A Storefront Portrait from Convent Garden in London, UK

by Jennifer Skopp

On her trip to London Jennifer Skopp visited Neal’s Yard, which is located in Covent Garden. Neal’s Yard is a small alley that opens into a courtyard where there are independent restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. Each store or restaurant has very colorful exteriors. Jennifer thought it was very quaint and extremely pretty. It inspired her to create a “Watercolor Store Portrait” when she returned home. Jennifer decided to focus on two adjacent shops. They were Neal’s Yard Remedies and the other was a Walk-in Backrub office.

Both buildings are made of brick. The building that houses the backrub place is four stories and is narrower than the Neal’s Yard Remedies building. The top part forms a triangle. At the top of Neal’s Yard Remedies there are two beautiful, lacy, black wrought iron railings. The building with the Walk-in Backrub place is four floors and has orange French door window frames. The front door that leads to the apartments above, is royal blue. The entrance to the Walk-in office is bluish green.

The Neal’s Yard Remedies building has bright turquoise window frames that are the same French door style and is three floors. The Neal’s Yard Remedies sign, door frame and window frames are dark blue. This shop has two light wood, low benches in front of each shop window. There are two short trees on each side of the door.

Both buildings have very dense hanging green plants. Jennifer thought that one of the hanging plants on the Neal’s Yard Remedies building, looks to be about twelve feet long.

The courtyard has large, flat gray tiles. Steel drums are used for planters. They are painted bright colors and filled with soil. Small trees and shrubs grow out of the steel drums to decorate the space.

Jennifer enjoyed working with the palette of blues and oranges. She gave the Watercolor Shopfront Portrait an irregular shape by adding a light blue curvy shape behind the buildings and by leaving out some tiles in the front row.