Pacific Sunrise

Original Acrylic on Textured Canvas

36 x 18  - SOLD

Here is the final version of the Step-by-Step from January 23rd and 24th. If you scroll down you'll find these two posts and see the texture building and painting of this canvas. I had to leave it for a few days and come back to it for the final touches, so I could get a more accurate read on what needed to be done. There's nothing like a fresh look at a painting to know where to go with it. The foreground needed to be darkened and the light on the water needed adjusting. Now I'm pleased with the outcome and had fun with the Golden mediums that I used - Molding Paste and Coarse Pumice. The Coarse Pumice was difficult to cover, so I would most likely experiment with adding some pigment before applying it the next time. Have you tried any of these textural mediums? If you've used Coarse Pumice let me know how you handled the paint coverage.

Pacific Sunrise

Seascape Still in Progress

I've continued moving down the canvas, blocking in the colour, and making bold energetic strokes with either large brushes or a palette knife. The coarse pumice medium is really interesting because it has a very 3D effect, and obviously lends itself to the beach scene. The paint on the pumice is drying about 3 tones darker than the same colour on the bare canvas, which actually makes some interesting marks. It's really hard to cover the pumice because there are many little holes where the pigment isn't penetrating. I'm having to use a hard bristle brush and scrub the pigment into the holes because those areas are looking under painted. In some applications, the areas left unpainted could have a nice effect, but in this instance it's not working. If I use this medium again I'll  most likely add pigment to the medium before applying it.

 

I have all the colour blocking in place now and can begin adding shadows to start forming the beachscape, which is made up of sandstone formations, rocks and seaweed. I need to darken down the foreground but also create a warm glow anywhere the light hits small pools of water.

This is my second to last painting session on this piece. I now have the beach well formed, but will need to darken the foreground and warm it up. I also want to work on the sky creating a bit more drama. I won't be able to photograph the final painting until the weekend. There's just not enough light by the time I get home from work. In any case, I'm having a lot of fun with this, and it's great to experiment with different mediums. On the final post for this painting I'll try to include some details so you can get an idea of the texture. I hope you're enjoying this experimental journey with me.

Seascape Still in Progress

Seascape In Progress

I needed to take a break from small works and still lifes, so I decided to try something I haven't done before. I selected a long vertical format 36" x 18" and textured the canvas with molding paste on the top 2/3, and coarse pumice gel on the bottom 1/3. I've used molding paste before but not the coarse pumice. It dried overnight, which I wasn't expecting. I thought it would take longer. 

I then started painting a seascape/beach scene which I captured in a photograph at dawn, last August, on Hornby Island. I worked from the top of the canvas down, painting much of it with a palette knife, in an abstracted manner. Sometimes, you just have to do the opposite of what you've been doing, to spike your creativity.

I've started breaking up the field of orange water, reflecting the fiery sun, which is starting to rise up behind the hill. I'm painting in acrylics which dry quickly, so I can keep adding paint and making adjustments. I'm working fairly quickly and having a lot of fun with the size and experimental quality of this piece. I'll be interested to see how paint applies to the coarse pumice. Some would say, try it out on a small piece first, but what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Stay tuned for the rest of this painting as it unfolds.

Seascape In Progress