Day 1
Day 1 Irish Mist
The first attempt at the mountains. I decided to enhance the colors of the rich minerals in the hills that were obvious to the eye but not the camera.
Day 2 – 3 sessions
Day 2 Irish Mist
Very happy with the addition of mineral color to the hills that will tie into the foam on the breaking waves. Hills are blocked in with a block in of the water running over the rocky landscape.
I am very grateful to the wonderful photographer, Barbara Walsh, who was gracious enough to allow me use of her references in the beautiful land that she lives in.
Day 3 – 3 Sessions
Day 3 The Rough
Now that the paint on the hillside has set enough, I took a stiff brush with very little paint, and brushed it over the hillside to make the mist. I used a color that was a few values lighter than the area I was painting. The effect of the mist looks white and translucent. Then I direct painted the rough with shadows on the vertical sides of each section of wave. I was challenged with color choices for the shadow section of the water. There were many choices of minerals in the colorful rocks that would have effected the water color. I decided on combination of alizarin crimson and payne’s gray for most areas and raw sienna. The colorful golden minerals which are prominent in a lot of the rocks will also effect the color of the water which you can see the beginning of the next section and the leading edge of the rough.
Day 4 and 5 Finishing the rough – 6 Sessions
Day 5 Wave block in
I reluctantly admit I spent Day 4 & 5 choosing and changing colors of the water in the rough and then blocking in the breaking waves.
Day 6 – 3 Sessions
Day 6 the waves blocked in
The details of the froth on the first wave that crested are finished. However you can see in the block in, I am still changing the color of the water. Varying between viridian and green umber. I eventually did not choose the viridian which is more blue. I chose not to go with viridian due to the amount of golden minerals in the water from the surrounding rocks. That golden mineral would make the water green instead of the viridian that has more blue.
Day 7 & 8- 4 Sessions
Day 7 & 8 Irish Mist
The water has it’s final coloring. Most of the froth is painted on the water with the side of the brush. I’ve added a lot of mist and sprinkles from where the water splashes with a small amount of paint on a dry brush.
Day 8 was also spent putting highlights in brightest white areas and darkening some shadowed areas. And trying to decide on a name. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey of Irish Mist, a 24″x36″ oil painting as much as I did.