Seascapes 52: week 6

Tipple is number 6 in Seascapes 52. A painterly celebration of the joy of discovering and playing with new colours.

A new colour palette

Tipple was created while I was still in Reading. I'd bought some new paints, including two Michael Harding hues: Kings blue light and warm white. What a treat!

The title refers to another rare treat: a little cheeky late night whisky snifter while I was painting.

Tipple is a celebration of colour; combining old and new favourites into a new colour palette. It's also a celebration of gesture; having the confidence to convey the movement of the clouds, waves and sand with the simplicity of the mark. When I first started painting in oils, I found clouds and waves, in particular, very challenging. It's a great feeling to be able to trust your mark. Especially when you're creating something that you used to fear.

The composition isn't inspired by any particular beach. However, I suspect subconsciously, there is a little crossover in the composition from another seascape I'd created and had hanging in my bedroom at the time. That one was based on the view across the sea at Pringle Bay (which is not far from Cape Town). 

I love the lilac hues in this seascape. It's dreamy and mesmerising to look at. On reflection, it's encouraged me to add different hues into my seascape paintings (more on that next week). But I would like to be braver and freer with my colour choices and juxtapositions. I tend towards adjacent rather than complementary colour palettes. One of my colour goals is to continue the sense of colour harmony in my work, while experimenting a little more with less predictable and conventional elements. Watch this space.

Tipple is available (at the time of writing) in my Land & sea collection.

Hope this inspires you to enjoy new colours, Join me again next week for the next seascape instalment.