On a recent trip back to Bolton it was raining steadily and I made a painting of the back deck and a pot of geraniums. The rain was collecting on the deck and reflecting the sky which created a mottled mix of beige and blue with streaks of orange. The railing and planter box were also reflecting off the water. To paint the scene I started with a wash of pale blue (dilute PB60 and or PB15) and added in the beige (PBr7 with PY43) while the blue was still moist, then streaked in some neutral orange (PR101, PO62 and PY43). As it dried I worked up the box with red ochre (PR101) and red orange (PO36), the background trees, the leaves and flowers. The flowers were done with pyrol red (PR254) and red orange. By then the painting looked rather washed out and bland, but I knew once the deck detail, rain drop circles, and railings were added it would really pop. It is almost photographic but still looks like a painting. My parent's scanner is also really great, I could post with no modifications and it looks just like the real painting, which is on their kitchen wall in a frame hanging right next to the view of the deck!
Rain on Deck with Geraniums, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2023 (No. 3504)
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