Upper Langridge Church, Bath

Upper Langridge Church. Watercolour 8"x13"

This is another painting that has been half finished for such a long time. A victim of my style of starting plein air and then not getting round to developing and completing in the studio. This one was started at least a decade ago. What’s ten years though for a building that may be 100 times that age though?

Anyway, the day before yesterday I wetted the whole of the left hand side with clean water, cutting round the grave stones, then stroked into it a strong wash made up up Paynes Gray and Aureolin Yellow. Then as it dried, with a rigger brush, stroked in branches with Paynes Gray and Burnt Sienna. In the foreground I drew in the stones in the wall with a mapping pen loaded with dark paint. Finally some touches of gouache (watercolour plus permanent white) – first to the lighter side of the tree on the right, then some highlights to the stones in the wall, and finally some very pale ocre colour to pick out a few features on the church building itself. I’m satisfied with the result and it’s nice to have finished this painting at long last.

~ by noelgarner on November 10, 2009.