Rock Pile

 I got to the beach just as the clouds were burning off.  I searched for a location to paint.  I found a couple of places that would be great places to paint.

 I looked at painting Rock Pile from a couple of different angles.  I found several different spots that looked good for future paintings but they were not right for today.

I found a couple of painters in the gazebo.  This is another place I would like to paint from but not today.  I usually like to paint with others but it felt like there was instruction going on.  I did not want to interrupt whatever they had going on.

 I find myself drawn to this location time and time again.  I never thought I would paint one spot so many times.  I am not sure if these paintings look different from each other and it makes no difference to me.

 Because I paint with pastels, my pallet is limited to the colors I bring along.  I have to believe that if I were painting with a pallet of six colors plus white in oil, that I would be able to make many more colors than the 400 or so that I bring with me.

 Because I paint on boards with acrylic underpaintings, I am able to extend my pallet.  The underpainting changes the appearance of the colors as they are put down on the board.  I green on a orange board looks much different than it does on a blue board.  

 At the end of the painting there is little left of the underpainting peeking through.  The influence it made throughout the process of putting down the pastel can be felt everywhere in the painting.  Every color changes every color there after.

 The majority of this painting was about layering color over color to define and refine the shapes within the composition.  I built the painting from dark and complimentary colors to lighter local colors.  There were a couple of features that I felt were not defined well.  One of those shapes was the last rock in the middle of the painting between the palm trees.  I carved the shape of it by using the color of the water.

One of the things I am working on is the quality of the shapes in my paintings.  Because I do not rework any of my plein air pieces, it is essential that the images within my paintings are believable.  I am trying to paint complete paintings.  A full expression of my intent.

The value shot reflects the lighting when I first arrived at the beach.

The finished painting measures 24"X 32".  It is painted on sanded plywood with a underpainting of acrylic paint and pumice gel. The picture is painted with soft pastel.