BRING THE drama

Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene

- ALVARO CASTAGNET

The Palace Theatre, with its red-brick façade, is so beautiful and monumental, dominating the busy pedestrianised intersection of Cambridge Circus in London’s West End. As a subject, it had great energy – the light was hitting the building from the side, making it so striking and inviting to paint.

I took several photos to use as a reference back in the studio. I was keen to portray the busy atmosphere and the energy of so many people walking around, enjoying a beautiful day in the British capital.

In a busy scene it is important to accentuate the focal point. When there are so many elements – the people, the beautiful buildings, the awnings, and so on – you can easily create a conflict of interest.

So, it is important from the start to decide what the focal point of your painting is going to be, so you don’t get carried away by everything else. In this painting, the viewer’s eyes wander through the painting but eventually they rest on the focal point around the sign for the current production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

I purposely dressed up the people with more colour and added people walking towards that focal point, as all these little details help to reinforce the centre of attention and make for a more dynamic painting. Alvaro returns to the UK for the International Watercolour Masters event which runs 16-29 May at Lilleshall Hall, Shropshire. www.alvarocastagnet.net

Alvaro's materials

• Paper