Wednesday 1 August 2007

Take a Walk on the Light Side





"Take a Walk on the Light Side" is the title of a watercolour I recently completed for a commission. 

The "Light Side" sums-up for me the essential characteristics of watercolour as a medium: transparency, freshness, lightness.

If you are wondering about my watercolour technique, you can learn more in a 12 steps demonstration with photographs of the different stages.

The painting represents a view of Marlborough (Wiltshire, United Kingdom), a town which 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.

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.
Here is the final painting.



Take a Walk on the Light Side - Watercolour by Benoit Philippe




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