Luminous Beer Buoys

Oil on Canvas, 16 x 22 inches

This one was quite a challenge, but I liked the composition of the red boat with all the fishermen's gubbins around it and the pools of water and ropes helping to lead the eye to the boat, resting jauntily above the strand line, and then to the family silhouetted against the glare of the morning sun glinting off the sea.

Pitching the sky tone next to the water is always tricky, and it helps to put down the lightest light next to it at the same time in order to judge it right.  The flicks of glistening sparkles on the water were put in with a palette knife as the underpaint was sticky, so grabbing the paint on the high points of the canvas weave.  

The shingle is a problem to depict without painting every darned stone, which is not practical, nor necessary.  I tackled it by putting down lots of layers of various grey mixes, then dragged the palette knife over again in an attempt to simulate the rough texture.  Not sure whether it was successful, but I think it tells the viewer what is there and lets you tell fill in the blanks.

The translucent red buoys presented a more difficult problem - how to get that luminous quality with the light shing through them.  I could have just painted them with crimson and left them slightly muted, but I loved the glowing red of them, so was determined to try and capture that. I'll obviously have to kill you all now, so if you value your life, stop reading now.....I painted the round shapes in pure Titanium White forst, then when that was dry, I glazed the crimson over the top...nifty eh?  Right, you'd better look over your shoulder now.