Grapes on my mind

At this time of year, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, as Keats described it, is just around the corner. Here, in this Mediterranean island, we are in the midst of the grape harvest season. I could not let this opportunity pass me by and decided to sketch out a beautiful bunch of grapes. Sitting right beneath it in a friend's vineyard, far from the madding crowd and far from the Covid-infested urban areas, the sketching time was a delight.

Back in the studio, I translated the initial sketches into a more consolidated piece. The luscious roundness of the grapes needed to be enhanced. This was not just a job for paints but also for grounding. This gives the piece a three-dimensional approach which is unusual in watercolours. To add to the challenge, I decided to use only one colour: Payne's Grey. Would I pull it off, I wondered?

Here it is on A3 Arches rough cold-pressed. What do you think?

PS: Covid meanwhile caught up with me and I ended up in quarantine, thankfully not infected.