On the Easel: Impressions of Noosa, August 2020

I have a few recent paintings to share. Here’s one of them, Impressions of Noosa. I had mixed feelings about the outcome of this, but it’s come to grow on me. Something different at the very least. I also think it’s worth sharing paintings that didn’t go exactly as planned as this gives you a fair idea of what goes on in the studio. Often, the best lessons learned come from paintings that you have to stumble your way through.

I have also shared some beautiful student works at the end of this post based on my Noosa reference photos.

Reference Photo

Details

• Oil on stretched canvas. 12×16 inches.
• Main colors: Ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, permanent alizarin crimson, cadmium red, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow, viridian green, terra rosa, and titanium white.

Refer to my supplies list for more details on what I use.

Notes

• This was my second attempt at painting this. The first attempt was going well until it wasn’t. It doesn’t matter how long I have been painting; every failure hurts. I ran out of titanium white and tried to foolishly paint with the remaining scraps of it on my palette. But that just resulted in poor decision-making and compensation. I share this as a word of caution-make sure you have all your supplies in order before you start painting. It might save you a few failed attempts.
• I started the painting with a thin wash of color. But I regret doing so, as the dark surface worked against the high-key colors of the painting. If I were to paint this again, I’d paint it directly onto the white surface.
• The main features I tried to capture are 1) The contrast between the shadowed foreground and the light background, 2) The light glimmering on the water, and finally, 3) The subtle boats in the distance.
• I painted in a high key to capture the overall feeling of light.
• I started with brushwork but ended up using mostly a palette knife to apply impasto strokes. Palette knife strokes can really inject life into an otherwise flat painting. Though I wouldn’t recommend pivoting from mostly brushwork to mostly palette knife work midway through a painting, I only did so in this case to save the painting.
• One of the main challenges of this painting was getting everything to fit together. It doesn’t matter how well the individual parts are painted if they don’t work as a whole.
• I drew inspiration from the Russian masters for this painting, including Bato Dugarzhapov and Slava Korolenkov. It’s a challenging way to paint. Too loose and you end up with a sloppy mess; too tight and it looks overworked. The Russians make it look effortless.

Progress Shots

Detail Shots

Student Works

Not long ago I shared some Noosa reference photos for painting inspiration. I was pleased to have several readers email back with finished paintings. Beautiful work!

Thanks for Reading!

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I appreciate it! Feel free to share with friends. If you want more painting tips, check out my Painting Academy course.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

Draw Paint Academy