I’ve finished the latest Guernsey painting and can at last show it to you… I’ve loved doing this painting, it was based on a photo I took when I was there at the beginning of April, here it is to show you. When I looked at the photo I felt I could improve on the image for the painting itself…by removing the bench on the right hand side, and also removing the couple sitting on the left hand bench. The painting wasn’t about them, it was about the view. If I had painted them in the painting you would be looking at them….not the view…
I drew out the image onto artboard, then painted blocks of colour in acrylics to seal it, I painted the sky as one flat block of colour, knowing that I would pick out the fine twigs and branches of the trees in front as the final layer. Also the foreground wild flowers and grasses were just painted as one block of colour, to start. I painted the sea as the teal colour it is as the first layer. And the mid greens of the hills beyond were painted in a block of colour. The beach was painted as a cream block of colour for the first layer. I just needed to know where everything was for the first layer, when that was sealed I did it again to seal the artboard totally – the board is porous, and I wanted it sealed before I started the details.
I then painted the pale blue of the sky with the distant white clouds sitting over the horizon.
Then I painted the pale teal of the sea becoming more pale green as it got to the beach.
Then I painted the mid greens of the headland with the hints of buildings on the hill side, the round stone defensive tower that are so particular to Guernsey overlooking the beach and the rocks on the shoreline.
It was only when I was happy with how that looked that I painted the tree on the left hand side, painting the twigs and small branches at that point over the pale blue sky. When that tree was done, I then painted the tree on the right hand side, as that had small branches, and leaves and the fretwork of black tracery showing the teal sea, and pale blue sky behind it.
When that was done, I then painted the bench itself.
And lastly I painted the foreground path, wild flowers, grasses. I had considered painting the shadows of the tree you can’t see that is in the photo, but I think it would have made the composition more confusing, as you’d have been looking at the shadows and wondering where the tree was, instead of looking at that fabulous view infront of you!!!
I think this painting does the delightful idyllic island justice…it has a blue sky with clouds on the horizon, the bluey green sea lapping against the beach, one of the round stone defensive towers that are so particular to Guernsey, buildings on the hill opposite, and two trees to either side, wild flowers and grasses leading to a bench just infront to go and sit and spend time just looking….I love it!!!!
I framed the painting and here it is behind glass and in a mottled gold frame that I think sets it off nicely.. The painting is called ‘Fermain bay, Guernsey’, is painting in acrylics on artboard (23.5 x 17 inches) behind glass, in a mottled gold frame (outside measurements 26 x 20 inches)
