I’m very pleased with how this painting — part of my 100-day creative adventure — came out. It is based on “Evening Storm”, a watercolor included in Watercolour Painting with Aubrey Phillips. Because the illustration in the book covers two pages, I’m not able to photograph it or scan it. An online search for an image of “Evening Storm” turned up many Aubrey Phillips paintings, but not that particular one.
Here, however, is my version of the painting:
You saw my initial value sketch made with conte sticks here. For comparison purposes, here is the quick sketch Aubrey Phillips made at the location:
He definitely has more drama because of his range of values, yet still I’m pleased with my results.
The painting was done over the course of several days. First, I made my own preliminary sketch to study the shapes and values. I then washed in the sky and the foreground area. The following day I began working on the rocks. For several days I layered colors over the rocky areas and in the foreground.
For me, the problem was leaving the white of the page. I did leave a lot of white, but I wasn’t able to build my dark areas in such a way that I left any indication of the foamy spray from the crashing waves.
Here is how my “Evening Storm” looked:
Yes, I had lots of white areas I’d saved, but I didn’t have the “stormy waves” effect that this painting is based on. So, I decided to give gouache a try. I wasn’t at all sure how much to use, which brush to choose, or how to apply it to create sprays of water. I made a few practice strokes on another sheet, then just plunged ahead, knowing that no matter how the painting looked afterward, it was a watercolor I could be proud of.
And here again is the final painting:
How did I do with my gouache? I think it looks all right as part of a beginning watercolorist’s attempt at painting a stormy sea. I did add gouache to the “dry white areas” as well, in hopes of bringing it all together in a unified way.
Overall, I’m happy with what I’ve done here. I’m excited to continue on with my 100-day creative journey and see where it takes me.
Artistcoveries 
Excellent painting.
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Thank you! Playing with the gouache was interesting, and I think it turned out well. I’m glad you like it. 🙂
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Gorgeous soft colours , love the light pink shades in the sky!
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Thank you! I was really happy with how this one turned out. I think making the value study first really helped me. I should do that more often LOL.
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Ooh, I really like this one. 🙂 Lots of drama and movement for the eye to follow. (And white gouache is my best friend when it comes to tricky white spaces.) Nicely done!
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Thanks. I was pleased… unsure at first about the white gouache, but I think it came out all right. 🙂
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You should be very proud of this effort. Nice work.
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My husband still laughs about “that poor girl”…but I remain undaunted. I’ll keep practicing, and one of these days I’ll paint another figure. I can only get better. 🙂 Oops… I thought you were looking at my attempt at painting the human figure LOL. Thank you for your kind words on “Evening Storm”. I was pleased with how that one turned out. 🙂
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Very nice painting!
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Thank you!
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Gouache and sea spray. Next time take a stiff brush (boar hair works nicely) and stipple it, full strength right from the tube. Use Titanium white instead of Chinese or zinc white. The second isnt as opaque is the first. Love your work!
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Thank you so much for the advice! I’ve just now discovered white gouache, so I wasn’t at all sure how to use it. I appreciate the tips.
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