Watercolour Art

My watercolour art begins with photography. Most works are based on photographs I have taken myself, with others drawn from my father’s photographic archive. I use these references to establish accurate scale and detail before creating the original painting, usually at A2 size on Bockingford watercolour paper. The finished painting is then carefully photographed and brought into my digital studio, where the creative process continues using CorelDRAW, Corel PHOTO-PAINT and Photoshop. I may adjust colour, remove or add elements, combine separately painted subjects and backgrounds, or blend selected photographic details back into the watercolour. The finished work is not always intended as a literal record of a moment or place. Trains, cars, aircraft, buildings and backgrounds may come from entirely different photographs. They are brought together to create the scene and story I wanted to portray.

Project type

Watercolour & Photographic Art

Sunbeam “The Slug” — Daytona Beach, 1927

My interpretation of the 1000hp Sunbeam at Daytona Beach in 1927 began with a scale model rather than a photograph of the original car. I photographed the model repeatedly from different angles, placing it on wet silica sand in an old baking tray to study the light, reflections and viewpoint. The beach itself came from my photograph of Pendine Sands in Wales. The human figures were developed in much the same way, using posed photographs to establish natural posture and proportion, with period details researched separately. The individual references were then brought together to create a scene that never existed in front of my camera, but hopefully feels as though it did. Original watercolour by Charlie Poole

The Mallard at London Mallard at London King's Cross — “Blue Streak”, 1963

An imagined 1963 scene combining two of my photographs taken years apart: Mallard, photographed at the National Railway Museum in York, and King's Cross Station, photographed earlier in London. Mallard really was still working from King's Cross in 1963 — but these two photographs never met until I brought them together in this watercolour.

The Lemon Tree Restaurant in Provence 1955

Created from a photograph taken by my father in Provence in 1955. The original building was actually a ladies' hat shop, but I loved the composition of the old shopfront and decided it deserved another life. The hat shop became The Lemon Tree Restaurant, complete with new canopies and details of my own invention. The restaurant never existed — but perhaps it should have done.

The Route 66 Diner ' Dining with Elvis'

Created entirely from memory and drawn from scratch. Years ago, on my one and only visit to Meadowhall in Sheffield, I remembered an American-style burger bar where, every so often, staff and pretend customers climbed onto the bar and danced to Elvis music. Amy wanted a picture of the place for her wall, so I sat down and sketched my recollection of it. This was the result — although during its creation it came remarkably close to being launched through the studio window. Amy still loves it, so perhaps perseverance won.

The Stone Shadows - Rick Stone - The Last Riff 2018

Based on a photograph taken by Helen during the guitarist's final live performance in 2018. For many years four friends had played rock music together simply for the enjoyment of making music. When problems with his hands eventually brought live playing to an end, the photograph became the inspiration for this final portrait. “Rick Stone” and “The Stone Shadows” are entirely fictitious names, deliberately created to keep the identity of the guitarist anonymous.

The Marmalade Sky Restaurant in Bordeaux 1954

Created from a photograph taken by my father in Bordeaux in 1954. Unfortunately for history, I didn't much care for the original old-fashioned grocer's shop, so it underwent a complete change of career. After a few glasses of wine, The Marmalade Sky Restaurant was born, together with the entirely fictitious “Oranges at No. 47” above the door. Bordeaux and 1954 are genuine — virtually everything else is artistic licence.

Faro Misto — Vicenza, Italy, 2005

Based on my photograph of a well-used Vespa found in the courtyard of a mansion in Vicenza, Italy, in 2005. The rather neglected courtyard was restored for the painting and filled with summer flowers, while the scooter itself was moved into the finished composition. Later, when I tried to identify its exact model, several Vespa enthusiasts insisted the photograph must be fake because the machine didn't look quite right. Eventually, at a scooter meeting in Derby, one enthusiast recognised it: the Vespa had been crashed and repaired using a front section from an earlier model, complete with a different light. The photograph hadn't lied after all. I called the finished work “Faro Misto” — Mixed Lights.

Vespa 125 Faro Basso — Milan, 1951

Based on a highly detailed black-and-white photograph taken by my father in Milan in 1951 or 1952. The early Vespa was a Faro Basso — literally “low headlight” — the nickname given to models with the headlamp mounted on the front mudguard. With no original colour to work from, I decided subtlety could wait and turned the scooter bright Vespa red. This was also one of my first experiments with Brusho pigment: colour and water were allowed to spread freely across blank watercolour paper until I achieved the splash effect I wanted. The finished background was scanned and combined digitally with the detailed Vespa, bringing my father's monochrome photograph to life in an entirely different way.

TowBoy & Odd Knee Recovery Services

Originally created as a card for our youngest son Dan, who runs his own vehicle recovery, collection and delivery service and is a great fan of Only Fools and Horses. The recovery van was drawn from scratch, loosely inspired by a Ford Escort van, while TowBoy & Odd Knee Recovery Services — along with virtually everything else in the scene — came entirely from my imagination. A little family humour turned into an artwork of its own.

Coffee Time — Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Originally created as part of a series of watercolour studies for a tea and coffee shop in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The composition was carefully staged and photographed on my dining table using Denby pottery, real coffee and coffee beans, with photographic lighting set up specifically for the shot. The photograph was then developed into the finished watercolour, with a little digital assistance required to persuade the coffee art to behave itself. This particular design wasn't selected for the commission, so Coffee Time remained with me.

Where Bluebells Whisper in Golden Valley Derbyshire

Inspired by an early morning in Golden Valley, Derbyshire, when the woodland floor was covered with bluebells. The low sunlight caught the moisture on the flowers and made them seem to sparkle, while the air had that unmistakable freshness of a spring morning. There was barely any wind — just enough to brush gently through the leaves, producing something more like a hushed whisper than a breeze. I have returned to these woods many times, before and since, but have never experienced quite the same combination of light, scent and stillness again.

Royal Mail Morris Eight Series Z 5cwt Panel Van

Photographed on School Woods Close in Shipley, Derbyshire, around 1990, when this Royal Mail Morris Eight Series Z 5cwt panel van appeared to have been newly restored. I was fascinated by details such as its rubber wings and tongue-and-groove wooden floor. For once, there was absolutely no need for artistic licence — the van became the watercolour just as I photographed it.

Oxford Canal near Napton in 1966 - 'The Old Goat'

Based on a photograph I took as a teenager with my father's Leica during a family boating holiday on the Oxford Canal, probably near Napton. Mum is watering flowers on the roof while Dad appears to be searching the water for yet another possession that had gone overboard — on this holiday even a treasured new fountain pen disappeared into the canal. Dad's affectionate nickname for Mum was “Old Goat”, so when I eventually turned the photograph into this watercolour, the boat inevitably acquired a new name. One small detail escaped me: I forgot the mooring ropes entirely, so in reality The Old Goat should have been quietly floating away.

Casablanca 1951

Based on a black-and-white photograph taken by my father in Casablanca in 1951, showing my mother walking down the steps towards the beach. The original photograph preserved the moment but, of course, none of its colour. When I turned it into a watercolour many years later, I researched period and location references to help reconstruct a believable palette for the buildings, flowers and surroundings. The colours are therefore my interpretation rather than a historical record — an attempt to bring one of my father's old photographs, and my mother within it, back to life.

Goodnight Iris — Last Train from King's Cross, 1945

A completely imagined scene built from real family memories and carefully gathered references. My parents often spoke of travelling by train between London and Brighton during the war and immediate post-war years, and those recollections became the starting point for this painting. The locomotive and carriage were photographed at the Midland Railway Trust in Derbyshire, parts of King's Cross came from separate photographs, the seated soldier was adapted from an old Brownie-camera photograph of a friend of my father-in-law, and the railway conductor was reconstructed from a period image. None of these people or elements were ever together — I brought them together to create a moment that never happened, but perhaps might have. “Goodnight Iris” is for my mother.

Last Tango 2004 Acrylic

Originally requested as a wedding portrait, although oils were never going to be an option — acrylic was quite challenging enough. The photographs from the reception offered little inspiration until a tango on television provided an idea. I photographed the television, made a quick charcoal sketch and simply started painting, transforming the couple into accomplished tango dancers while borrowing the rather extraordinary colours of their reception room. There was virtually none of my usual careful preparation — this one was created quickly, spontaneously and with considerably more humour than seriousness. To my complete surprise, they loved it, and the finished A2 painting remained proudly displayed above their fireplace for more than twenty years.

Lake Windermere 2024 'Anticipation'

This painting began with an atmospheric evening photograph taken at Lake Windermere in 2024. After dinner, Helen and I walked down towards the lakeside near Bowness Pier just as the MV Teal appeared through the mist on her way towards the landing stage. I loved the atmosphere, but felt the composition needed something more. Months later, our daughter Amy arrived wearing a beautiful evening dress and black heels. With rain pouring outside, the heels were sensibly exchanged for wellington boots — and suddenly I saw the missing part of my Windermere picture. After the usual succession of posed photographs, adjustments and “move a little this way” instructions, Amy and her flowers were brought into a lakeside scene she had never actually visited. Two completely unrelated moments became one imagined story — 'Anticipation'.

La Lune en Porcelaine — South of France, 2009

An entirely imaginary corner of the South of France. The Citroën 2CV began with a real photograph, but virtually everything surrounding it — the café, buildings, bicycle, couple, flowers and sunlit square — came from my imagination. Unlike many of my more complicated compositions, there was very little research or planning: I made a rough sketch and simply allowed the scene to develop as I worked. La Lune en Porcelaine never existed, but perhaps somewhere in France it ought to.

The Brazen Head — Irish Fiddle Players, Dublin

During a weekend in Dublin, Prue and I visited The Brazen Head and had been there only a few minutes when Irish fiddle players Maeve and Rian arrived and began to play. I photographed them as they performed and later developed the scene into this watercolour. The original room was wonderfully atmospheric but visually very cluttered, so instrument cases, a hat for tips and several distracting details were removed. Maeve's slightly unusual stance, is exactly as I photographed her — sometimes reality looks less convincing than invention.

Atlantic Puffin at Bempton Cliffs — 2013

After hours of waiting at Bempton Cliffs with a telephoto lens on a tripod — and accumulating rather more photographs for the recycle bin than the portfolio — this Atlantic puffin suddenly settled on a rock among the daisies and appeared to pose for the camera. It remains one of my favourite wildlife photographs. When I developed it into a watercolour, however, artistic licence intervened: I added Flamborough Head Lighthouse to complete the composition. Anyone familiar with Bempton will immediately spot the problem — from where the puffin was photographed, with the sea to my right, the lighthouse would actually have been behind me. It isn't geographically correct. I simply preferred it there.

WH Smith Christmas 1933 in Guildford

Created from a photograph taken by my father in Guildford in 1933. The wonderful W.H. Smith shopfront and its Christmas window displays are genuine, and I retained the remarkable period detail when developing the photograph into this watercolour. I straightened the original composition and added the red pillar box to complete the winter scene — it wasn't actually standing outside the shop. A small piece of family photographic history brought back to life in colour.