Rocky coast plein air oil painting

Green Islands, Albany. Photo by Andy Dolphin.

Date: Friday, November 9, 2012
Weather Forecast: Close to perfect!

I didn't get out much last week as it rained for seven days straight. I finally managed to get some painting done in the last couple of days though. Here's yesterday's effort.

This is a spot I've looked at many times but there's always been a reason not to paint it. It's high up on a cliff edge over rocks, exposed to the wind and is usually shrouded in heavy salt spray. And up until yesterday, the shadows always seemed to be in "just the wrong place". With summer just weeks away, the sun is now setting further to the south and the lighting down here was far more interesting.

(Down into the mist. Sketch. 30x25cm, oil on board. © Andy Dolphin)

I'm struggling to come to grips with painting the ocean while looking directly toward the setting sun but this one is better than previous efforts. In order to get it done as fast as possible, I used a limited palette and ignored detail. I was throwing paint on - although I was slowed down quite a bit because I'd left my palette knife behind and I use that for cleaning my brushes. Alternatives proved unsuccessful.

I'm happy with the result and can see a few things that need adjusting so I'm going to let this one dry then do a bit of work over the top to try an unify things and enhance the depth a little.

I might go back here a at different times and see what else I can get from it.