Harbour Life: a step-by-step guide
Define the boat through its relationship with the forms and spaces around it.
The oil colours I apply to my palette are Phthalo
Blue, Phthalo Turquoise, Alizarin Crimson,
Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White
and occasionally some Lemon Yellow.
No thinner such as turps is used.I work on the sky, defining the mast of the boat
through the negative spaces around it.On a less bright day, such as the conditions while
I was painting here, it is possible to see into the
shadows and more easily determine colours in
them. I do not use Black or Payne‘s Grey as I feel
these can be dead colours compared to mixing
a very dark tone with red, blue and yellow.The lighter lines on the bow of the boat create a
very clear sense of definition for the shape of the
boat with relatively few marks made. The lighter
grey right-hand side of the boat now establishes
the more definite relationship between the boat
and the darker form of the vessel behind it, which
informs the shape of the hull in the foreground.Step 9. Oil colours
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
I prefer to mix my
own very dark tones
of paint rather than
use Black or
Payne‘s Grey.