 |
Lytham Cocklers
by Graham Berry
19" x 27"
Watercolour on Arches 140-lb. rough
A sunny Sunday afternoon in early November, the last day of 'cockling' before the cockle-beds would be closed until the spring. Most of the 'cocklers' were already out on the cockle-beds, except for a few stragglers. The tide was out and the beach was full of 4x4's and vans, not very inspiring, then I came across this old boat beached on the sand next to this lovely old red tractor.
There's a special quality of light at the seaside, bouncing everywhere off the wet sand and reflecting from the small pools of water.I loved the dramatic effect of the sunlight streaming through from behind the boat and tractor, 'contre-jour', creating really strong shadows and the almost blinding light bouncing off the wet sand.
After making numerous sketches and taking quite a few photos, this painting was composed and painted later in my studio. I used a limited palette of : Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue and French Ultramarine Blue.
I began with a very weak overall wash of Raw Sienna being careful to leave the white of the of the paper for the highlight on the sand, while this wash was still damp I floated in Cerulean Blue and Alizarin in the sky area, When this was dry I painted the boat and tractor and shadows with a continuous wash being careful to leave white paper for all the little highlights that add sparkle to the painting. I finished off the painting with some dry brush work in the foreground taking full advantage of the paper's texture.
Splash 14: Light and Color.
Published by North Light Books.
Meeting in the pub. 18" x 27"
This is the 'Coach and Horses' hotel and public house, Kew green, London.
While we were enjoying a late afternoon drink in the bar of the 'Coach and Horses' hotel, I noticed a group of people gathered in front of the large window. I thought it would make a great painting, luckily I had my small digital camera with me and quietly took a few photos at different exposures, no flash!
After some editing and cropping on my computer I printed out a couple of photos to work from in my studio. I used a heavy weight paper with a rough surface so there was no need to stretch the paper.
After sketching the image onto the paper with a soft pencil I began my first pale wash of raw sienna, adding alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue for some of the darker areas, whilst the wash was still wet I softened some of the edges with a damp brush and paper towel. After allowing the paper to completely dry with the help of a hair drier I began my second wash with a lot more pigment. I began to define the shapes with the stronger washes, while this wash is still wet I add pure colour and allow them to mix on the paper, the darks are mainly french ultramarine and burnt sienna, the reflected light off the polished table is almost all ultramarine blue. Hardly any detail was required for the figures as they are just an abstract shape created by the light from the window.
For me the creative solution began in the camera viewfinder, a large part of the creative process is identifying what will make a good subject for a painting.
While we were enjoying a late afternoon drink in the bar of the 'Coach and Horses' hotel, I noticed a group of people gathered in front of the large window. I thought it would make a great painting, luckily I had my small digital camera with me and quietly took a few photos at different exposures, no flash!
After some editing and cropping on my computer I printed out a couple of photos to work from in my studio. I used a heavy weight paper with a rough surface so there was no need to stretch the paper.
After sketching the image onto the paper with a soft pencil I began my first pale wash of raw sienna, adding alizarin crimson, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue for some of the darker areas, whilst the wash was still wet I softened some of the edges with a damp brush and paper towel. After allowing the paper to completely dry with the help of a hair drier I began my second wash with a lot more pigment. I began to define the shapes with the stronger washes, while this wash is still wet I add pure colour and allow them to mix on the paper, the darks are mainly french ultramarine and burnt sienna, the reflected light off the polished table is almost all ultramarine blue. Hardly any detail was required for the figures as they are just an abstract shape created by the light from the window.
For me the creative solution began in the camera viewfinder, a large part of the creative process is identifying what will make a good subject for a painting.
Sat on the wall. 11" x 20"
A hot sunny morning, nothing else to do but sit and talk.
Another situation where my camera was invaluable was when I was busy painting the boats in the harbour of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, I looked behind me and noticed all the people sat on the wall just passing time. I took numerous photos and already I was visualising how the painting should look, it's just the kind of subject where painting from life wasn't practical. As I've said before the creativity starts as soon as I select a subject to photograph, my feeling for the subject at the time will be put into the painting.
Although this painting contains lots of figures I try to treat them as abstract shapes and colours, lots of pure colour was used on the figures and street signs, the dark background was burnt sienna, alizarin and french ultramarine, again great care was taken in leaving the white of the paper for highlights.
Although this painting contains lots of figures I try to treat them as abstract shapes and colours, lots of pure colour was used on the figures and street signs, the dark background was burnt sienna, alizarin and french ultramarine, again great care was taken in leaving the white of the paper for highlights.
Both selected for: Splash 15 - The Best of Watercolor: Creative solutions.
Published by North Light Books.
No comments:
Post a Comment