Sara Fernandez Studio

This plein air watercolour captures the essence of a classic Vancouver harbour view with cranes, buildings, ships and tugboat. The watercolour was painted on location, looking into the morning light with a lovely yellow glow behind the silhouetted industrial shapes.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This painting shows a view of West Hastings Street in Vancouver with the iconic Marine Building as its focal point. The beautifully proportioned Marine Building with its art deco details is also renowned for at one time being the tallest building in the British Empire. This view of the Marine Building is today enhanced, contrasted, and framed by the elegant MNP Tower behind it. This Vancouver view represents two periods of some of the city’s finest architecture. Every time I have seen it, I have felt inspired to paint it, which I have done here in watercolour.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This expressive watercolour was painted on location and inspired by Maple Tree Square in Gastown, looking up Water Street. The painting vibrates with red undertones and a lovely abstract composition is created by window and tree trunk shadow shapes running across the road and red building facade.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

I was walking in The Rocks (Australia’s oldest English settlement) in Sydney, when the site of this building caught my eye. I loved the contrast of dark shadows and the sculptural tree against the building bathed in bright sunlight. The power of this watercolour lies in the simplicity of the composition and execution.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

I love these Victorian terrace houses in the bohemian Glebe neighborhood of Sydney. When I saw this one I knew I had to paint it, with the gorgeous sculptural tree in front of it, casting shadows on the house. The house itself was also a great subject for a watercolour painting, with it’s composition of simple shapes provided by the roofline, deep shadows from the roof overhanging the recessed balconies, and the contrasting linework of the wrought iron railing and tree branches.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This expressive watercolour of Hotel Europe, Gastown’s most famous flat-iron shaped building, was painted in the morning light at Maple Tree Square, Vancouver, BC.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

The Burrard Bridge, which spans False Creek and connects Kitsilano with downtown Vancouver, is a grand Art Deco structure and fantastic subject for a painting. This interesting cropping of the scene is all about the reflection and uses both wet-in-wet painting and dry brushstrokes to capture the view in a loose and expressive manner.

This is an expressive watercolour looking into the light on a sunny afternoon in Gastown. Cambie Street view of Dominion Building, with green umbrellas and people seated at the sidewalk cafe in the foreground.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This moody monochromatic view of the Flat Iron Building (Hotel Europe) in Gastown is painted loosely and gesturally, with a minimum amount of information. By capturing merely the shape of the building and tree with few indications of windows, pedestrians and cars, this watercolour evokes the feeling a grey and rainy Vancouver day.

This loose, expressive watercolour captures the feeling of a rainy day on Lonsdale Street in North Vancouver.

This watercolour captures a colourful view of sunset at Lonsdale Quay with the silhouetted houseboats and piers against the backdrop of the Vancouver skyline in the distance.

This loose and gestural watercolour captures a classic Vancouver scene, characterized by the prominent North Shore mountains as viewed through the buildings of Cambie Street in Gastown. Just enough information is provided through the scale, proportion, and red-orange colour of the Dominion Building to hint at this familiar Vancouver landmark which here dominates the skyline.

This quick, impressionistic study of a Vancouver street scene painted very loosely is full of happy accidents. The wet rainy day is mirrored by the painting itself, as the watercolour paint was allowed to drip and run down the paper.

This view from Lonsdale Quay painted in watercolour on location, uses loose, expressive brushstrokes to capture the essence of a reflected Vancouver skyline with silhouetted buildings and cranes against a cloudy sky.

This watercolour portrays the Abbott House, one of the few remaining heritage houses in Vancouver’s West End neightbourhood,  The house, painted “CPR Red,” was built for Canadian Pacific Railway executive Henry Abbott in 1899.

This watercolour makes use of vibrant colour and wet-in-wet technique to expressively portray English Bay Beach, looking towards Stanley Park trees and the North Shore Mountains.

With it’s English colonial architecture, Brunswick Street had an instant appeal for painting on this crisp winter day just after a fresh rainfall. Brunswick Street epitomizes the bohemian Melbourne neighbourhood of Fitzroy, with its arty and eclectic mix of retro shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants. For this watercolour, I was attracted by the colours of the buildings, the shape of the roofline, and the contrast between the sunlight hitting the buildings and the dark, mysterious shadows under the canopies at the ground level. 

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This watercolour depicts a hilly street in the Brisbane neighbourhood of Paddington, with its typical Queenslander style homes and tropical gardens.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This simply executed watercolour captures the essence of the colonial row house, typical in the charming Darlinghurst neighbourhood of Sydney, Australia.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

Almost every street in Manhattan street inspires a painting. This watercolour originated from a photo I took on one of my pre-9/11 trips to the city, as noted by the hazy view of the Twin Towers in the distance. A high contrast composition is provided by the light bouncing off the building facades, street and cars, counterbalanced by the shadows of the arcade, fire escape stairs and area under the ground-level canopy. The dark shapes of the foreground serve to frame and define the painting and draw the viewer in. The tones of the buildings and cars become increasingly muted as they fade into the background, recreating the sense of atmosphere on this sunny, but crisp winter day.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This painting uses a chiaroscuro technique to create a high contrast composition. Light and shadows on the buildings and mail trucks define their subjects and give shape to this painting.  

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

San Francisco is of course famous for its hilly cityscapes of pastel-coloured houses and tree-lined streets, such as the one I painted here in watercolour. I am always captivated by these San Francisco views and couldn’t resist painting this one in the medium I find most ideal for capturing depth and light.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

I love painting street scenes in active and inviting urban neighbourhoods. This watercolour captures a typical day on Valencia Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, one of my favourite streets to browse, people watch and sketch.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This watercolour was inspired by a view from the Marina District in San Francisco, overlooking the neighbourhood homes with the Bay and mountains in the distance.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

A classic Vancouver view of the Dominion Building with trees and North Shore mountains in the distance peaking through the streets provide the subject for this watercolour painting.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

I love this view of the Burrard Bridge from Granville Island, with the North Shore Mountains and downtown in the distance. This painting is all about the light and atmosphere, created by the reflection of the sky and bridge on the peaceful, still water of False Creek on this quiet morning. The beautifully proportioned Burrard Bridge is one of the notable Art Deco structures in Canada. A steel truss spans the bridge’s masonry piers, which extend into concrete towers, connected by overhead galleries embellished with art deco details. As one of the three bridges spanning False Creek, Burrard Bridge connects Kitsilano with downtown Vancouver. 

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This watercolour painting depicts an intersection in Vancouver’s historic Gastown neighbourhood with Hotel Europe, the district’s most famous flatiron-shaped building, at its centre and focal point. Considered to be the birthplace of the city, Gastown was Vancouver’s first European settlement in the early 1860s, which is reflected in its Edwardian architecture.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This is a watercolour of the Cambie Hostel with patio cafe on the corner of West Cordova and Cambie Streets in Gastown, Vancouver.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

I have always loved the space under this powerful bridge which spans over False Creek and pedestrian-friendly Granville Island. This view under the bridge epitomizes the industrial vibe of Granville Island, and simultaneous feel as a hub of art and culture, with warehouses having been remodeled to accommodate artist studios, live theatre, music, restaurants, and the indoor public market.  

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

Watercolour is an ideal media for painting the weathered walls and water reflections of an iconic Venice canal view such as this, which artists the world over cannot resist trying to capture.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This colourful section of Oxford Street in the Paddington neighbourhood of Sydney is an irresistible subject for a painting.  The colonial-era buildings and eclectic shops of this charming and characterful area are full of inspiration, inside and out, and this stretch of the city and its surrounds offer lots to explore and discover.

This “urban sketch” applies wet-in-wet watercolour washes onto an ink drawing depicting an alley at the edge of Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market.

This watercolour depicts a downtown Vancouver skyline from Granville Pier on Granville Island.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items

This graphic watercolour painting uses a high contrast composition to depict the stone arches of this narrow street in Jerusalem’s Old City.

If you would like to purchase a print please visit my etsy page, www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SaraFernandezStudio/items