OK - so it has been silent for over a month, but I'm going to make up for that by a couple of posts because I have been painting like crazy and some of that work was on houses! The first one was a commission of RHF International Prestige Properties. They comissioned a painting of a beautiful, sunny villa in Chateauneuf de Grasse. I worked from a couple of pictures (this is given away by the flowers and lavender - not really there in February...) and here is how it was built up:
I started with the overall drawing, concentrating on the perspective, not easy with the "rounded" poolside wall and the fence (a one-hair-brush challenge...). Then the first wash, with the basic colours. Still a bit soft, as you can still see in the above picture, in the pool. To keep myself happy (and because I am quite confdent) I add details and effects in some parts and then move on to another part.
As you may know, if you make a big mistake in aquarelle you 'll have to start all over again! Be careful, as it would be such a shame to make that mistake if you already put a lot of hours in...
That is why I always start with my weak point: the sky!
...The basic wash for the trees in the background, leaving out the white chairs for a sunny effect (you don't use white in aquarelle, your lightest colour is the color of the paper)...
...widened the pool (oops - that's the disadvantage of working from a picture, in this case a wide-angle one)...
.... darkened the shadows, added more contrast for a sunny effect and finished the trees - and there you have the result! The sunny happy house RHF sold to the lucky new owners!
