DEMONSTRATION

Rooftops at Staithes

STAGE ONE

Working from my plein-air drawings I first added a burnt sienna wash over the white gessoed board, followed by drawing out the main structure using a No. 2 round brush. I like to establish my tones at this early stage and balance the composition. I used my own mix of dark grey, a mid grey and an off-white to establish my tones

STAGE TWO

A thin mix of cerulean blue was loosely washed into the sea area, followed by blocking in the cliff face with a variety of colours, using just pure turpentine – areas of ground colour are still visible in places. I scrubbed some darker grey mix over the front house to indicate shadows, and strengthened the shadows being cast by the buildings - far too dark! I was trying to keep it all loose and painterly, with detail kept to a minimum

STAGE THREE

I mixed an orange for the roofs with burnt sienna and a touch of cobalt blue to cool it down a little, I wanted a variation of colour to break it up, and would look at again in the final stage. I blocked in the remainder of the ground colour by adding a thin wash of unbleached titanium white with a hint of cobalt blue to the sky, and generally reworked the buildings and headland rock formation, as well as softening the cast shadows

FINISHED PAINTING

Rooftops at Staithes, oil on Jackson’s Belle Arti canvas board, 153/43193/4in (40350cm).

A mix of cerulean blue and cobalt blue was used to block in the sky and sea, plus ultramarine for the darker areas, then I reworked the headland cliffs. More attention was given to the orange roofs, cast shadows and small details such as windows.

The part stone-built breakwater was strengthened, and a series of small ripples were painted into the water with a rigger brush to indicate movement. Finally, I dropped in a few yachts and extra highlights to parts of the buildings, being careful not to overstate these. When the painting was dry I brushed over a thin layer of Lefranc & Bourgeois Flemish Amber glazing medium, mixed with a weak blue green colour, which softened the whole painting