At the Beach 1 - A Work in Progress

Today I was given the wonderful news by the surgeon that I would no longer have to wear the hinged splint and that I could finally put full weight on my leg, drive a car and go upstairs. I can get back to having a life that goes beyond being confined to my living room and kitchen and most importantly I can have a shower instead of a sponge bath using my kitchen sink.

I pulled out this painting that I had started a number of years of years ago (see post on 24 November 2014) and thought I would like to work on something bright and colourful to match my mood.

I started by under painting the sky with aureolin, leaving the sun untouched.

While the paint was still wet, I used a mixture of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson to paint in the evening clouds at the top of the sky.

Next I used new gamboge; I darkened the sky just above the horizon line.

I darkened the sky colour with a little bit of alizarin crimson and painted the sky reflection below the horizon line leaving some areas of white for the crests of the waves.

To this mix I added some cadmium yellow and put in the middle area of the water.

Lastly, using burnt sienna and raw sienna I put in the sandy shore.

I will post this painting at a later date once I decide on the colour of the water against the shore and place the people on the beach.