Tuesday 2 August 2011

'Rocks, Sea and Sky'















I do like painting rugged scenery, such as this. Luckily for me, I live by the coast and I'm close to a variety of rocky views. This was painted as a demonstration for a workshop and, unusually for me, I used a little masking fluid here and there. I wanted to show my students a range of watercolour techniques so I used some for the distant sparkle on the water, plus a few highlights on the rocks. I was then able to cover all areas quite freely, with an all-over wash, not having to worry about going over the areas I needed to reserve.
Once the initial wash was dry, I peeled away the masking fluid and then rapidly built up the painting in a couple of harder-edged washes. The foreground grass, being warmer in tone, provides some much needed aerial perspective.