painting the sea later

Posted by Stephen Quirke on March 28, 2009 under Art, landscape, seascape, watercolor, watercolour | Be the First to Comment

I have started a new watercolour from the photos I took on my outing to the ocean at Koeel bay today, with Ethan, Sprocket and Mia.  I took a break during Earth Hour in which I fell asleep.  I was just going to do one wash but each time I stood up I saw the next step.  Painting in watercolours is so seductive.  And I am really enjoying listening to the music of Hotel Costes but now I can’t see properly so I MUST go snooze.  Here is the painting so far:

What made me paint this scene is that I noticed the rocks were in bands of colour.  Up the beach they are bleached white, closer to the sea they take on a green tint.  Then they turn dark read (lots of Alizarin C) and then black with white highlights for the shine where they are wet by the waves.   Well that only took me about 15 years to notice – go figure…  Anyway…

‘More is nog ‘n dag’ as they say in the local venacular – tomorrow is another day.

I was a bit dopey today – and busy with kid-stuff – but I managed to do a bit of watercolour.  Check it out:

Each of the rocks has its own character and I am keen to do each one justice without getting stuck in tentative washes and glazes – I find I work best when I am rested and rolling.  I will see if I have a chance to hang up my consulting superhero suit and become just plain swatch this week.