Cortina

I often don’t know where I will find the inspiration for my next watercolour landscape painting, and sometimes it comes from something that, at face value, is unrelated to landscape painting. For instance I was recently watching the Winter Olympics from Cortina in the Italian Dolomites, on TV, and was struck by how spectacular the backdrop was to the various outdoor events. This led me to do some research on the stock photography website I use, and I came up with this colourful winter scene. I’ve employed many watercolour techniques, like wet into wet, dry-brushwork, using the side of the brush rather than the point, plus careful use of masking fluid, to produce a painting which hopefully has a good blend of looseness and detail. It’s one to take your time over and not rush, but equally, you need to guard against overworking, particularly in the background. I found this a really enjoyable project. Happy Painting, Geoff.