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Stepped Demonstrations - Bracelet Bay, Gower

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  • 1.
    1. Soak a piece of Arches paper (11”x 71/2”) 300gsm. for 30 minutes and staple to a ‘Sundeala’ Board at 2” intervals.  Allow to thorough drying overnight before drawing out the image with a clutch pencil HB. (Sharpening not required!)
     


  • 2.
    1. Paints: Winsor & Newton Cotman Series - Lemon Yellow, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Blue.
    2. Mix 3 separate stiff washes of Lemon Yellow, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna.
    3. Wet the paper thoroughly using a soft goathair brush.
    Using the lemon yellow wash encircle a small area of white paper drawing the paint outwards into the rest of the painting.  Next, leaving an area of 15mm of the lemon yellow describe a further circle of raw sienna before drawing that outwards as well.  Finally paint in the burnt sienna 15mm out from the raw sienna and only in the lower half of the circle.  Draw this out as well.   Try to aim at a soft transition between the three colours.
    4. Using a flat ½” brush remove the colour in the sea area directly below the sun.
    5. Leave the painting to dry very thoroughly.
     

  • 3.
    1.  Mix 2 stiff washes, one of pure cobalt and another of cobalt blue and burnt sienna to give a blue grey.
    2. Wet the paper very thoroughly but gently using a soft goat hairbrush trying not to disturb the colours. This is not a problem using Arches or Saunders Waterford.
    3. Paint in the blue part of the sky using the cobalt wash followed by the darker clouds using the grey wash.  With the corner of a ½” flat lift out highlights on the edges of the clouds closest to the sun.   Everything needs to be done whilst the paper is still damp if the clouds are to have soft edges.
    4. When dry, paint in the horizon very lightly using the grey wash and, with horizontal strokes, suggest the formation of gentle waves, lifting out the tops for highlights.

    It is possible to accomplish very successful sunrise & sunset effects in one shot, but on larger sheets (1/2 imp. and over) it can get somewhat frantic trying to get everything done whilst the surface is still damp.  I find it much more relaxing to do it in two stages.
     

  • 4.
    1. Using a size 8 round brush, and a mixture of burnt sienna with a little cobalt blue, paint in the land area.   Whist this is still damp, lightly brush in raw and burnt sienna tints where the light will hit the rocks.
    2. Reinforce the shadows in the waves with the blue grey softening off at the bottom to achieve the necessary curved profile.
     


  • 5.
    1. Using a stiffer mixture of burnt sienna and cobalt blue, darken the left side of the island and headland.  Adopt a dry brush technique with a scumbling action, as this will allow the underwash to show through and promote a lifelike rugged appearance.  A very wet brush often promotes too many hard edges.
    2. Paint in the front shadows on the horizontal rocks allowing the lighter initial wash to depict the upper faces.
    3. Finally, to give the painting a sense of scale, put in two or three figures and perhaps a yacht to break the horizon.
     

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