The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

I return to Oxford again and again to paint as I love architectural subjects, and Oxford contains some of the finest buildings in the world. I’m not sure this painting is completely finished yet, but with watercolour it’s usually best to stop while you’re winning, and not overwork a subject. Why the angle chosen in the picture? When you approach Radcliffe Square from the High, through a narrow pedestrian lane, the Camera is suddenly there in front of you, and I wanted to evoke the ‘impact’ it has when you first round the corner and look up.

I’ve just suggested the Bodleian Library in the background. I’m never certain a painting has ‘worked’ when I’ve just finished it, but I certainly enjoyed working on it, and that’s important to me!

The Radcliffe Camera was designed in the English Palladian Style by James Gibbs between 1737 and 1748, and is believed to have been the first circular library to be built in England.

Springtime at Arlington Row, Bibury

Wishful thinking whilst we’re still in February, but I just painted this one for the cover of my ‘Cotswolds in Watercolour 2012’ Calendar, which needs to be printed soon, to be in the shops by Easter.

I’ve painted this view a number of times before, but each time it comes out differently. I had to leave room in sky for the title! Doesn’t it make you long for those days when you can laze on the warm grass in the sunshine, having a nap on the picnic rug.