Pied Piper

 Pied Piper

Watercolour / Gouache

24 x 31cm

Here's 'Pied Piper' finished, he seems to be playing a jaunty little number to go with his outlandish get-up.

Again this was another challenge for me, to date I have never completed a satisfactory medieval street. I can only guess the multiple storeys each one overlapping the one below is the main architectural detail I tend to struggle depicting. However reference is key and I managed to use a few old illustrations for guidance and a photograph of St John's alley in Devizes which I took years ago.

Lots of gouache went into the chickens to help define their features and bring the wing forward on the front hen. I was also pleased with the shadow being cast over the brood of chickens in the middle-ground which contrasts nicely with the birds farther back in bright sunlight (but also a lighter tonal range to suggest atmospheric perspective).

New paintings on the drawing board...

I've started work on two of these ideas this week, the lamplighter and the pied piper fox. The others are an old fashioned rag and bone man (these days it seems scrappers looking for metal have taken their place) and a record keeper which will be loosely based on Autumn Scribe.

The top two are for later on but first I have to master multiple hens dancing and the awkward perspective created by medieval buildings on a hill in the pied piper. With the lamplighter the difficulty will be snow in misty London and the soft glow of a gas lamp. I'm ready to accept the challenge!