MATERIALS
• Better quality Winsor & Newton deep edge canvas – 38 x 40 inches. Cheap canvas stretchers warp when doing a canvas of this size, so money spent initially will save heartbreak later.
• Atelier and Matisse acrylic paints. Avoid cheap imitations. Matisse has a ‘buttery’ texture, while Atelier is easier to spread on the canvas. Use whichever you prefer. Cheaper paint can be used for underpainting during the initial stages.
• Brushes: Use a variety of acrylic brushes. I use mostly rounds and brights for foliage. A two inch hardware bristle brush is a good tool for beginning washes of ground. A liner brush is used for final details.
• Colours: Turquoise, White, Black (for toning only), Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Purple, Alizarin Crimson, Naples Yellow, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red, assorted Greens, Ultramarine Blue for glazing. I mix most colours from my collection of acrylics to suit. Use your own intuition to mix a selection of yellow-greens and blue-greens.
• Gloss Medium: For glazing, and as a final varnish.
• Apron and cleaning rags.
• Remember to always paint in a well-ventilated room with easy access to fresh water for rinsing brushes.
I live within a stone’s throw of a pristine beach. Light, whether it be in the early morning or at dusk when everything is washed in a pinky glow, features in most of my current work in the seascape genre. I work ‘large’ to avoid unnecessary detail (an advantage when one’s eyesight is not as good as it used to be), on cotton duck canvas.
STEP ONE
Take the deep edge canvas and gesso it three times. If it is commercially primed, check the weave to see if it needs another coat. Using the two inch hardware brush, wash a coating of Vermillion (Cadmium Red) over the entire canvas. Putting in a coloured ground in this way serves two purposes: It creates a ‘unified’ painting, and it allows the warm glow to permeate the work to affect the overall feeling of the painting.
The colour of the ground depends on the mood of the seascape. Use greys, blues and yellows to change the overall mood of the painting. In this case, I wanted a warmth to shine through. The Vermillion, even though it is somewhat opaque, seems to affect the top colours applied over it.
STEP TWO
Using Ultramarine Blue, thinned with water, and using a photograph as reference, sketch in the basic shapes in line.
I deliberately discarded the horizon in this piece, concentrating on the more dynamic composition created by using opposing diagonals.
Don’t worry about detailed drawing at this stage. The arrangement may be altered along the way. These early stages allow for artistic freedom to “play’ with the shapes. Nature is not always perfect for a particular composition. Change what you don’t like. Remember, photographs depict the scene as it was … the artist interprets it to create a pleasing piece of art! You will probably alter the composition several times until you are satisfied that the dunal placement is correct. Make sure to recognise the ‘correct’ guidelines before attempting the next step.
STEP THREE
Take a large brush and start to fill in the shapes with the darkest version of each relevant colour.
I find it easier to work dark-tolight to create ‘volume’ or ‘mass’.
Paint in the ocean with Turquoise base; the waves in Khaki greens. Be sure to leave the glow of the ground peeping through. Use purple for foliage. Step back and make sure the dunes are placed correctly to your liking. At this stage, you are able to still make any alterations needed. Don’t be too fussy. This is the free and fun stage of painting! Marks can be broad and clumsy. Detail comes later! At this point, it is about shapes and placement establishment.
STEP FOUR
Starting with the ocean, take Navy blue and make horizontal marks up to the top of the wave area. I find using horizontal marks emphasises the effect of water. Let the Turquoise shine through.
STEP FIVE
Continue working on the ocean. Keep strokes horizontal except for wave accents; leave darker colour showing for these. Take a pale blue and repeat the strokes, letting some of the Navy show through. Then add palest blue. For the waves, use Olive Green, brown, orange and Cadmium Yellow. Use wavy brush strokes to vary the shape of waves.
I used Ultramarine Blue mixed with white for underneath foam, and white on top where the sun hits the water surface. Paint in the rocks and lighten the sand by scumbling pale blue over the original colour. Put in details of seaweed on the rock.
STEP SIX
Now for the landforms. Start with Olive Green and stipple it over the purple, leaving the latter underneath to create ‘mass’. Then use a lighter green on top of that as highlights. Paint Cadmium Yellow where the sunlight hits the tops of the bushes, and Naples Yellow and pink touches as accents. Detail the grass runners. Create topography using lights, mediums and darks for hollows and ridges.
STEP SEVEN
Time to add some detail. Start with the grassy tufts in the foreground.
I used a rigger brush to make the reeds in as few strokes as possible.
One stroke is best, so be sure to load your brush first. Use a variety of greens, keeping in mind the direction of your light source in the painting. Place in light patches first, then start on the reeds, varying them to create pleasing patterns. Think what is underneath’ and ‘what is on the top’. Start at the left and work right, creating light patterns on the sandy path bathed in sunny glow. Lighten the sand with a mixture of Ultramarine and white next to the lightest patterns on the pathway. Work towards the right-hand lower corner and paint in the remaining grass tufts, sand and twigs.
STEP EIGHT
Step back a distance. Notice where there is need for small detail emphasis … especially where the light source is concerned. Touch up lightly with Naples Yellow and pink where light falls on foliage. Check the ocean again. Enhance the light by applying white on the waves from the top right-hand corner. Tidy up any ‘unfinished brush strokes’, and paint the canvas top, bottom and sides with an extension of the image (although you may prefer to paint the bottom black so that, if the work is hung high, the messy underside will not catch the viewer’s eye). Sometimes at this stage you may wish to “glaze’ some areas to make them advance or recede. Use good quality transparent glazes (Alizarin Crimson or Ultramarine Blue) – one-third pigment to twothirds gloss medium – the warmer glaze to come forward, the cooler to recede. After glaze is dry, paint over any detail if necessary.
FINAL STEP
Paint a smooth layer of gloss medium, with a two inch hardware brush, over the entire painted surface. Make sure no bristles are left on the canvas! Hold the work against the light to check for any missed areas, and leave it to dry. Don’t put it in direct sunlight! When glossing, don’t worry about the ‘milky’ appearance at first. This will dry clear to create a glowing surface similar to oils – enhancing the colours in the work.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• Set up your work area in advance, with plenty of water and rags. Mix up several quantities of colour to avoid wasting time during the painting process.
• I find working dark to light creates ‘mass’ first and allows for highlights later.
• Working down the canvas (from top to bottom) prevents accidental drips falling on the finished sections, and gives the painter direction. Painting large canvasses can be daunting and they can get ‘spotty’ if there is no method to working. The undercolour ground will prevent the work from becoming unharmonious. It serves to unify the work instead. Stick to shades and tints of colour, rather than using every colour in your box (limit your palette).
• Enjoy the freedom of the early stages. Too much detail can make the work look tedious and overworked. Be sure to leave some areas devoid of detail to balance the areas of fidgety brush work. Remember, the viewer’s eye needs to rest as it follows a path through the painting!
• Lastly, and most important …it’s not the goal that counts, but the journey to the goal. Have fun by just painting! The final result will mirror your journey and take care of itself.
