Bridge Ruins, River Rosara, at the Watermill in Posara

This watercolour is from a favourite spot in Tuscany, the Watermill in Posara on the River Rosara. What pulled me in was simple. I wanted another go at those boulders with all their shapes and colours. I also wanted to catch the feeling of the water moving past, and the strong contrast between the pale light behind and the dark, stout support from the old collapsed bridge.

I kept the background soft and light so the bridge support could stand out. A loose wash of spring green with a touch of cobalt blue set the trees, then I dropped in warmer notes near the light to keep the glow. The big stone support was built up with mixes of ultramarine and burnt sienna, with small notes of alizarin and light red for variety. I let a few edges stay hard to show the strength of the structure.

The river boulders were fun. I used broken brush marks and some spatter for texture, then negative painted the gaps to separate the stones. Greys came from ultramarine and burnt umber, cooler stones from cobalt blue and lavender, and a few sunlit rocks got touches of yellow ochre and quinacridone gold. A little dry brush helped suggest rough surfaces without drawing every detail.

For the moving water I painted horizontal strokes of cerulean and a little viridian, softening as I went downstream. I lifted out a few ripples with a damp brush and added tiny touches of white paint at the end for sparkle. The warm light on the left bank was glazed with cadmium yellow and a hint of burnt sienna to guide the eye into the scene. This painting is for sale, so please contact me for more information. Do visit the rest of my website www.timwilmotartist.com and come and join my painting club at patreon/timwilmot. Check it out for a free trial.