Waves

"Waves" acrylics on canvas   110 x 140 cm

This painting is one that my husband is particularly fond of so I've decided it's not for sale. It normally hangs in our living room but I hide it away during the Open Studio event here every year.
It took about a month to paint so for practical reasons it was painted from a photograph. Although I prefer to paint on location it's not always possible so especially larger works are done using my own photographs as reference. I feel it is really important to have taken the photograph myself, not only for copyright reasons but also because it is a valuable and significant part of the creative process. Having actually been there experiencing the feel of the wind and smell of the salty air, taking in all the colours as they change in the light and being able to choose just the right moment I want to render is every bit as important as putting the brush to the canvas. I took the shot on a windy day when the sun only revealed itself as a faint warm glow behind grey clouds. The sea is the Kattegat between Sweden and Denmark and this is the only place around here where real waves can be seen rolling onto the beach.
I painted the whole background pale blue to start with and gradually built up the tonal differences with shades of blue and green. The spray in the foreground is spattered with a toothbrush. The colours used were: Titanium white, Paynes grey, Magenta, Ultramarine blue, Pthalo blue, Hookers green and a little Burnt siena.