Undeterred by the sand flowing away from under your feet, you struggle on, brushing past the coarse marram grass and then glimpse sight of the sea. Now, you realise you’ve reached your objective.
This is the last of the short series of beach pastels I have been doing of late. All used the technique of underpainting with gouache and then overworking with pastel. I was trying to get a feeling of intimacy with this one, compared to the others which had a more panoramic detachment.
Other beach paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
graham mcquade 
Very nice. Love the blades of lime green.
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Thanks Kingkang. By the way your site isnt working correctly. The read more on Koson’s flower painting doesnt work and there isnt any other way I can see of accessing your blogs.
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Thanks for letting me know. Was trying different site themes haphazardly.
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I think you’ve achieved your objective with the lower perspective and the proximity of the grass on the left. Very successful!
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Thanks Gail. I will try to find more close detail subjects to try in future.
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You are always very good at capturing moods.
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Thanks Friedrich, though I think in the main it is the viewer who brings their perceptions to the piece – no more so than with your own abstracts.
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This is beautiful, Graham! I love the idea of underpainting with gouache and then overworking with pastel, I want to try that!
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Thanks Tiffany. I find building up dark areas with just pastel can leave it overworked, so quickly applying some tonal washes (which can have varied hues) before adding the highlights with pastel seems to give cleaner results. You can of course paint a more detailed painting in gouache and then add finishing flourishes with pastel. i’ve seen that work well.
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So lovely! I feel like I’m walking in your footsteps, looking at it. And, as always, the light is exquisite!! 👏👏🥰👏👏
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Glad you liked it, thanks Robin
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Wonderful, Graham. I can feel the sand between my toes and hear the rustle of the maram grass.
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Thanks Matthew I’m glad it brought back such visceral memories.
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