Rob Wigham Watercolours
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Painting Sandend Harbour - Part 2

22/2/2020

3 Comments

 
Last post we painted the sky and the distant headland of this scene. This time we're going to take over from where we left off, painting the seas and starting the village and harbour itself. I'll try to keep it as brief as I can - if I miss something and you'd like to go into more detail, please let me know!
Picture

​The first thing to do is to re-establish the washes used for the sky and underpaint the water area. For this I masked out the white wave areas first around the harbour and rocks, then re-wet the water area with clean water. I then laid in the sky washes, upside-down and stronger than the sky itself (because the blue water washes will mainly cover these colours up). This underpainting means that the blue 'sea' wash will take on these underlying colours and sit naturally beneath the sky.

Next, I masked the surf breakers themselves. Masking after doing the underpainting means that the 'whites' of the surf will show subtle sky colours - a good thing! I use a very small round brush for this as masking can appear quite clumsy when the fluid is removed, and any masked mark ends up being twice as big as you thought it would be!

Finally, I mixed the washes for the sea. The first was a pure ultramarine blue. Initially it wasn't too strong, as it would be used for the distance. I would strengthen it with pure pigment as we came nearer the shore. Next, I made a wash of Pthalo blue (green shade) for the shallower water. As usual, where I can I like to make pure washes and mix them on the paper - I think it keeps the colours brighter!


The painting of the water doesn't take long at all - the first aim is to cover the area with colour. I lay the blue washes in, fainter at first, by the horizon, strengthening them as they come closer. Before I get to the shallows, I start to add Pthalo blue. All this is done with a loaded round brush with long horizontal strokes, working down the dry paper. As I reach the shallows, I start to add both raw sienna and rose madder. I need to be careful here, as adding these colours can make the wash thick and dark - the opposite of what the water should look like! The secret is to keep them light, and stretch the colours across the white paper to keep them bright. I drop a few more strokes of stronger colour here and there and let it dry, before removing the masking fluid from the surf areas. 

Now it's time to add some harbour walls and rocks. These are done on dry paper, with strong washes of yellow ochre first (as an underpainting to suggest sunlit areas)), shadow colour made from blue, madder and burnt sienna for shadow colour (again as an underpainting) and then some raw and burnt umber added over the top for the solid shapes. The result, with some nice contrast with the white surf, is shown below (please bear with the dodgy photos, they're done as a quick sideline during the painting with no thought for lighting etc):

​
Picture

To paint the water in the harbour, we'll exaggerate the difference between the rough waters of the breakers and the smooth water of the harbour - so reflections become important. I mask around the houses and the boat, then paint in the harbour with a light sky blue of ultramarine with a little rose madder. With that still wet, I start adding the dark harbour colours , plus a fair amount of dark green (sap green plus burnt sienna) to the water below the walls - leaving a white gap where the boat is. This runs softly into the water, becoming diluted but leaving soft edges. I keep adding the pigment until the reflections are dark enough. While the area is still wet, I flood in some red under the boat, having masked a few white areas for bright reflections:

Picture

Phew! That's the water done. Maybe it's my background, worrying about watercolour skies and the difficulty of painting water, but at this point I always feel like the painting's going to work: the difficulties and 'unknowns' are behind me! At this point I generally clean all the palettes and refresh all the blobs of paint to get ready for the land.

I do the roofs first. To do the roofs, I use 3 colours: ultramarine, rose madder and some burnt sienna. These three colours will give blues, pinks and greys in enough variety to make a rich set of roofs. Some of them are red (clay) tiles, of course, and then a mix of light red and raw sienna works well. I also need to colour in the chimneys and clay apex tiles in raw sienna, occasionally with dabs of light red and rose madder. Before I apply the colours I apply shadows as before. It's always best to apply shadows first, otherwise the shadow colour will blur the detail later. All through the painting process, I need to remember that the light is coming from the right, so I leave a small line of white paper unpainted to indicate the twinkle of light on the right side of every object. If that sounds complex, once you get used to it, it becomes second nature (honest!) So this is where we've got to!

​
Picture

OK, we've covered a lot of ground, and we only need to add the bodies of the houses, foreground and detail to finish. For now, treat yourself to a glass of wine (I did!) and we'll finish it next time. Thanks for hanging in there - see you soon, Rob.
3 Comments
Barbara Dougherty
23/2/2020 03:32:36 pm

thank you very much again Rob, so great, I missed the first one with the sky though. I will check on your page?

Reply
Rob Wigham link
23/2/2020 05:17:03 pm

Thank you Barbara! I'm glad it's useful and I saw your FB comment that you had Part 1 as well. Part 3 won't be long!

Reply
Barbara Dougherty
24/2/2020 02:11:28 pm

You are just the best artist, Rob, I just love the soft colours you use and they work so well too.

Reply



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    A professional artist living and working in the beautiful north of Scotland. My work is realistic and quite traditional, though strongly interpretational in nature. My inspiration is the beauty of Nature, and the wonderful colours and moods she shows everywhere.

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  • Home
    • Available Work >
      • Kingston Beach
    • Our Prints >
      • Coastline Prints >
        • Nairn to Findhorn >
          • On Findhorn Beach
          • Findhorn Shoreline
          • Nairn Harbour Sunset
          • Sunset at Findhorn Bay
          • Evening Calm at Findhorn
          • Findhorn Sunset
          • Looking West from Nairn Beach
          • Nairn Harbour from Central Beach
          • Evening in Findhorn
          • A Walk on Roseisle Beach
        • Burghead to Hopeman >
          • Burghead from the Beach
          • Hopeman West Beach
          • Burghead from Hopeman Beach
          • On Cummingston Beach
          • The Beach Huts at Hopeman
          • Hopeman Harbour Reflections
          • Hopeman Harbour and Beaches
          • Sunshine at Cove Bay, Hopeman
          • Burghead Harbour from the Sea Wall
          • Fishing Boats in the Inner Harbour, Burghead
          • Hopeman Harbour from the Headland
          • Ketches Unloading at Hopeman
          • Sunsrise Over Burghead
          • Cummingston Sunset
          • Low Tide at Hopeman
        • Lossiemouth >
          • Two Bridges at Lossiemouth
          • Lossiemouth's Old Bridge Sunset
          • Lossiemouth Memories
          • Old Friends
          • Lossiemouth's Old Bridge
          • Fishing Boats at Lossie
          • Covesea Lighthouse View
          • Sunset Over Lossiemouth
          • Setting Out from Lossiemouth
          • Sunrise Just for Us at Lossiemouth
          • A Walk on Lossiemouth Beach
          • Covesea Lighthouse Sunset
          • Covesea Lighthouse from the Beach
          • The Old Bridge, Lossiemouth
          • Lossie Beach to Ourselves!
        • Kingston to Portessie >
          • Sunset on the River Spey
          • Kingston Beach
          • Setting Out from Buckie
          • Memories of Portgordon
          • Over the Yardie at Buckie
          • The Rooftops of Portessie
          • The Spey Viaduct from the River
          • Strathlene Caravans
          • A Walk at Strathlene
          • Buckpool Shoreline
        • Findochty to Cullen >
          • Through Cullen Viaduct
          • The Two Kings at Cullen
          • Cullen Harbour View
          • Findochty Harbour
          • Over the Rooftops of Cullen
          • The Ruins of Findlater Castle
          • Findochty Shoreline
          • Cullen Auld Kirk
          • Portknockie Harbour View
          • Sunrise at Bow Fiddle Rock
          • The Harbour at Portknockie
          • Seatown from Castle Hill, Cullen
          • Cullen's Rocky Shoreline
          • Morning Light Above Cullen
        • Fordyce and Portsoy >
          • Portsoy View
          • Summer in Portsoy
          • Sandend Harbour from the Brae
          • Tom's Jetty, Portsoy
          • Portsoy Caravans from the Brae
          • Portsoy Memories
          • Portsoy's New Harbour View
          • Sunshine at Portsoy
          • Summer at Portsoy (Greyscale)
          • Fordyce Castle and Kirk
          • A Walk at Sandend
          • The Rocks at Whitehills
        • Banff to Pennan >
          • Banff Harbour Sunshine
          • Crovie Shoreline
          • Banff Links
          • Macduff Harbour View
          • Gardenstown from the Old Church
      • Landscape Prints >
        • Carrbridge
        • Pluscarden Abbey
        • Elgin Cathedral
        • The North Coast 500
        • The Old Bridge, Keith
        • Keith Town Station
        • Craigmin Bridge
        • Duffus Castle
        • Fordyce Castle and Kirk
        • Lochnagar
        • Glenfiddich Distillery
        • Evening Light, Craigellachie
        • The East gate, Lincoln Castle
        • Inheritance
        • Our People
        • Still Is Our Land
        • Durham Mist
        • The Canmore Engine Bridge, Alberta
        • Loch Maree Sunset
      • Aviation Prints >
        • Patrol's End
        • Homecoming
        • Pride of Moray
        • Jailbreak!
        • Texans over the Menai Strait
        • 51 Squadron 80th Parade and Flypast
        • Sea King Standby
        • Sentry: 30 Years of Service
        • Lancasters at War
        • Pumas' Desert RV
        • The Airborne Technician
        • The Navy Team
        • Team Lossiemouth
        • Pride of Moray Comes Home
        • 100 Years of US Naval Recon
        • Jaguars on the Break at Lossiemouth
        • Shadow Over Lincoln
        • Coming Home
        • P8: Protect, Serve, Defend
        • Lossiemouth Departure
        • Spitfire
        • The Cabs are Here!
        • Top Cover
        • Where She Belongs
        • Buccaneer Home
        • 120 Squadron - The First Hundred Years
        • The Old Guard
        • 51 Squadron Centenary
        • 100 Years of 39 Squadron
        • Special Delivery
        • Sutton Bank, Northbound
    • The Coastline Galleries >
      • Coastlines One >
        • Strathlene Shoreline
        • Primrose Bay Sunset
        • The Old Boathouse at Binsness, Findhorn Bay
        • Lossiemouth Past and Present
        • Ties that Bind
        • Sunrise at Kingston Beach
        • The Bench at Portsoy
        • The Fisherman
        • Drying the Salmon Nets at Macduff
        • Lossiemouth Summer
        • Covesea Lighthouse from the West
        • The Old Harbour Steps, Portsoy
      • Coastlines Two >
        • The Wooden Bridge, Lossiemouth
        • Lossiemouth Harbour
        • Portsoy Harbour
        • Iona Shoreline
        • Brae View, Whitehills
        • On Roseisle Beach
        • Fraserburgh Beach from Tiger Hill
        • At Sandwood Bay
        • The Confidence
        • Findhorn Pier
        • Sunset at West Beach
        • Covesea Lighthouse
      • Coastlines Three >
        • The Hopeman Hutties
        • Two Kings, Cullen
        • Bosta Beach to Ourselves!
        • Race to the Surf at Sandend
        • Through the Arches at Cullen
        • Covesea Lighthouse Walk
        • On Findhorn Beach
        • Hopeman Wedding
        • Our Family's Special Beach
        • Among the Rocks at Covesea
        • A Calm Day at Findhorn
        • A Walk on Cullen Beach
        • Rainbow and Cerigo at their Moorings
        • The Best Time!
        • The High Shore, Macduff
    • The Landscape Galleries >
      • Landscapes One >
        • Edinburgh Castle from the Princes Street Gardens
        • A Walk by the Spey
        • Summer Wedding
        • Dad's House
        • The Falls of Tarnash, Keith
        • Raemore
        • The East gate, Lincoln Castle
        • The Forth Bridge at Sunset
        • The Cow and Calf
        • Eilean Donan Castle
        • The Shores of Loch Maree
        • Evening in Krems
      • Landscapes Two >
        • The Boys at Walla Crag
        • King's College Chapel, Aberdeen
        • The Old Town Square, Prague
        • The Eiffel Tower from Across the Seine
        • The Birch Woods
        • Woodhall Wedding
        • Spanish Villa
        • Harlaxton Manor Wedding
        • Mullagh Tower and Tullamore
        • Elsie's Croft
        • Honeysuckle Cottage
        • King's College Chapel Wedding
      • Landscapes Three >
        • Speymouth View
        • Jane's House
        • The Mormond Hill Stag
        • Climbing Mount Olympus
        • Idyllic Childhood
        • The Spey Viaduct
        • The Old Schoolhouse, Drumnadrochit
        • West Beach View
        • Father and Son
        • Elgin Golf Club
        • June's House
        • Our House and Family
        • Hill House
        • The View from the Garden
        • A Nice Day For It!
        • Memories of 35a
    • Aviation Gallery >
      • Nimrod MRA4
      • Continuity
      • Another Straspiration....
      • The Red Arrows Perform the Gypo Break
      • First Blood at Elham
      • Allies
      • Falcon Heavy's First Flight
      • Double Trouble
      • 29 July 1988
      • Typhoon Touchdown!
      • Saint's Return
      • Tanker Trail
      • Thunder over the Bay
      • Storm Break
      • Home at Sunset
      • The Escaping Airman
      • Lt McLeod Wins the Victoria Cross
      • The Green Spot
      • Away Just in Time!
      • The Grey Lady
      • The 'Peel Off'
    • The Pets Gallery >
      • Laddie
      • Broxi
      • Chelsea
      • Bramble
      • The 3 Amigos
      • Boris
      • The Boys
      • Izzy
      • Carrie and Flynn
      • Patch
      • It's a Dog's Life
      • Alfie
      • Jura
      • Arnie
      • Barney and Bray
      • Diego
      • Six Beagles!
      • Guess Who's in Charge?
  • New 'Mini' Range
  • Rob's Blog
  • About
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