I rather like the idea of tall narrow paintings inspired by the traditional Japanese hanging scrolls. In these the eye can wander through the painting from bottom to top taking in the details on the way.
I felt this subject with stranded seaweed on the beach could almost be reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The composition itself matched the planned format nicely.
Taking many (and I mean many)reference photos along the local beach I finally narrowed the subject matter down to this ( see below). By cropping and adding details in the foreground the perspective was purposefully exaggerated.
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| After covering the white canvas with a base colour of pale orange I painted the sea and sky, graduating from light ultramarine to light turquoise and back. The rocks in the background were painted diffuse with pale shadows. An acrylic marker was used to sketch the stones and shells on the sand. |
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| In order to keep track of the perspective I put all the shadows in place by painting these in paynes grey. Then the laborious work of filling in the details could begin. |
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| drinking a cup of coffee in front of the finished painting "Calligraphy of the Sea" 220x100cm © Elizabeth Tyler |
