Original Artwork AH

Original Artwork AH Original watercolour, urban sketches and unique doodle artwork for sale. Beautiful UK landscapes and energetic compositions.

Last week I attended a webinar with Andre Kano, organized by . I learnt about composition, creating a focus using the de...
16/06/2026

Last week I attended a webinar with Andre Kano, organized by . I learnt about composition, creating a focus using the depth of the watercolours, which also helps create that illusion of three-dimesional space in the picture. I learnt about applying the colour in shapes and forms, instead of painting objects, I saw the beauty of continuous watercolour transitions between different pigments and I learnt the importance of leaving white space on the page.

The first picture was me working along with Andre in the video after the webinar. The second is my first attempt going solo, trying to implement the things I had learnt: Roundstone Harbour in Connemara, Ireland, 10x8". By no means perfect, and I'm not sure I really like how it turned out, but I was reasonably happy as a first attempt at new techniques, apart from almost totally forgetting the white space! I could have maybe chosen a simpler subject matter! but I need to feel inspired by an image before I start painting. The reference was a photo that I had taken last September on a fantastic holiday in south-west Ireland.

I'm a local artist, based in Ellesmere, and I enjoy painting and sketching images that are iconic to the local area that...
10/06/2026

I'm a local artist, based in Ellesmere, and I enjoy painting and sketching images that are iconic to the local area that we live in. Here an old Welsh cottage with its own special character: A tired roof, supported at each end and in the middle but sagging slightly in between; a well-established pyracantha that is beginning to take over the roof as well as the front of the house, framing the windows with its long spikey branches; the profuse vegetation to the left of the cottage, hinting also at a vegetation take-over in the near future. The cottage itself nestles amongst these green companions, bathed in the warm sunlight of the morning, inviting you to stop and wonder at its past and its future.

You'll find me and my artwork at local art and craft fayres. I was last at Ellesmere Arts Festival and after a very successful weekend, now need to top up my collection!

Had a fun evening creating this pen sketch from a reference photo of the cottage in North Wales where my parents live. T...
04/06/2026

Had a fun evening creating this pen sketch from a reference photo of the cottage in North Wales where my parents live. This will be my mum's birthday card tomorrow! 😊

Not sure how I can transpose the Parisian light and colours to North Shropshire but am sure it'll be fun trying! This wa...
19/05/2026

Not sure how I can transpose the Parisian light and colours to North Shropshire but am sure it'll be fun trying!

This was the result of the third and final day of Alex Hillkurtz's workshop at the International Watercolour Masters Exhibition. And yes, we introduced the red! The red of the awning, a red glow of the shadows, reflected red on the sills of the stonework and just for the fun of it some red underlying the dappled shadow in the foreground. I got a bit carried away with the water splashes again but Alex suggested copying this effect in the rest of the shadow as an attempt at recovery.....It was that or a pair of scissors to reframe it! This was also my first attempt at creating a dappled shadow, not quite right but practice makes perfect. And again, I am super happy with the overall result.

Altogether a fantastic workshop! Well structured, guiding us through the process step-by-step, with good timing, pushing us on when necessary and giving us space when needed. Alex is a super friendly guy, extremely talented and makes everything look so simple! I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and would thoroughly recommend a workshop or course with Alex Hillkurtz! I'm already looking forward to 2028 for the next IWM!



Wow! What a day! The second day of the workshop with watercolour master Alex Hillkurtz at the International Watercolour ...
18/05/2026

Wow! What a day! The second day of the workshop with watercolour master Alex Hillkurtz at the International Watercolour Masters 2026! We started off the morning learning about 3-point and then 4-point perspective drawing in order to sketch this Parisian building. Well, that woke us up!

After a well earned coffee break we braved the first washes, with a dash of orange in the shadows under the balconies to indicate the warm reflected light from the stonework. We then retired for lunch to recover from the intensity of avingvto think whilst painting!

The afternoon found us step-by-step applying the shadows, first a big block of connected shadows, working fast so the paint stayed wet and workable. I was too slow and the edges dried and in the process of trying to rescue the situation a few wonderful cauliflowers developed! Not to worry, says Alex, the details later will take the eye away....and they did! Next a few shadow marks, just to define the necessary detail. I find this bit tricky, being continuously drawn back to add more and more details. But less can really be more and I was astounded that a triangle of shadow in the top corner of a window was enough for the brain to fill in the rest of the details.

Spoiler alert, the third colour was not red, but a magenta mixed with ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to create the beautifully warm parisian shadows. Otherwise cobalt blue for the sky and raw sienna for the warmth of the brickwork.

Shame about the blue lake with the giant snowflakes in the foreground but heh, as Alex says, it's only a piece of paper! Very pleased with the rest of it though! 😁

I am at the International Watercolour Masters Exhibition in Lilleshall, South Shropshire, for a few days, revelling in t...
18/05/2026

I am at the International Watercolour Masters Exhibition in Lilleshall, South Shropshire, for a few days, revelling in the stunning masterpieces on display here. I'm also taking part in a 3-day workshop led by the watercolour master Alex Hillkurtz.

Today we focused on value studies, the first in monochrome and the second using just two colours, a warm and a cool tone. I finished this one in the caravan this evening where the light wasn't particularly good! However, my brain and I are really appreciating the structured approach of building up a picture using colour, first identifying the tonal values and then the temperature, cool or warm. Tomorrow we have the excitement of adding a third colour!! I'm guessing it might be red!

Just spent a lovely day at Erddig Hall sketching in the gardens with Shropshire Art Society. I didn't quite get the pers...
14/05/2026

Just spent a lovely day at Erddig Hall sketching in the gardens with Shropshire Art Society. I didn't quite get the perspective right with the hall itself, but heh! I was having fun and this is why we sketch, to practice these things. The problem I found with drawing perspective in plein air is there are no horizontal or vertical lines of the edge of a photo to use as a reference!! After the friendly critique during lunch I focused much more on creating a contrast in my final sketch of the doorway leading through to the formal gardens beyond. Am really happy with this one! 😊

Playing around with some Ellesmere reference photos and some new watercolour techniques. I started this one before the E...
11/05/2026

Playing around with some Ellesmere reference photos and some new watercolour techniques. I started this one before the Ellesmere Arts Festival last weekend and felt inspired to finish it this week!

Back to painting an abstract landscape this afternoon, following all the principles that I learnt last year in the Scott...
09/05/2026

Back to painting an abstract landscape this afternoon, following all the principles that I learnt last year in the Scott Swinson Abstract Landscapes course. This one is a birthday card for my dad.

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