Painting project

Part 1 Mike Rollins introduces this month’s painting from three photographs to help you tap into your imagination and produce a painting of a fantasy scene

Part 1 This month, Mike Rollins introduces three photographs from which to paint a tropical beach with acrylics and discusses the value of using your imagination in painting

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Compose a scene from various sources

How to transfer drawings

How to visualise a scene

Part of the fun of painting an invented scene is the process of combining random reference to create something entirely new. For this painting, I took inspiration from photos of Barbados, taken by my friend Philippa, along with a photo I took of a harbour in Cornwall. I was being slightly conservative in my choice of reference, as I wanted a particular tropical look, but there’s nothing to say you can’t find your own images and incorporate more fantastical elements, such as a pirate ship or a giant crab!

The following demonstration shows how I drew the scene, ready for the paint. Don’t worry if you are unsure about certain elements at this stage. As we will be working in acrylics next month, you can change your mind as you go along. You may have noticed that the single figure in Photo 1 (above left) became two in my finished drawing. Perhaps I was thinking about family, but it just felt right.

Next month I will show you how I painted my version of the scene using acrylics. If you’d like to have a go in the meantime, my suggested colour palette is: ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, raw sienna, burnt sienna, emerald green, cadmium yellow and titanium white.

Reference Photo 1 (reproduced by kind permission of Philippa Hobart). I love the sweep of the ocean and the vibrant colours of this view. This will be great to convey the heat of a tropical beach, but I’m not overly keen on the distant trees.

Reference Photo 2 (reproduced by kind permission of Philippa Hobart). It’s a bit breezier and cold looking, but the elements of Barbados are there – the iconic palm trees, interesting formations and lush foliage.