Firstly the shapes of the foreground waves were masked out.  Care was taken to mask out the waves in the direction they were crashing onto the shore.  A touch of an old wax candle was used as a resist for the spray.  Variety in the sizes of waves was important to create interest.  The smaller, distant swells were generally left untouched.  These were defined later by the darker shadows underneath.

In Step 2 the distant sea is dark against the sky, becoming lighter and greener as it approaches the shore. Masking fluid was used to retain the spume of the waves, protecting the white areas from the washes of sea colour.

After masking out the waves the sky area was dampened and streaks of blue were rapidly painted into this and allowed to dry). A mix of yellow ochre and burnt sienna was washed over the foreground next to represent the sand, gradually fading into the sea.

When dry, Russian blue was painted strongly at the horizon, gradually becoming greener, where touches of yellow ochre were added to the blue, and lighter as it approached the shore.  A very dilute green/yellow in the foreground was gently painted over the masked out waves and floated over the earlier sand wash.

Finally the edges of some of the waves were softened by rubbing the dry paper with dampened tissue screwed into a ball.  If you find it difficult keeping horizons straight, hold a ruler along the horizon, and paint on the appropriate side!

Rocks

These can be surprisingly easy to paint, provided one approaches them in a logical way (Figure 3).  I find it easiest to do them in two stages.  I start by covering the rocks with light washes, at this stage concentrating on colour and texture.  This can be helped by using mixtures of grainy blue colours, such as ultramarine or cerulean blue, and the cooler, more transparent blues, such as Russian blue or Winsor blue with their complementaries.  These could be burnt sienna, light red, Indian red or red ochre.  Mixing with these complementaries yields a variety of greys, ranging from true blue greys and green greys to those with a purplish tinge.

Blotting with soft paper tissue while the paint is still wet, dries and lightens the paint somewhat.  While still damp, slightly thicker touches of colour can be painted in, reblotted, then more paint added.  Usually the more you meddle in watercolour the worse a painting becomes.  However, in this situation the reverse is true.  The more you fiddle, the more variations in colour and texture are achieved.  The only thing to watch out for is that the colour doesn’t become too heavy and opaque.  If it does, a little water will soften the paint, and blotting may help, creating more texture.

Rock salt, (ordinary salt doesn’t work) can be dropped on at this stage, and left to dry.  When dry, brush off the salt to reveal some interesting textures.

When everything is dry I concentrate on the way the light affects the rocks.  I decide on the direction it is coming from, where the lightest parts will be, and where the shadows will lie.  I then glaze a shadow colour, (mixtures of complementary colours described earlier) over the top.  Any hard edges can be softened with soft tissue before the paint dries, the touch of a wet brush or, later by rubbing with a piece of damp, soft tissue.

Painting pebbles

Colour and texture are achieved by using grainy colours, blotting and adding more paint (Figure 4 Step 1).  Extra texture can be achieved by leaving a few grains of rock salt on the wet paint.  The shadow is then added to the right of the pebble, and underneath it (Step 2).

It can be fun to practise by setting up a small still-life group of pebbles.

Birds in seascapes

Birds are often useful to help finish a picture, providing a touch of life.  Sometimes paintings are beautifully painted but lack a focal point.  A few carefully placed birds can provide the solution. 

It is essential to observe birds carefully.  Make plenty of sketches and take photographs (Figure 6).  Look for the differences between a pigeon and a seagull.  How do they fly?  What colours are they?  Or, more importantly, what tone are they?  Are they light against the sky, or dark?  Where is the light coming from – underneath or overhead?  Birds in the distance can be very simply painted as V-shapes (Figure 7 below), but closer to, more information is required.

Reference material from library books on birds can be useful , to augment your own sketches and photographs.  Who knows, you may develop a real interest in ornithology.  One of the most exciting things about being an artist is that it opens up new exciting paths and new interests.

Painting the sea leads you into oceanography, geology and conchology as well as ornithology, all for the price of paint, paper and vision.

Figure 7

Birds in the distance.