The Power of Gray

In this painting of the Bay Lady, a little Friendship sloop whose home port is Boothbay Harbor, I decided two things:  first, that the dozens of buildings on the far shore weren't important and therefore should not be rendered precisely or at all; and second, to make the focal point stand out, the background color should be muted while the little sloop retained some color.

While painting, once your eye wanders away from the focal point, the temptation is to include all sorts of irrelevant details.  Think of ways to tone down or eliminate those distractions.  Graying them and only suggesting them with a silhouetted shape are two ways to keep the attention on the focal point.

This is Windjammer Week in BBH, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more boats very soon!  And if you'd like to paint these scenes in person, sign up for my workshop in August!