STAGE 6

BASE HIGHLIGHTS

I start work on the base highlights in the water and foreground. The most distant light on the sea is a mix of ultramarine and white, with more white as it comes into the midground. The lights on the shore are ultramarine, magenta and white. Some more pink, some more blue. Variation of brushstrokes with a loose idea of your subject helps keep things feeling real. If I’m painting sparkles, I vary the marks whilst considering whether they will convince—i do need the water to feel relatively flat, and subject to the law of gravity! It feels like an irreverent whilst aware approach. I leave the sky until last, just before the highlights. By using the sky mix of white and ultramarine to loosely but opaquely cut out the edge of the mountains, I create a sense of atmosphere and avoid the “pasted on” effect.