The color of the beach

Whenever I get an email how to mix the color of the beach I have a hard time giving an answer. Problem is, there is no color of the beach, there are countless colors of just as many beaches. Even in my home country (pretty small country as you may know) the sand has different colors on different islands. Sometimes a little reddish, sometimes with a hint of ochre.

From time to time I find new combinations to mix an okay sand color, like in this recent painting. The bottom layer is a mix of flesh color (Lukas) and a bit of yellow ochre. To tone it down in the second layer I applied a rather thinned glaze with lots of transparent white, indigo (Rembrandt) and again ochre. It's just a small part of the painting, but I like it.

Untitled work in progress, 13.8" x 39.4

Very often the Lukas flesh tint is the starting point of my beaches. If I need a pale, almost colorless, beach I'll add a little sepia. If I need a soft brown beach I'll add a little burnt umber and sometimes even burnt sienna, though most of the times I'll have to tone that one down with a glaze of some kind.

Shadows on a beach often have a hint of purple, be it of a cloud or a dune. Old Holland violet-grey makes an excellent shadow color in a mix with transparent white, flesh tint and maybe a little ochre. Works just great when you glaze it on top of an existing beach.

Anyone with new recipes? Let me know!