MATERIALS
• Art Spectrum Colourfix paper white 1000mm x 700mm
• Holbein watercolours -Marine Blue is a great one
• A variety of Hake brushes. ” 1″ and ” 3”
• Unison pastels – I can recommend the Tricia Taylor Seascape Collection 72 full or 63 half stick sets for the water · Art Spectrum pastels – including Indigo Blue and Warm White
• Rembrandt Pastels – including Cinnabar Green
Composition is so important and worth planning for.I love using Fibonacci’s designs to place each rock or crest of a wave. But to simplify the composition you can always use the golden rule of thirds.
STEP ONE
Watercolour underpainting – I mix all of my colours first, having a brush for each colour. I test them to check their tone before I start, and then I wash in all the tonal areas of the paper covering all of the page.
STEP TWO
Beginning in the background I pastel the sky and back waves, using a lot of subtle, low intensity colours so that it drops into the distance. The warmth in the sky tells the story that it is very early morning.
STEP THREE
Keeping the next set of waves slowly becoming larger in size, more intense and stronger in contrast of tone as they come closer gives the appearance of aerial perspective I need. Building form the first, I use at least three tones to build the form of each wave.
STEP FOUR
Zooming in on the background waves you can see all the small directional chafes of my pastel application. Every time I apply the pastel I follow the direction of the water to give it a flowing movement.
STEP FIVE
The white water is built next. Working tonally again I build the form using a lot of colours. They follow the colour wheel – as they get lighter the colours get warmer, from blue violet to red violet to pink orange and lemon in the highlight. The application changes also to match the texture of the foam. Using a different stroke helps the viewer feel a different texture from the water to the foam.
STEP SIX
The front wave is built the same as the waves before. I redraw and take some time looking at the composition. The position of the rocks is very important. Each small rock is chosen and placed to add diagonal direction to the composition and to help keep your eye in the painting.
STEP SEVEN
Using at least three tones the form is developed first. Leaving a little of the watercolour showing through gives added clarity to the water.
STEP EIGHT
Now comes the really fun part. Playing with the white water when it is in shadow. An opportunity to play with directional flow and changing tones. Developing the focal point of the wave where the light shines through I add blue greens, greens, yellow greens and finally lemon yellow, changing the temperature of each colour as each tone changes. Yum!
STEP NINE
Zoom in on the spray. Often overdone, a little goes a long way with this fine detail. With the pastel held on its side, with a few gentle strokes I glaze the spray of the wave. I do not use white for this but a very light lemon yellow. By using Colourfix paper I am able to get a grain texture that imitates the individual spray, always moving in the direction of the water.
STEP TEN
Foreground. This area is used to ground the wave. The tone of the rocks is important to balance the painting. The colours lower in intensity again as they start to show the sand below the shallow water.
FINAL STEP
The direction of the light in the foreground is established using low intensity pinks and violets. It reflects the colours in the sky and complements the green of the water. I use the foreground to do a lot of the balancing work. Green dominates but the reds balance the work. The amount of light in the foreground enhances the light in the wave but the light on the wave still wins. The tone and reflected light on the rocks are played with until they sit well. I lighted them and lower their intensity and cool the shadows until they work well. You need just enough and not too much. Final painting. Ocean Light. Capturing the beautiful light of early morning against the ocean, you can’t help but feel it is going to be a good day.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• Use cheap brushes for your underpainting as the sand finish of the paper will roughen them up.
• Follow the flow of the water with each stroke of the pastel.
• Be free and easy with your mark making. It adds movement to the water. The more you aim for accuracy, the more static the water becomes.
• Start with three tones to give form. A shadow, a middle and a light side. The more tonal change you have, the more the wave will turn.
• Every time the tone changes – change the temperature. In this case warmer in the light, cooler in the shadow.
• The detail is in the light. Leave the fine detail work for last.
• I don’t often use white. I try to have a touch of lemon or blue or pink in the highest tones.
• Let the paper breathe. Don’t overfill the tooth so the texture of the paper can be seen.
