GIRL WITH THE ORANGE HAIR – ACRYLIC PAINTING

I had prepared some watercolour paper with grey undercoat I found out in my paint store and I intended to do a minimal painting, maybe focussing on the head, but the pose the model adopted put paid to that. Anyway, the orange of the hair works against the blue grey of the background. With the light coming in the studio window from the far side I decided to focus on the masses. Just a pity I didn’t get that hand a little bigger.

Other  figurative works in a variety of media are available on my website grahammcquadefineart.com

BEGONIAS IN THE AUTUMN LIGHT – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I was sitting on the decking, having a cup of tea and the sun shone brightly onto a pot of begonias. I was going to do this very loosely with only a couple of flowers picked out, but I liked the shadow on the container and included that. Once there was structure here the whole thing tightened up. Hopefully I have captured some of the sprawling, haphazard array of colours without it getting too fussy.

There are other flower paintings on my website  grahammcquadefineart.com

THE ROAD BACK TO QUEENSTOWN – PASTEL PAINTING

We came back from Milford Sound in the afternoon and the  light behind the distant mountains rendered them a deep blue whilst illuminating the tops of the rolling hills and gave form to the trees.

I have other paintings on my website:graham mcquadefineart.com

A DALES’ FARM – PASTEL PAINTING

We were whizzing back across the country from County Durham towards Kendal when I spotted a farm on the  horizon. I remember a walled hill leading up to buildings and trees and the hills behind. When I got home I decided to paint this memory, emphasising the colour shift from grey blue, through blues, greens and yellows to oranges.

Other paintings can be found on my website grahammcquadefinert.com

ROAD TO LUNT – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

The village of Lunt just north of Liverpool lies on the Lancashire plain. The rich loam soil make it an area of farms spread across the flat land intersected by roads and drainage ditches. In the winter the area exudes desolation.

Other paintings of the area can be found on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com 

HEADING OFF – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I did this on a larger format but I wasn’t impressed by my rendition of the water so decided to do a bit of cropping. I brought it down to a landscape format but if I had just painted the horizon a bit lower it would have been  better in a long format. Anyway I have got rid of the suspect water which I think was caused by working in too cramped conditions and restricting the movement of my brush.

Other work  is to be found on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

A SUMMER’S SATURDAY ON BOLD STREET, LIVERPOOL – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Bold Street in Liverpool is quite a vibrant area despite the opening of the new shopping precinct in Liverpool One, just a few streets away. The iconic bombed out church stands at the top of the street where exhibitions and small concerts are held. The remains of the church are dark and imposing and I started the painting making this too dark. I had to wash off a bit of pigment to ensure that there was a sense of recession. In the end I think I made it.

Other Liverpool paintings are on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

LEEDS TO LIVERPOOL CANAL, UNDER PARBOLD HILL – WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Having completed the Café series I realised I needed some local scenes for upcoming exhibitions. A few weeks ago a friend and myself got our bikes and cycled from Parbold to Wigan and beyond. It was a sunny day and the light danced in through the leaves of the trees that lined the canal. I need to get out more and paint onsite, but perhaps this is the next best thing.

I have other canal scenes on my website grahammcquadefineart.com