Painting an Epic Seascape - PART 2 - Building Up the Detail and Final Details

Hello Steemers

Welcome to Part 2 on 'Painting an Epic Seascape' 

Check out the link to the Part 1 on how to paint this seascape.

https://steemit.com/art/@samuel-earp-art/painting-an-epic-seascape-part-1-creating-the-composition-and-blocking-in-the-painting

I am currently making a video on how to paint this which I will upload to my YouTube and DTube channels in which this blog will accompany the video so stay tuned for that.

BUILDING UP THE DETAIL

With the painting dry following in the blocking-in phase I now begin to revisit sky. I am using a No.6 flat brush and using the same colour combination as I used previously (titanium white mixed with burnt umber for the cloud highlights and ultramarine blue, burnt umber, quinacridone magenta and titanium white for the shadows) I form the cloud shapes. This stage of the painting is known as modelling where I work the paint to form the desired forms.

Next I work on the translucency of the waves using a No.6 flat brush and using the same colours I used in the blocking in stage, titanium white, cobalt teal, phthalo green then adding cobalt blue and ultramarine blue to deepen the tone as I work towards the trough of the wave. I blend in the transition zone between the translucent areas of the wave and the main wave body to give the appearance of turbulent water.

I turn my attention to one of the elements of a seascape painting that really invokes a sense of drama and mystery within the painting and thats the foam patterns on the breaking waves and in the foreground whitewater. Foams patterns add interest but what are they? They are floating bubbles as a result of a complex process where entrained air is engulfed by the waves and fragmented into little parcels.

Mixing a combination of ultramarine blue and titanium white and using a 3/8" dagger brush I apply the foam patterns. I do the same in the turbulent water in the foreground as well and I keep in mind that the foreground is in shadow, however I was to give the water form so using the same mix of colours I apply lighter tone to some of the ripples and foam edges. This helps to make the water look more realistic and three dimensional.

Focussing on the highlights of the waves and white water and using a combination of No.6 flat brushes and 3/8" dagger brushes I mix a combination of titanium white mixed with a small amount of ultramarine blue, burnt umber and quinacridone magenta. But why am I adding these colour to it, why not just use pure titanium white from the tube? Well, it's a related to tonality, if I were to use pure titanium white it would make the wave highlights look flat. If you look at foamy water in full sunlight, rarely all of it is pure white, so we need to add some dimensionality to our water. 

By adding a little ultramarine blue, burnt umber and quinacridone magenta to the titanium white we are darkening the tone a little, that means at the end of the painting we can sparingly add light tone which will give the water more form and structure and so make it look more realistic.

Next I work on the rocks, modelling the paint to give the illusion of jagged rocks. I mix a combination of burnt umber and ultramarine blue to create shadows and cracks in the rocks. For the rock highlights and using a 3/8" dagger brush I use a combination of burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow oxide and a little cadmium yellow to increase the tone and saturation of the colour. 

Rocks can be tricky to paint, so it's best to paint the shadows and cracks first and use these as a base to work from. I form the general shapes which I will return to at the end of the painting when I paint water spills on them and apply lighter tone to some of those rock surfaces.

At this stage of the painting I am refining the image, add more highlight to the crest of the breaking wave and white water, this time increasing the tone from the last paint layer by using less ultramarine blue, burnt umber and quinacridone magenta in the mix. This is really starting to bring a dynamic to the sea.

I paint reflected light in the breaking wave and foreground foam and white water by mixing ultramarine blue, a little quinacridone magenta and titanium white.

Using this same colour combination I paint some spills on the rocks in the foreground, this adds to the drama of the seascape.

I add more lighter colour to the rocks to emphasise them being in full sunlight using a combination of burnt umber, cadmium yellow and titanium white.

FINAL DETAILS

Here I am getting to the final details of the painting as I add more highlights to the waves crest and white water. I dry brush a glaze of misty fine spray about the wave crest which makes the wave look more ethereal and the illusion of bright sunlight shining on the top of the water.

I paint the spills on the rocks that are in bright sunlight which further adds to the drama of the painting. 

I complete the painting by my lightest tones to the highlights of the wave crest and white water using pure titanium white. This really brings the painting to life.

I add highlight to the rocks which further defines their forms.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you found this blog post interesting and helpful.

Check out my website for more painting demos and my art: samuelearp.com

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