Sea birds

Final approach                                              Watercolour 56 x 75 cm                                       © Elizabeth Tyler  2017

In these latest watercolour paintings I was inspired by the seagulls I have often seen along the coast of southern Sweden. Sea birds are often considered a symbol of freedom and this was very much the case for me. I grew up in the middle of England, as far from the coast you could possibly be. We didn't see the sea at all most of the year so it was a great treat and part of the wonderful feeling of being on holiday when we could take a trip to the coast. On the way the whole family would compete with each other by spotting the first seagull. Then we knew we would soon see the sea.

In the first painting "Final Approach"  I have tried to capture the moment when the seagull lowers it's "landing gear" and prepares to land on some rocks on the breakwater. I liked the combination of rocks, seaweed and calm water with the seagull suspended in air for just a moment.

Seagull in Storm                                         Watercolour 56 x 75 cm                                       © Elizabeth Tyler  2017

At my favourite location Kulla Berg I encountered another seagull suspended in air. In "Seagull in Storm" the bird was seen against the backdrop of dark granite cliffs. Although the seagull was actually quite still, balancing in the wind, the sea and spray was in violent motion. I purposely painted the background out of focus with no sharp contours to create a feeling of distance and movement. This was done by using the wet into wet technique, layer over layer while the bird was masked out. After all was dry I painted the details of the seagull and softened the edges.