PREPARATION

The canvas was primed twice with Michael Harding acrylic primer and the ground is a mixture of Winsor & Newton titanium white and burnt sienna. This colour was favoured by the Old Masters, such as Rembrandt, and gave the painting an additional punch, making the colours painted over it really sing.

The palette was basically red, yellow and blue with a couple of earth colours and two whites. In the dippers at the side of the palette I had Winsor & Newton turpentine in one pot and C Roberson & Co’s glaze medium in the other. This medium adds lucidity to the oil paint and aids drying times. So, basically my dippers contained a thinner and a substance to thicken the paint.

The easel is the half-size Jullian Field Easel.

There are cheaper versions available, but they are not quite so good! The palette folds in half and has stoppers on the corners, which allows an organised artist to set up the colour range in the studio. The palette can then be opened on site and work can begin. This saves time setting up the colours, which is crucial with a fast-incoming tide.

Once everything was ready it was time to start painting