31 Capital Detail

I can’t tell if this is moulded or carved. I suspect it’s moulded. Why would you paint something so ornate if it was carved in stone?

The decorative detail atop a column on the façade of a shop in Bridge Street. You could easily walk past. Below is a stone column, but that’s not the focus of this piece.

In the top right corner is a tantalising window detail, but it’s just a fragment.

The ornate floral inspired carving/moulding is heavily shaded so shapes are suggested by the white lines of the drawing. Purple scribbles, mid blue daubs and sepia clouds suggest more form but nothing seems quite finished. The image is completed in your imagination.

There are geometric and organic shapes next to one another. Floral curves, zigzag details and blocks of marble.

We’re mainly seeing a single, initial paint layer, for most of the painting. Except for the column detail and the corner which have layers of blue, purple and sepia competing for overall control. The rest is simple watercolour and salt marks.