Don't Be Afraid of Color

          It was a foggy morning at Hendrick's Head Beach today.  It was so foggy that you couldn't even see the lighthouse.  Realism would  demand a gray and white color scheme, but I hadn't painted in a week and was feeling quite happy to be painting with my friends, so I chose  a wild and vibrant palette.  Again, my motto for the summer is, Life's too short for boring colors.

           My approach was to wet the whole sky area with two applications of clear water.  Then I quickly went into the shape with a turquoise, wild fuschia, orange, and yellow ochre.  While it was still saturated and the colors were running, I turned the board sideways to let the colors mingle in another direction.  I used the same approach on the beach and the water.  When developing the rocks and trees, I re-wet the area to be painted so the paint would again mingle on the page.

         The purpose of the sun-like orb was to break up the sky shape.  I chose the brightest turquoise green to depict the shirt on the figure to contrast the reddish color on the beach and the rock behind him to gain maximum impact in that secondary subject.

         Try wetting the big shapes and then flooding them with colors.  Don't brush them back and forth.  One stroke in an area will allow the paint to run together and avoid creating 'mud'.