The Winery at Cognac Normandin-Mercier, La Rochelle

The morning sun can create a real test for any watercolour painter. On day four of our outdoor painting trip, we went to a beautiful old French winery called Cognac Normandin-Mercier. The light was very bright, casting very long shadows across the grass. My plan was to paint the main house, which is called a chateau, and the interesting old stone pigeon house next to it.

An interesting thing about this winery is that they have made special French brandy here since the year 1872. The buildings have very old stone walls that change colour when the sun hits them. To paint the warm stone of the chateau, I used a wash of yellow ochre mixed with a touch of burnt sienna. For the giant dark roof, I mixed ultramarine blue with neutral tint to make it look very heavy and solid against the sky.

The big challenge here was all the green trees and bushes on the left side of the scene. Many students struggle with greens, but the trick is to mix different types. I used spring green with a bit of cadmium yellow for the bright leaves where the sun hits them. Then I used viridian green with burnt umber for the dark, cool parts under the trees. This simple mix stops the trees from looking like a flat block of colour.