 'Covesea Light', watercolour, 13 1/2 x 9" (33 x 23 cm). The temptation to highlight the white of the lighthouse against a dark stormy sky was just too much to resist! I hope it adds some drama to this coastal scene, which shows my local lighthouse on a stormy evening. I had fun with that sky!!
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 This is 'Forres, High Street', watercolour, 10 x 13" (26 x 33 cm). This is another local town in my area, and the painting shows the High Street shortly after a shower, which is now blowing through. The roads and pavements are wet, and I enjoyed doing the reflections and shadows on this wet surface! You might be wondering what the title of this post means. Well, Forres is a very old town. First mentioned in the year 900, it has been a Royal Burgh since 1140. In Shakespeare's dark play 'Macbeth', King Duncan has his castle here at Forres before being dispatched by the murderous Macbeth. Today Forres is a thriving town, and I hope I've done it justice here while adding a little atmosphere of my own!
 This is 'Memories of Childhood', watercolour, 13 x 10" (34 x 25 cm). I won't say much about this painting except that it was painted entirely from my memory of a cherished moment from my childhood.
 What a wonderful time of year for artists this is! This little scene is only about 1/4 mile from my house. Beech trees mingle with conifers and other, less leafy broad leaf trees here. The beautiful colours of the leaves contrasts nicely with both the whiteness of the snow and the rich greys of the rest of the woodland. I love Autumn! 'Snow in Autumn', watercolour, 10 x 7" (26 x 18 cm).
 This is the famous bridge at Arnhem in the Netherlands which, in September 1944, the Allies attempted to seize in order to cross the Rhine and potentially finish the war by Christmas. German strength was far greater than expected and of the large British Airborne force dropped at Arnhem, only a single depleted battalion could reach the bridge. They captured and held the right hand side of the bridge, as shown here, and expected to be relieved by armoured reinforcements within 2 days. However, for various reasons the reinforcements never arrived. The small force famously held the bridge for over a week against overwhelming odds before being forced to surrender with almost all the survivors wounded. The Bridge was later bombed and had to be rebuilt after the war; it now bears the name 'The John Frost Bridge' after the commander of the small force which defended it.
This painting is not about the war, however: indeed, its peaceful tone is very deliberate. It shows a view which has vanished forever, as it is the Arnhem of old which is shown here. I have used a combination of my own photographs and sketches, together with wartime reconnaissance photographs to reconstruct this part of the old town. Sadly, the destruction of the town was so intense during the fighting that not a single building that appears in this painting survived. The area to the right of the painting is now just fields and trees.  'Evening in Krems an der Donau', watercolour, 20 x 14 (50 x 35 cm). Just pointing to this one here. For anyone who's interested, I'll be working up a step-by-step for this painting and publishing it on my other blog at robwighamwatercolours.blogspot.co.uk in a couple of days! The painting was sold by private commission.
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AuthorA professional artist living and working in the beautiful north of Scotland. My work is realistic and quite traditional, though strongly interpretational in nature. My inspiration is the beauty of Nature, and the wonderful colours and moods she shows everywhere. Archives
April 2025
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