Senibel beach Florida , Step by step watercolor painting

“Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and end of all things on earth.” Heinrich Zimmer

My today’s post is a small water colour painting that I created recently on Campap watercolor paper. I posted it on my INSTAGRAM feed a while ago and decided to blog about it as I captured the steps involved in creating it. This Senibel beach scene from Florida is inspired by a photograph from @tryatrip and I am grateful for the same. Most of the times, I try using my own reference photo, however there are times when I come across something beautiful which I cannot resist and therefore go ahead and paint it.

If you have been following my works on INSTAGRAM you would know that I am a lot into Chitrapat handmade paper for my watercolor paintings which is really a great economical paper to start with but sometimes I do try on other papers which are in my collection and are fairly good.

                                                               

                                                                 Senibel beach, Florida

                                                   A water colour painting on Campap paper   

                                                                       Size   4” X 5.5”

                                            

Step 1. Sky and distant buildings

Step 1. I wet the paper using clean water and then using a round brush created

the sky with ultramarine blue color. While the paper was still wet I 

added the distant buildings using a small flat brush ( Ultramarine blue and light red mix )

 I darkened the pigments at places using a thicker mix of paints to create 

different tonal valuesto suggest the towers in the distance.

Step 2. The sea and the foliage on the left

Step 2. I now wet the lower section of the paper to create the ocean and 

ocean waves. I have used a mix of ultramarine blue and viridian green

for the sea waves and raw sienna for the seashore. Once the ocean was done,

I used wet on dry technique to create the foliage and branches on the 

left. I created the greens using chrome yellow and ultramarine blue.

In greens, I like the Hookers green from Camlin. I mix it

with a cool or warm color to create the shade I desire.

For the thin branches, I normally use my rigger brush

in the end.

For the final step, I added a few rocks and twigs on the sand. ( The Final painting as displayed on the top ). The wet sand next to the waves gets a reflection of sky color for which I have used ultramarine blue and light red mix from Camlin. That about completes the painting. If you happen to miss out on leaving the white of paper for the froth on seawaves, you can apply white paint directly from the tube using a stiff synthetic brush. ( I do it all the time. I have used masking fluid in the past, but from my experience I have realised that they all dry up if not used frequently and it is an expensive affair. So these days I avoid buying it. )

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends.

Water colour painting inspired by the white sandy beaches of Florida

"There are no half measures when it comes to watercolours. Watercolour demands constant devotion." Pierre Tougas

Yesterday I completed my second water colour painting on Arches cold pressed paper. I love the beaches and have done a series on them. Be it in Goa, Phi Phi island or Florida, they are all beautiful in their own way.

The 7" X 9" watercolour painting below has been inspired by the beautiful white sandy beaches of Florida. I have painted a lot of them before on hand made paper. Now I am trying out my new works on Arches, Fabriano and other acid free papers. Shifting from one paper to another gets a little tricky as the paper surface, it's water absorbing quality etc is different and hence it takes a little time getting used to it.

In the painting below, I tried to do the sky using wet on wet technique and I had all the steps planned out in the head, but as the paper started drying up it led to a little confusion and then the brush strokes were just spontaneous. Next time probably I will keep the spray bottle by the side to keep the paper wet for a longer time. Like I always say, every painting is a new learning experience and I am always looking forward to painting something new and challenging.

Morning at the shore

Water colour painting on Arches cold pressed paper

Size 7" X 9"

My next painting that I have already worked out in my mind is a beach scene from Goa and also another landscape scene from Sikkim. I also plan to check out the "Fabriano Artistico" hot pressed paper which I recently purchased from the Himalaya Stationery store at Fort.

Thanks for browsing through my works.

The sunlit seashore - a water colour painting.

WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016.

The new year has finally begun and its time to look back and analyse and evaluate. I have completed two years of BLOGGING and I need to write a post on the series of works that I have created and the mediums that I have explored. Will write a detailed post about it soon.

As of now I am posting yet another of my seashore paintings inspired by FLORIDA. In this particular seascape I have added a lot of warmth and since the colours of the sky always reflect on the land I have used raw sienna in the foreground as the initial layer. The light that falls on the grasses creates beautiful shadows. The footprints on the sand too add a lot of drama in the scene. Without these elements the seascape would not look so interesting and magical.

The Sunlit seashore

Water colour painting on hand made paper

Size 6" X 9"

When I started with the series on water colour seashore paintings my plan was to do a few of them and then change the subject. However I have changed my mind and I may do a few more beaches before shifting to another subject because there is a lot to learn and with every painting my knowledge and experience is adding up. 

Normally when I get into a new medium I start with landscapes, ie seashores and mountainscapes. Its much later that I jump to creating forests as the trees, the bushes, the perspective and all the greens is very very challenging. 

I believe in "TAKING ONE STEP AT A TIME" and I am doing just that.

Enjoying my art as I move on in life.

Morning at the beach

Another of my seashore paintings with reference to the beaches at Florida. I added a little warmth to the sands in the foreground before painting the shadows. The sand dunes help in creating a dramatic composition. 

Presently I am continuing to use the Camel artist's colour tubes but have plans to use my old collection of Winsor and Newton cotman colours too as some of them are drying up. Also the plan is to shift to Arches paper as it has more water holding capacity and is an acid free paper.

Morning at the beach

Water colour painting on hand made paper

Size 6"X 9"

I somehow feel comfortable painting on a common size such as 6" X 9". This kind of an arrangement helps because in future if I have to frame some of my works then I can go and buy Frames of a common size which adds to the convenience. Moreover this size is very easy to store in a Folder.

Walk to the beach - A water colour painting

The water colour painting as below is the second in the series of Florida beach paintings. My experimenting and exploring new colour mixing combination continues. In this particular painting I have used wet on wet technique in the sky using crimson, ultramarine blue and cerulean blue colour. I avoided adding clouds and wanted to keep the sky clear so as to keep the eye focused on the walk towards the ocean.

In the foreground I have made use of fan brush as well as the round brush to create the tall grasses on the sand dunes. The sand dunes have many different plants growing on it with extensive root systems.
Since I am painting lot of sand dunes in my present beach series, I decided to read a little more about it. More information about the subject that I am painting helps me to connect with it better.

Dunes play an important role both to the beaches that front them and the land behind them. Dunes act as a sand reserve for beaches. Dune systems act as a buffer between the high energy of the ocean and the land. Dunes provide a barrier to salt intrusion from high tides and storm surges, and it protects the land behind the dunes from erosion.

Courtesy: http://www.floridaocean.org/uploads/docs/blocks/175/sand-dunes.pdf

Walk to the beach

Water colour painting on hand made paper

Size 6" X  9"

The sand dunes at the seashore - A water colour painting

I finally started the Florida seashore painitngs in water colour medium after having done the water colour study works. The study works help me to follow the same technique as I applied while I was doing the small 4"X 5"painting. Most of the times it works.

The first of my Florida beaches is as below. Creating the grasses was a challenge. I used the round brush sideways dragging the colour upwards. The paint that I lifted from the palette was very dry or else it would have smudged a lot. Later I used the pointed brush to create the long blades of grass. I need to work on the sky and a few more elements and will experiment with some new techniques in my next painting. For the water colour painting below I have used Camel artist quality water colour tubes.

Sand dunes at the beach

Water colour painting on Indian hand made paper.

Size 6"X 9"

By December end I will have completed two years of blogging and a whole lot of paintings and sketchings. Blogging has got me more focused towards my art. At times I just browse through my older works and it makes me realise how one step at a time I have slowly moved forward.

I have some resolutions lined up for the coming year and will be posting about it soon

If you wish to see my creative side wherein I design some unique ethnic home decor 

products then please visit my blog www.ethnikhomedecor.blogspot.in

Pastel painting of a seascape on Canson Mi Teintes paper

After having concluded with my two days soft pastel workshop my soft pastels are still lying around on the table, which is my workplace, therefore I decided to do a few more soft pastel artworks before putting it all away. 

Inspired by the white sandy beaches of Florida, created this seascape from a reference photograph. I have avoided getting into too many details in this painting as I just wanted to focus on the shoreline and the multiple shades of colour reflected in the water.  

White sandy beach

Soft Pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6" x 8"

As a school kid, I spent some years in Goa and there was this beautiful isolated beach about two kilometers away from our residential area. During the weekends we would walk the distance, climb down the rocky hills and spend hours close to the sea, listening to the sound of the waves breaking at the shore.The "Hansa Beach" as the locals called it was clean and had great number of coconut trees, so the place was shaded too. Such memories come live when I get into painting "Seascapes".