Fanad Head Lighthouse, Donegal Ireland

Size: 10.5x 8inches

This original watercolorwas inspired by the Fanad Head Lighthouse on Donegal Ireland. Part of my Wanderlust Watercolour collection, I want to take my patrons on journeys to different corners of the world, to places with different cultures and images.

I find bodies of water so relaxing and therapeutic so seek them out wherever I travel and live. In painting this piece, I wanted to capture that feeling of a cold grey day out of the coast overlooking the sea. Growing up in the UK, I was very used to grey skies and find beauty in them as much as clear blue skies – there’s an almost dreamlike light that you get with overcast days which I now lust after having moved to California.

As I thought of my travel series, I wanted to create my works in line and wash. I like the control and freedom I can exert and modulate with line, from suggesting form and shapes to creating shadows and textures. Having creating the impression of this little island housing a couple of buildings and a lighthouse, I then filled out the piece with exaggerated colour in layers of watercolour washes to create a grey day that plays with colour and shadows.