This Old House

This is my painting from the Painting Friends "Year of Painting" challenge, where once a month we have to paint from a provided photo and share our process.

Number Four, Crooked Houses

Personal Goals for this Painting:

Firstly I set some goals for my thumbnail sketches.

These were :

1. do a thumbnail showing the scene as is
2. on two thumbs, eliminate different elements
3. on one thumb be off the wall
4. Choose which one of these thumbnails to paint.

Choosing (3), the choices for the painting were to try to

a) try to make the crooked houses believable - and to add some crumbling plasterwork!

So, here's the painting: This Old House

What works and what could be improved.

I think the houses look believable. I think perhaps the crumbling plaster is too uniform.. I should have made more ragged shapes, perhaps.

Challenges Faced

Oh the challenge for me! I hate things that look crooked, so somehow I had to make these look real, without tinkering too much and making them perfectly level!

Share Personal Goals and whether you felt you Met Them

My goals were to make the four thumbs again, pick a technique for crumbling plaster and to create a feeling of older crooked houses.

Did I manage that? I think so, though I can see room for improvement. (Without re-building the houses to suit !)

How I created the Painting.

I created the painting by painting the sky first. When that was dry, first pale coat on each building, then when dry, a second coat leaving small areas unpainted. Then I created an edge around those small areas to mimic crumbling plaster. Window and doors were painted, mindful of shadows. The painted borders to the original windows were reduced, because I thought they detracted from the building. Dry brush on the pavement and then big shadow washes!

Size of Painting, Medium, Palette and Brushes.

The painting is on Arches Aquarelle Rough 140lb and is 11” x 7”

The medium is pencil for the under drawing and watercolour for the painting. W&N artists quality .

Palette colours used : French Ultramarine, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre., Burnt Sienna.

Brush: Kolinsky numbers 12 and 7

PS: The title comes from a song that Shakin' Stevens once sang, and I saw him perform at Shepherd's Bush, London. (yes, in my youth!)
The lyrics included " ain't got time to fix the shingles, ain't got time to fix the floor" which suited this crooked house and my feelings on it, down to the ground!