A Malta scene - in watercolors

A Malta scene - click to enlarge

It took almost a year for me to get re-started with my watercoloring hobby, but I present to you my first official Maltese project, and obviously I had to put a Maltese touch into it. After producing a few similar paintings while in Oregon, with the main features highlighted with a black fine liner, I thought this would be my signature style now, especially after a few of my Oregonian friends have requested these type of paintings and have them hanging in their living rooms, framed beautifully. So I will explain how I worked on this first project.
                    
The outline of the entire was made in pencil with various typical Maltese structures, like a palace, churches, houses, a windmill, a Neolithic temple, rubble huts known as ‘girna’ and the occasional rubble wall, besides the colorful fishing boats.
                    
Then I started painting the colorful fields, alternating between green and brown or tan, adding a few trees in the process, besides shrubs and tiny plants in different shades of green.
                
Then it was time to color the buildings with different hues that alternate from brown to grey to light yellow, the color of limestone, the predominant stones used for most buildings. The boats were also colored and the final touch was the outline of each structure with a fine liner, as well as the rubble walls and trees.
And there is the finished painting, placed on top of this post. I am planning a few similar projects with a variety of buildings and historical structures interspersed throughout the countryside, frequently dominated with the Baroque churches on the skyline, although nowadays the high risers are taking their place. But at least my paintings will highlight the traditional landscapes we all remember nostalgically.