Ways with Colour

I visited a small village called Hondon de los Nieves a while ago, and did some sketching and took some photos of the colourful Spanish houses there. Yesterday I thought I'd play around with some of these photos and see what I could paint from them.

I chose one and then zoomed in and cropped it on the computer to produce a composition I liked. These windows were full of character and I loved the palm tree running up through the picture and the fronds just poking in from above. The lamp made another interesting feature. All in all there was plenty to have a go at.

I used watercolours to paint the first version using the greens and cool colours that were in the photo, and really enjoyed doing it. But then I thought I'd have a go at using a different warmer colour set, so I painted another version using oranges, reds and golds. (One reason for this is that my wife wants me to do a large oil painting for the living room and this needs to be in oranges to fit the decor - I can't believe I'm painting to fit the decor!!).

Another reason for the colour change was to break away from painting things 'as they are' and to experiment more with creating art, and a third reason is that paintings in warm colours outsell paintings in cool colours by a major factor.

So I've three questions for you. Which do you like most? Do they have a different emotional pull? And have you ever tried painting the same scene in different colours? Why not give it a go - it's a fascinating experiment.

Sunny Spain Part 2

Well I've found out some of the answers to the questions I had in my last post. The temperatures have been pretty high in the last few weeks, around 33c in the shade and up to 45c in the full sun. My watercolours dried and cracked up in the pans and I thought they were ruined, which was going to cause me problems with the painting holiday coming up at the end of October. However I left them to soak in warm water overnight, and lo and behold, the next day they were fine! I can't tell you how relieved I was to be able to use them again. (It's not easy getting art materials in Spain.)

And there are even some advantages to the dry heat. I have had a go at a couple of oil paintings, using acrylics for the under-painting, and boy, these acrylics dry fast! Which means I can almost immediately get on and paint on top of them with the oils, which also then dry to the touch within a day or two. So, no more wet oils hanging around the house for weeks. My wife will be ever so pleased!

Spanish Sun

I've just arrived in Spain with my lovely wife and we are here for two months as a prelude to moving out permanently in January '09. The sun is shining and it's very hot (over 30 c in the shade and up to 45c in the full sun), which is in such direct contrast to the UK where it had been raining and cold through the whole of the summer months.
It's going to be interesting learning to paint in this climate - my watercolours will dry quicker, and goodness knows what the heat will make of my acrylics... I've brought watercolours, acrylics, water soluble oils and coloured pencils with me to see how things work out. I'm so used to needing a hair dryer to speed up drying times back in the Lake District. Maybe I'll just need to paint faster!

There is still a little room on the course I am leading in October here in Spain, so if you have a week to spare and want some winter sunshine, then why not join me. Details are on the website.