Keith Hornblower

Our May demonstration was given by Keith Hornblower and he took us through his processes tomake a watercolour painting of a scene in Venice.He told us that he enjoys the painting of architecture, but he had a selection of other work which hehad completed, showing a proficiency in a wide variety of subjects.He began by drawing out the scene he was going to paint, before mixing up the colours which hehad chosen. This was a limited range as the picture was of a rainy day in a square in the city atdusk. Beginning with a wash for the lowering sky, followed by the paved foreground, we watchedas he skillfully manipulated the watery paint and its dribbles to a great effect. Explaining histechnique as he went along, he began to build up the central areas of the picture with the buildingsand people appearing out of the gloom.After the break Keith returned to his picture by adding the fine details, which made the scene cometo life. Reflections and shadows made more sense of the dull day with people rushing to get out ofthe wet weather, with the ancient buildings giving a timeless feel to the picture.

Diane Bell