Dreamy nostalgia

Judith Yates captures the warmth of the early evening light on water as the tide drifts towards the shore, using acrylics as her medium of choice

The warm tones of the early evening, with the sun hanging low, its light cutting through the water, always gives me a nostalgic feeling. Mellow directional light often creates a warm glow that results in a dreamy, restful atmosphere. I love the way the sinking sun shines through the tops of waves, forming a beautiful translucent effect.

The low side lighting at this time of day forms many sharp tonal contrasts, with deep saturated colours and dark shadows contrasting with sparks of bright light across the surface of the sea.

Painting the saturated colours within the sea, I used a mix of phthalo blue and cobalt turquoise in the darker areas, adding a touch of ivory black to the very deep shadows.

To depict the small bright sparks of sunlight hitting the surface of the water, I painted using a small brush loaded with white paint in a fast dabbing motion. This effect requires tiny, sporadic, fast touches in selected patches, to suggest the shimmering flashes of light.

I created a hazy sky with soft washes of subtle blue-green tones that mirrored the colours used in the sea. This was supplemented with a generous quantity of titanium white, and all were mixed with ochre in the clouds to obtain a warm glow over the entire sky.

To paint the translucent water, I mixed titanium white, yellow ochre and gold ochre with cobalt turquoise. This was used alongside a mix of titanium white and yellow ochre for the warm highlights, which become whiter and brighter on the edges of the waves as the sunlight strikes them at an angle

To give the illusion of the ripples on the sand, I used my favourite method of suggesting detail, which involves creating a subtle texture in the base layer of the gesso, by forming thin, wavy overlapping marks using the tip of a palette knife. This is accentuated by all the soft overpainting. Building underlying texture is my way of avoiding the obvious. Describing elements too literally can result in leaving little or nothing to the imagination

Drifting In, acrylic on canvas, 231/23231/2in (60360cm)