Jons Watercolours

Gawsworth Old Hall was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house. Notable residents have included Mary Fitton, perhaps the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and Samuel “Maggoty” Johnson, a playwright described as the last professional jester in England. Here you can see the ink drawing before and after the colourwash is applied.

I have put together this collection of around 50 paintings of the places I have walked through over the past months on my daily exercise walk starting from home. Going out and about in your local area is something we have come to neglect in the age of the motor car yet there iare so many…

Here is the swing bridge which carries the road to Gawsworth over the Macclesfield Canal. We are currently enjoying a heatwave and so I was up early to walk down the canal before the heat of the day reached its height. This was just before 8am and the light at this time gives deep shadows…

The ivy and climbers clambering over the walls and roof caught my attention here.

The Biennial Barnaby Festival in Macclesfield is being held online this year – here is my contribution on the theme of Vision – ‘Eyes of the World’

Here is one of the gateways to Macclesfields South Park. The architecture reflects its opening in the 1920’s. As we all become aware of the importance of staying fit and healthy our parks have filled with joggers and walkers. The open spaces make walking easier at a time when we all have to avoid coming…

Another ‘Daily Walk’ painting. As we are only allowed out to exercise these are all done from phone photographs. Again this is an ink drawing with watercolour overlaid. The dark and light tones are all built up in the drawing so that the wash only has to give the colour. It’s a good way to…

We are now in lockdown, but still allowed out for excercise once a day. Here is a quick sketch from a photo on my phone of the daffodils beside the road. It is done in ink with a wash of watercolour over the top.

Alcohol inks produce vibrant colours with a unique appearance due to the properties of the ink. They can be brushed or sponged on, but it is when drops are applied that their full potential is released. As each drop expands it pushes any colour underneath out to the edge of the wet area creating colourful…

Something in a different style. This is painted in acryl gouache – an opaque acrylic paint. It shows the monthly ‘Treacle Market’ in the Market Place in front of Macclesfield Town hall and Parish Church. The market on the last Sunday of the month has over 160 stalls of crafts, gourmet food and drink, and…

Staithes is a picturesque fishing port on the Yorkshire coast, north of Whitby. The village lies between two headlands known as ‘nabs’. Cowbar Nab and Penny Nab help shelter a small harbour where pleasure boats bob at anchor. Watercolour showing the river at low tide.

The harbour at Castletown on the Isle of Man, painted in watercolour. This painting raised £52 in a raffle at Congleton U3A Christmas Fair in aid of East Cheshire Hospice.

Traditional fishing boat pulled up beneath the palms lining the beach. Watercolour

Croker Hill with Sutton Common Radio Tower behind and Macclesfield town in the distance on the right

The theme for the 2018 Barnaby Festival is Roots / Routes. This piece in mixed media shows the towns roads portrayed like the roots of a plant. It is built up from strands of twin with PVA glue and filler, finished with acrylic. The Macclesfield Art group display is at the Park Tavern in Macclesfield

This painting shows my great grandparents, probably in 1915. My great grandfather had enlisted in September 1914 joining the Leicestershire Regiment. He was moved to the front in July 1915 where he fought in France and Belgium. Injured in July 1916, he spent a week in hospital before returning to frontline duty where he was…

Watercolour study showing the stonework on the temple at Stourhead

St James Church in Gawsworth with winters snow

This is painted on Rough paper using some of the paints from the Daniel Smith range that give good granulation effects. This helps to provide texture to the pebbled beach as well as adding to the rugged feel of the boat

Venice skyline with the sun setting behind the Grand Canal. Painted in watercolour on NOT paper

Allium showing flower heads at different stages. Painted on smooth HP paper in watercolour

A covering of snow always adds a magic to a scene. Here is the Church House Inn at Sutton Lane Ends.

A classic scene with reflections just made for a watercolour painting. This is based on photographs taken in July 2011. Construction of the castle began as a roughly rectangular fortified house with towers in each corner. The original plan may never have been finished, and by 1558 it is likely only the southern tower remained.…

Little Moreton Hall is a moated half-timbered manor house in Cheshire. The earliest parts of the house were built for the prosperous Cheshire landowner William Moreton in about 1504–08, and the remainder was constructed in stages by successive generations of the family until about 1610. The building is highly irregular, with three asymmetrical ranges forming…

Hill Top Cottage on Tresco We’ve just returned from a weeks holiday on the Isles of Scilly.  The islands are beautiful and peaceful and I have a whole lot of photos to work into paintings.

Barnaby is a festival of contemporary arts and culture celebrating Macclesfield’s rich heritage. Now in its third year, it has become an eagerly anticipated fixture in Macc’s calendar: for one glorious weekend in June, the town centre is brought to life with music, comedy, performance, visual arts, street entertainment, workshops, walks and talks. Once again,…

I’ve recently been experimenting using acrylic inks. They give bright clear colours and can be over painted without fear of lifting the previous layer as they are water resistant when dry. The technique I have used is to paint the shadows first using just black ink, diluted to give grey shades. Darks can be gradually…

This painting was done during a two hour painting workshop at Macclesfield Art Group with Gerd Gerhard. Masking fluid is used to pick out the highlights, the shafts of light shining through the foliage is lifted out at the end

I did this painting for a work colleague who wanted a painting of his daughter. Working from a photograph a pencil drawing was prepared first to establish the lights and darks in the final painting.

This interpretation of a scene in the Fex Valley, Switzerland is painted in ink and watercolour on 22″ x 10″ Bockingford paper. The individual elements of the scene are painted individually set vertically on the paper in an oriental style. The writing at the top (courtesy of Google translate) reads Swiss valley. I should apologise…

Winter is the time to dig out the reference photographs taken earlier in the year and transform them into paintings. Hence this one which is now completely out of season. Here we see Catholic monks in Kerala, southern India marching to their church on Palm Sunday to commemorate Jesus’ march carrying the cross. Painted in…

Painting from a photograph taken in late afternoon looking towards Venice, St Marks on the right.

Here’s a painting done from photos taken during my recent visit to Italy.

Here is a painting done during a stay last week in the village of Heiligenblut in Kärnten, Austria.The Gothic pilgrimage church of Saint Vinzenz, with its needle spire, was built between 1460-1491 and contains a relic of Christ’s Holy Blood. According to legend the relic was brought here in 914 from Constantinople by the Danish…

Tusker Village Market, Tamil Nadu

Here’s a watercolour sketch of Oast Houses at Sissinghurst in Kent, done during a stay there last week.

Have just returned from a tour of southern India – lots of interesting places, varied and beautiful countryside and friendly people, and lot’s of great subjects for paintings – bright colours and clear light. Here are a couple to start with, there will be more in the gallery. A sketch showing women going about their…