I remember it was one morning early in September 2008 as I was passing through London Bridge, that I caught a sight of this view-It was enchanting- I was only armed with my digital camera - and that was it! One shot and the painting was done. Sometimes we see places we love but just can't get down to painting them, but this time I made sure this one wasn't going to elude me!
Tooley Street (London Bridge Side), 9" x 11", Watercolour/Mixed media, 2008
Again this was done in watercolour, coloured pencil, wax crayons and gouache. The procedure was similar to the Drizzly Fleet street scene in my last post.
This was a great piece for me because I submitted it into the Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition in 2009 and it got accepted. It didn't sell in that exhibition but ended up selling at the St Stephens Art Festival, Gloucester Road in 2009. I really enjoy scenes that have a good design quality to it and I was delighted to get some real positive feedback from David Paskett, the President of the RWS, who said it was one of his best pieces in the exhibition. This success really boosted my confidence in 2009 and I went on to win many other awards that year. I guess confidence is something we all need, it doesn't matter how well one can do these paintings, if one is low in confidence it can have a drastic ripple effect on everything we do around that time. I'll say, "Do anything to boost your confidence, it's a powerful tool to get to the next level in your career!"
SPECIAL QUOTE
"Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."-Norman Vincent Peale