Foreign Shores

We have lots of beautiful shells on our Maine beaches, but none of these!  I do own some though and have painted them several times. Gee... there are a ga-ZILLION colors in this one! 

Thought I'd show you the process for this particular piece. 

My palette (which I learned from Carol Marine) typically consists of six colors (Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Cad Yellow Light, Cad Red Medium, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine, and Phthalo Blue) plus Titanium White and Burnt Umber. When I can't get a bright enough pink or orange, I occasionally add Permanent Rose or Cadmium Orange. There's also a little blob of Liquin at the top to help paint consistency and speed drying.

Depending on the complexity of the subject, I sometimes choose to work out the composition and details in an initial sketch and transfer it to my panel. This allows me to focus on color and value once the painting begins...which are the things that REALLY excite me.

First, I under painted the panel with Permanent Rose. I always begin an oil painting by reserving my lightest lights so I don't "lose" them (which is the opposite of what I did in working with soft pastels for ten years.)

For the middle stages of a painting I work back and forth among the values. This helps me keep them accurate in relation to each other. 

 

 

 

 

I put in the background table and cast shadow...

...and the background.

 

A couple more tweaks to the shell's shape and a few values...and I'm done. 

This is how my palette looks when I'm finished.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"
SOLD