santa maria de badain - step by step

29 May 2019

It's been a while since I interrupted by sketching to take some step by step photos! Long overdue, some would say, as I've been getting a lot of messages and comments asking me about the order I do things when I'm painting outside.

This romanesque church is in the little village of Badain in the Spanish Pyrenees. I've sketched the whole church before, so this time I decided to get much closer and concentrate on just part of the building. This would give me to opportunity to do much more detail than I could manage in my previous sketch.

I start with a very rough pencil sketch to get the perspective correct. Stairs! Always a nightmare for me. Then I ink in all the detail using my trusty Lamy's - the fine nib for all the detail, the broad nib for a few shadow lines and the dark windows. (More on my pens and ink in the Tips & Techniques section above!).

Finished ink sketch of part of the romanesque church of Badain, Spanish Pyrenees.

Next I do the first very light wash of watercolour. All wet in wet with a large round brush, dropping in shades of brown, sienna and payne's grey for the walls and stone steps.

First watercolour wash for the sky and stonework. Wet in wet.

I complete the first wash and start adding glazes of colour to strengthen areas. Wet on dry now. I add all the tiny details with a smaller round brush.

Completing the watercolour washes and adding details with a smaller brush.

Shadows! This is where it all comes together. I use a mix of Payne's Grey and Burnt Umber to add a light shadow, wet on dry. Once this is dry I use a thicker mix of Payne's Grey for the darker shadows.
While I'm waiting for this to dry, I initial and date the sketch and add the location.

Final details - I use my Lamy with the fine nib to strengthen some inkwork and use a white Uniball Signo to add touches of highlights, mostly to the grass in front. Done!