Here are some of the things I aim for when I paint: 1. I try to simplify the shapes, this was developed from a photograph I took myself. 2. I always include street furniture, cars, modern items and objects in my compositions, they are a real part of the modern scene, think how awful a Victorian painting would be without horses, carts and carriages. 3. Having established a centre of interest I make sure that pointers towards it retain their subtlety and are not too glaringly obvious. 4. I do tend to use the full range of chroma in my painting and therefore some people think that my watercolours are acrylics. It is true that I may use gouache in some of the detail and even occasionally pastel pencil. My own opinion is that currently there is too much purism about where medium is concerned, as if painting wasn't hard enough already. That's all for today, I hope that a look into my thoughts might be of interest. John