on the left side, with the apartments on the upper floor, offered a complex combination of volumes. The main colours of the buildings – orange and brown – kept up with the colours of the Town Hall. The letter box The Royal Mail red letter box is what I call a telling detail because you know this is located in England. This box was the brightest colour area in the painting. It played an effective role leading the eye to the Town Hall, almost pointing at the focal point. |
The shops and shoppers The shops and the arcades were mainly in the shadow, apart from the white columns. I decided to paint this area with Ultramarine and Raw Sienna mixed in different proportions. The two ladies walking by the shops were painted the same way. |
The sidewalk was a wash of Raw Umber with Yellow Ochre and a trace of Ultramarine to mute the colour. The asphalt was painted with a mixture of Cobalt Blue and Raw Umber. I dragged the brush on the paper until it almost dried to obtain a granular effect. |
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Removing the drawing gum 
I removed the drawing gum just by rubbing my index on the paper. The bright white paper showed where the drawing gum was. |
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Working on the final details 
I painted washes over many areas previously covered by the drawing gum, like the top of the window frames which were in the shadow. Time to add few fine details: the spire on the top of the Town Hall; the tail lights of the car; few marks to evoke the tiles on the bow windows in the foreground; crisper details in the ladies’ outfits. I signed and dated the painting. What looked like the final stage is not really. Although I stopped working on this painting, the chemistry of the paint and paper continued to operate for few hours, as the water in the paper evaporated. The paint marks slightly changed, discrete washes came alive and successive washes blended together. |