Steve Shearer Watercolours | Artist

Steve Shearer Watercolours

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25.01.2022 Into The Light. Gamblin Artists Oils on Board. From a pic I saw on the web some time back. The striking impact of the red dress and the woman's jaunty head angle as she emerges into the light, made for a fun composition. Who is she and where is she going?

23.01.2022 In the Streets Of Rome. There's nothing mundane about the streets and buildings of Rome. The colour, texture and style of Rome's buildings make the otherwise mundane interesting and full of character and light.

22.01.2022 The Light of Porto. I loved Porto's crisp clear light. It dances with the bright colours through the narrow lanes between the almost leggo-like stacked buildings, enticing you to keep going and turn the next corner. As we turned this corner I was struck by the vibrant green of one building, which seemed to shout as it declared its individuality. The light and shadows of the lane leading the eye to the brighter orange at the far end, made this an enticing scene.

20.01.2022 Rangeview Pastures. Gamblin Artists Oils on Board. This scene is of the rolling pastures and woods that can be found along Rangeview Drive, Carey Gully in the Adelaide Hills. I painted this piece en plein air on a very pleasant afternoon. I was overseen by an inquisitive Eastern Spinebill who was calling in a nearby tree and as I answered each time, he came closer and closer, threatened or curious, until he was almost directly overhead. I stopped replying to his calls, for fear of my work having an unexpected extra 'flourish' and he moved off; perhaps unimpressed with my work or judging that I was no interloper! The joys of en plein air work.

20.01.2022 Excelsior Defiant. Winsor Newton Artist Oils on Board. The wreck of the steamer Excelsior, stands defiantly in the waters of saltmarsh bound Mutton Cove, on Torrens Island. Built in 1897 and bought by flower millers in 1908, the Excelsior was abandoned in Mutton Cove in 1945, where she has defiantly resisted the ravages of the creeping rust. She makes an odd setting for the famous globe-trotting migratory Grey Plovers which fit easily into a hand but fly all the way to the Artic, through China, each year. There is something proud about the way the Excelsior stands in the shallows, amidst the saltmarsh with the chimney stacks of the Torrens Island Power Station in the background.

19.01.2022 A bit of evening relaxation with oils after a crap filled day. I've never seen this perspective of Sydney Opera House and Bridge, so I'm imaging it and seeing how it emerges, with some licence.

18.01.2022 Silence ... but for the slightest babble of the water in the wake. Gamblin Artists Oils on board. This piece is based on one of the fantastic photos by Grant Schwartzkopff. Pelicans can look so elegant as they cruise along, more than compensating for their comical perambulation on land.

16.01.2022 Paddle Steamer Dawn. The Captain Proud on the Murray River in the dawn fog. Oil on Board. I saw a great photo of this scene in the Adelaide Advertiser some years back and thought it would be fun to paint. My grandfather was a surveyor between WW1 and Ww11 for all the new locks. He wrote three books including one of his childhood on the Murray, The Slip Rails Are Down. I thought of him and my mum who grew up on the Murray in her dad’s Survey camp.

13.01.2022 Opera Reflections. Today I finished this little piece that I started last weekend. Its my impression of a perspective of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge that I have never actually seen,; the Opera House with the Bridge and fog-bound Sydney city as a backdrop. This was a bit of fun with Gamblin Artists Oils on Board.

13.01.2022 Cityhall Arch. Winsor Newton Artists Watercolours on Arches 300gsm. This scene is of the Adelaide Town Hall entrance on King William Street.

12.01.2022 The Beauty of Sighs. The beautiful but infamous Bridge of Sighs, the windows of which provided prisoners their last look of Venice on their way to execution; hence the name. Each day we walked over the bridge that provides this view and the mood evoked along this canal waxed and waned with the light and weather. This piece seems to capture the mood as it struck me. Winsor & Newton watercolour on Arches 300gm.

12.01.2022 Pike's Gums. One of my favourite restaurants is The Slate at Pike's Winery in Clare, SA. I was fortunate enough to have lunch there for my birthday this year. just as you approach the Pike's Winery on Polish Hills Rd, this magnificent stand of old gums welcomes you, with vineyards to the right and rolling hills as a backdrop. This is my impression of how that scene might look in the early light on a summer's day.

12.01.2022 Winter Over the Pond. This piece is based on a little dam at the bottom of a pasture near the Bird In Hand winery in the Adelaide Hills. I imagine it would be something like this on a frosty winter's morning. Gamblin Artists Oil Colours on Board. The primary colours were Permanent Mauve and Phthalo Turquoise.

12.01.2022 Porto's Lanes. Its just a joy walking through Porto's maze of Lanes. I cant imagine ever tiring of it. There are quite a few of these shrines built into the walls, often not maintained.

07.01.2022 Its going to be a stinker (40 yesterday and 38 today) so having watered the garden and indoor plants and chucked the washing on, I'll stay in my studio and paint today in the cool.

06.01.2022 Bermagui Marina. This piece is adapted from some shots I took of the Bermagui marina a couple of years ago when we went there for a wedding. The setting with the mountains and sea as background is just wonderful. Winsor & Newton Watercolours on Arches 300gsm.

05.01.2022 Boats of Sky. The harbour of the UK's picturesque Sky, is a delight. When the tide is out, the array of boats rest every which way on their keels, some on quite a lean, at the end of their tether lines which run parallel with orange or red buoys dotted along the lines. The backdrop of Sky's buildings sets the scene. I would have liked to have had more time to explore the myriad of vantage points for great shots when we were there in 2011. I hadn't taken up painting then, which is a good thing as I would have found it difficult not to set up and paint. This scene is based on several photos. I like the style of the main boat and wanted to profile the buoy. Winsor & Newton Artists Watercolours on Arches 300gsm.

03.01.2022 Safe Harbour. The silos and production plant of Adelaide Brighton Cement in Port Adelaide provide an impressive backdrop as this yacht slips quietly by. Gamblin Artists Oils on Board; just two colours Alizarin Crimson and Phthalo Turquoise (makes a great range of greys). I enjoyed playing with lost and found edges and contrasting tones to capture the atmosphere I wanted.

02.01.2022 Estuary Boatyard. This piece is based on a shot of a boatyard in the UK. I lost some of the building and elements that didn't suit the composition. Winsor & Newton Artists Watercolours on Arches 300gsm.

02.01.2022 Petrified. Gamblin Artists Oils on Board. This is a bit of fun. I spotted this face hiding among the rivers and veins of grey colour in the marble floor as I stepped out of the shower in my hotel a few years ago. Unblinking and petrified, him not me! I've always been interested in the core features and shapes that we recognise instantly, like eyes and nose, even when most of the form is hidden. I suspect that harks back to our evolutionary past; an essential survival skill, spotting the eye of the sabre-tooth and spiriting away. Marble floors are full of critters if you are alert.

01.01.2022 Now for the main act ...