After painting a number of smaller subjects from my trip to Porto Portugal, I thought I would take on a more challenging painting of Porto. This is the one I selected – a summer waterfront scene along the Douro River.

Our hotel was down in this area, so we walked along its vibrant promenade often, stopping for a beverage, a meal and a sketch. Moored at various spots along the harbour wall were the iconic and colourful rabelo boats, used in years past to transport barrels of port wine across the river from the cellars. Some offered tours on the river to take in the city highlights, or took visitors over to the cellars for tastings.

While we didn’t board a rabelo, this photo subject came from another tour boat on the Douro, capturing everything I loved about the Porto waterfront – the uniquely colourful buildings with their azulejos tiles, the ironwork balconies, the cafes all creating a lovely energy! Despite having a lot of little details, this painting was a joy to create, and quickly found its new home!