This original watercolour was inspired by sketchbook studies in watercolour of the dhow harbour in Kuwait. It has been painted on hand-made Fabriano Esportazione which is no longer being manufactured. The very rough textured surface is incredible to paint Gulf Art in watercolour allowing you to build up clear translucent washes of colour that give a sense of depth, time and space, ideal for a subject as simple as a lone dhow resting in still waters. I’ve been to the Fabriano paper Mill in the Marches region of Italy on two occasions to purchase their beautiful paper and leather bound sketchbooks. I started to use their sketchbooks to paint “en plein air” just after my first visit to their factory in 2002 . After using up my sketchbook supplies from Fabriano, I now make my own leather bound sketchbooks, a very rewarding process.
