Coffee and Sunshine, Dubrovnik

53.5 cm x 36 cm

I never get tired of visiting Dubrovnik and its many cafés.

I came across this one as I turned a corner and was immediately struck by the blue stripes and the back lighting that was casting lovely shadows. The few unpainted white areas give the painting zing and, with the shadows, create a strong sense of light. Of course I can highly recommend this café - lovely coffee and great cakes!

Lunch in Lucca

62 cm x 56 cm

I was having lunch in Lucca with some of my workshop pupils from the Watermill and we all noticed the lovely view from our table. The dappled light on the yellow-coloured wall was an instant attraction and demanded to be painted. We all took photographs and I completed this painting when I returned to Australia.

The verticals of the trees contrasted nicely with the diagonal patterns of the shadows on the wall. The yellows of the wall were first painted and while this was still wet a thicker mixture of violet was applied, making sure that it didn't bleed too much and that I didn't lose the light-struck areas of wall. The same violet (but watered down) was used for the shadows on the trees and umbrellas. The figures were the last things painted and are crucial in adding a sense of scale and life to the painting.

Cool Sax, Paris

35.6 cm x 54.1 cm

While walking around Paris I came across these buskers playing jazz. They were very good and very "cool". I stood and listened for a long while.

The painting was obviously done from a photo but is far from photographic. To help with the jazz feel of the music I let the paint just run and drip to the bottom of the paper.  It represents the mellow, cool jazz they were playing- it seemed just to drip and ooze like the paint.

“Walkies” to Flinders Street, Melbourne

25.8 cm x 35.5 cm

This is a back view of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia, and it is one of the well known landmarks of the city.

Most paintings of Flinders Street have been done from the front, but I liked this back view, with the jumble of rail lines, poles and the bridge.

The station has a backdrop of skyscrapers which I purposely simplified to keep the station dominant. The station was glazed over with a wash of Phthalo Blue which gives it a lovely transparent, shadowy glow which contrasts nicely with the orange horizontal strip in the bottom section of the painting.