After working on my New York interior, I felt ready to return to the theme of rocky coasts. I was revisiting Mewslade Bay again, but a more panoramic composition with the tide coming in. My previous painting had been all about majesty and rocks but this one was different, it was more about colour and light. In particular I wanted to revisit some of the shadows that I’d found hard work in my previous painting and find out if I had left the “difficult bits” too long and whether I should have tackled them sooner.
Unfortunately, this painting fell into place a lot quicker than I expected and I only remembered to take a work-in-progress photos after I’d “solved” the rocks. I think that the addition of the grassy promontory, called “Devil’s Truck”, helped add a lot of interest and colour to the composition. It draws the eye to the left of the painting and away from the less interesting (in my opinion) shadowed part of the cliff in the centre. In the early stage of the painting, the foot of Jacky’s Tor (the peak on the right of the painting), is too light but I will adjust that later.
I paint the sand/reflection that will be partially covered by an incoming wave. I leave it to dry over night.
I darken the foot of Jacky’s Tor. I am a bit nervous about painting the incoming sea but my artist husband just advises me not too “think” about it but just paint it. He’s right and I consciously shut off my critical voice (or is that the left hand side of the brain) and get on with it.
I complete the sky. It passes the view-from-the-other-side-of-the-room test. I am pleased with it. It is less monumental than my previous Mewslade painting of Jacky’s Tor but I like its colourful energy. The warmth of the beach brings a lot of elements of the painting together.
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Beautiful painting. Janet
Thank You, Janet
excellent work Emma! I hear writers get writers block sometimes.Do you ever get painters block?
Oh Yes. Not often, thankfully, but sometimes I run out of inspiration. A subject starts to bore me. I feel like I have “done” it for the time being. It can be quite painful whilst I endure being “bored” for several days before I stumble on something else that interests me.
well,if that moment happens again think about my eagles.They’ll fly over to inspire!
So you don’t get “photographers’ block”?
yes from nature,…..I call them “overcast days”.
Ha!Ha!
Thank you for sharing your painting process with us, Emma! I was surprised you were nervous about painting the sea. You always capture water so well!
It’s a good job you cant “see” my thought processes in the painting. In fact, that’s the whole point. I want it to look effortless, regardless of how much actual effort went into it.
Another enticing painting. By the way your husband is right. My painting mentor from years ago used to tell everyone over and over, “don’t think, just do!”
Yes, he was. Thanks, Alli.
Amazing with all the reflections
Thank you, Marylou. Reflections are one of my favourite things to paint.
Lovely! It is interesting to see a painting evolve.
Thank you, Melissa.