Painting the Chain Tower at La Rochelle Old Port

Today I am sharing a painting of a very beautiful place in France called La Rochelle. This scene shows the famous Chain Tower from the Quai du Carénage. It is a historic old port with lovely stone buildings and many boats. I really enjoy painting scenes like this where the architecture meets the water.

For this watercolour I wanted to keep the sky quite soft and simple. I used a mix of Cobalt Blue and just a little bit of Light Red to gray it down slightly. I made sure to leave some white paper showing through to suggest the clouds. It is important not to paint the sky too dark because we want the towers to stand out clearly.

The towers have a wonderful warm colour to them. To get this stone effect I used a combination of Light Red and Burnt Sienna. These warm earth colours contrast very well with the cool blue of the sky and the water. For the darker shadows on the side of the tower I added some Neutral Tint to the mix. This helps to give the building a 3D shape and weight.

Reflections are always a fun challenge in watercolour painting. You can see how the warm reddish tones of the towers are mirrored in the water below. I painted these reflections using vertical brush strokes while the paper was still a bit damp. I also added some darker horizontal lines with a smaller brush to show the movement of the water surface.

I have some very exciting news to share with you all about this location. I will be leading a painting group to this exact spot in the future. We are planning a 5 day painting holiday in La Rochelle next June 2026. It would be wonderful if you could join me there to paint the old port and enjoy the French atmosphere together.

This original painting is currently for sale so please contact me if you would like more information about purchasing it. Do not forget to visit the rest of my website at www.timwilmotartist.com to see more art. You can also join my friendly painting community for tutorials and advice at patreon.com/timwilmot. Check it out for a free trial!