Learning objectives
- Mix clean, bright colours
- Questions that need answering before you begin
- Use a traditional oil-painting process to complete a beach scene
You will need
- White gessoed board or canvas 11¾X15¾in. (30X40cm)
- Titanium white
- Cadmium yellow light
- Cadmium orange
- Cadmium red
- Ultramarine blue
- Turqoise
- Dioxazine purple
- Sap green
- Ivory black
- A selection of flat, Round and filbert brushes, suitable for oil paints
- Alkyd resin
- Solvent (lowodour mineral spirit)
- Paper towel
- Powdered chalk (whiting)
Many years ago, I visited and photographed Wells beach in Norfolk. Back home, I painted this picture (above right), using oils for the first time. It took me 45 minutes to complete, and I simply painted exactly what I saw in the photograph. Afterwards, I was told that it could have been a much better painting if I had approached it differently.
First, I should have asked myself why I decided to make a painting of this subject. What appealed to me about it, and what did I want my picture to say? It was then that I realised that a painting is not simply a visual copy ol reality, but a comment on how it makes the artist feel. If I can't improve on the photo, what is the point of making a painting? So, with this in mind, let's take a fresh look at the
