The last of the seaside paintings – well at least for a while – I promise. This is from the sketches I posted earlier.
I also did a painting of the water surface sketch I published in my last blog.
Other seascapes and beach scenes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
I enjoyed loading up a large mop with masses of dark colour and floating the tip over the paper’s surface drawing out random patterns in this sketch. It will be worth trying again and getting the density of paint stronger. I had prepared a light underpainting first on this one, to try and get the swell and roll of water before going in with the reflections.
The second one is a half imperial sized version (52x36cm) of the sketch I put on the blog on the 12th February. I decided to go in even closer on this version. I was quite satisfied with this one, so hopefully you wont see this again.
Other seascapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
When I was on holiday I took many photos of waves in order to paint some seascapes on my return. I had these images on one of my memory cards which I placed inside my computer case for safe keeping. It didn’t work: I lost the card and with it many photos of my holiday. Fortunately I had two other cards full of images, but not many of the sea. Anyway I have a number of images from other stays by the seaside and a few on the other cards so I tried out some sketches.
Here are a few of them. I will try working these up to bigger paintings, in fact I’ve already started on one.
The last one is mixed media which is what I wanted to explore, but I was happy with the straight watercolours so I have decided to stay with that.
So there will be a few more paintings of the shoreline in the coming weeks.
Other paintings of beaches are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
In the end I plumped for something upbeat to start the new year with; the summer days to come – well at least for us poor northerners. This was taken from a place where everyone is currently luxuriating in hot summer holiday days.
It was either this painting or one of a hyena. I might keep that for the Chinese new year, well it is the year of the dog.
I did like the way the primary colours of the sunshade blaze out against the dark sea and the shaded figures contrast against the dry, hot sand.
Happy New Year.
On to the small seaside resort or Hermanus. The backdrop to this town is spectacular with it’s high mountains. Literature said that there could be sightings of whales from the shore, but I think we were a little late in the season and unlike the unpretentious town of Mossel Bay where you could watch dolphins cavort and surf in the waves here there were just a few fishermen catching crayfish.
However, the long walk along the front of the town was worth doing and this was where I painted the view above looking over the fynbos, which is Mediterranean type scrub, on top of the low cliffs back to the town centre.
This was the view from the hotel window, in the middle of the town, out to the new harbour. The waves crashing into the shore in the evening light were quite a sight which I havent really managed to capture.
We walked along the cliffs to the new harbour, but it was a rather sad affair. Hermanus is really missing a trick or two in not developing its old or new harbour areas. Maybe the town will wake up one day.
Other seascapes are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com
Down to Plettenberg bay. We had a 10k walk along the Robben Peninsular which, I was told later, a few dont return from. At the end it was hard going but we made for a pristine beach where the breakers pounded in and I rested my weary bones and did this sketch after cooling my feet in the crystal sea.
Another sketch from the same area on a different day. The cliffs tower above you though I think rockfalls are rare, they do occur from time to time.
Other seascapes and landscapes are available on my website for sale: grahammcquadefineart.com
I put this out in October 2015 on this blog and then entered it into a number of local exhibitions but there were no takers. It also resided on my websites for a year and a half and with the lack of interest I decided to replace it on my main website, but last week someone saw it on one of my other websites which I dont update too often and they bought it. It just takes the right person to come along and see it and you have a sale.
It has made me resolve to check what I do have out there on the web as it might have been embarrassing if I had cut it up and used it as scrap paper which I am prone do when practising techniques or developing paintings.
Other seascapes and watercolours are available on my website. Get them whilst you have the chance : grahammcquadefineart.com
