Stokesay Castle, Shropshire by Thea Cable

A really lovely painting Thea, I particularly like the stone wall which you have suggested by outlining and the tumbling old grave stones in the foreground. Look forward to seeing more of these, this is excellent.

More than works, Thea! Splendid piece! I love how you left some of the stonework to the viewer's imagination, creating a tension of detail and suggestion. Perfect to hold one's eye!

Thank you so much Christine and Seok - lovely comments that really spur me on.

It certainly works Thea!! Your Pen and Wash paintings are so crisp and fresh! This castle looks fantastic and your drawing is effortless but accurate at the same time. Colours are very inviting too. Great work Thea!

I've actually been to Stokesay Castle and it is an extraordinary building and this is a super rendition ! Looking forward to this series very much.

Like the way that the castle dominates the picture. Towering and strong. Also, those zig zag lines next to the flag pole look good. Very good drawing here!

Super pen and wash, it more than works. I think you've got the ratio white paper / wash just right, and the drawing as Satu says is so relaxed and yet accurate.

Thank you very much Satu, Debs, Louise and Sharon for your helpful and encouraging comments. The thing is that I know what I see in a painting I have done, but it is really useful to note what other people pick up on. Gives very helpful food for thought.

Lovely work Thea, your paintings are so attractive because of what you don't put in as much as what you do!

Thank you very much Frank. I agree with you about the value of leaving stuff out but the tricky bit is knowing what to leave out. Each painting brings it's own challenges in that respect and I just keep my fingers crossed that I have made the right decision.

I find your work to be fresh and minimal in approach yet you cram so much information into them - wonderful. I, like others above love how you leave areas unpainted (which is not as easy as one thinks to get right) and think has worked extremely well in this picture. Great.

Just great - series of local buildings is a bit like my series of Leics Villages - have you thought about approaching say a local charity to produce a calendar? Probably a bit late this year but something to aim for.

Very strong line and wash.The colours are clean and refreshing.The decision to use local colour is wise and works here.

Thank you very much Joseph, Michael and David - such great comments - very grateful indeed. Michael, thank you for the compliment but I am not sure anyone would be interested in my pen and wash paintings, let alone wanting to use them for a calender. A local artist did one recently of her pen and wash drawings, but they were far superior to anything I could produce, so I don't think I would dare now. Perhaps if I get a lot better....? Joseph, you are spot on - deciding what not to paint is much harder than actually painting sections. I sit there chewing my finger nails trying to decide and usually resort to chocolate in the hope it will kick start the decision making part of my brain. If I get it wrong, then I always have the chocs to console me!

Really love this Thea, you have captured the strength of the building and as always with such lively use of colour, beautiful!

beautiful Thea. Love the pale washes with concentrated washes laid in. Lovely drawing too. Did you go straight in with the pen or is there some preliminary pencil drawing. Just wondering if warmer green are required in the foreground and the blues greens reserved for the bit between the headstones and the house, to throw the former forward? Great work.

You've drawn it so well Thea and the unpainted wall gives excellent separation. Not sure what you mean by 'local colour', but were I to comment (=make a suggestion ;) ) it might have been to splash that Alizarin(?) amongst the gravestones rather than in the wooded background. This might have add even more depth. Alternatively cool down the building's walls or sex up the cemetery (if that's appropriate....)

Thank you very much Lesley, Philip and Kim for the insightful and helpful comments. Always good to receive Philip, the only pencil line I used was to get the perspective of the underside of the jettied part of the building. Once I got that right, then I worked off that by relating one line to another - all then done in pen. Kim, sex in the cemetery - are you leading me astray, lol! Seriously, you have a valid point. My trouble is that I am a 'gut' painter and my hand does things sometimes without much engagement of the brain. I suspect a little more brainwork is called for here. However, every time someone points something out, like the distribution of colour, etc, I take note and try and use this in the next painting, so this advice is warmly received and very welcome.

P.S. What I meant by local colour was using darker tones of the inherent colours rather than using shades of violet/blue/grey to put shadows in.

Another lovely painting welcombe

Thanks Betty, very kind of you. I hope you are keeping well.

Another great one, really like the way you've left the wall unpainted it makes the right hand tower really pop off the page.

Towering and strong. I can't really add much more to what has already been said. I have been busy so I am late to the party! Don't compare you work negatively with others,. Each of us have a different style. Why not do as Michael suggests?

I suppose "negatively to others" is correct!