Foam on the Beach

I've had better weeks. Felt a little weak on Monday, had a sore throat on Tuesday and was sneezing my head off on Wednesday. Couldn't paint all week. On top of that I managed to loose half of the footage for a video I was editing. Like I said I've had better weeks.

It once again made me realize how important painting is to me. So let's talk about a painting I did recently.

Foam on the Beach, oils on panel, 27.6 x 47.2"

Sometimes, when painting a film of water on a beach, I first do the beach, all the way up to the surf. In the early stages there's sand as far as the first breakers. The basic color here is a flesh tint with a little Sepia and Burnt Sienna. Closer to  the viewer there's evermore Sepia and Sienna.

On top of the beach I then paint this layer of water with it's reflections in thin glazes. I really love how the beach subtly shines  through in the color of the water. That's the beauty of glazing: it mimicks reality. First sand, then water. I've used this principle more often, for example when painting thin clouds over a blue sky. Though there have to be more examples I can't think of them at the moment. Gotta sneeze...