On the Beach, watercolour on Saunders Waterford 140lb (300gsm) Rough, (28x19cm)

Paul Talbot-Greaves shows you how to use watercolour to master beach scenes with figures in just three main parts.

'A great way to spend a few hours is down on the beach amongst the reflections, the soft sand, the colours, life and action,' says Paul.

'Beaches provide some fantastic opportunities to try out small-scale watercolour paintings, or even some sketching on location.

'Drawing figures can be a lot of fun, especially when they’re moving about.

'Use a medium-sized watercolour brush such as a size 8 round or size 2 squirrel mop and draw with paint, quickly marking the shapes and movement without any preliminary pencil work.

'As soon as you lose your way, or the figure moves out of sight, switch to the next sketch and so on. If you want to keep things to a minimum, use a broad stick of charcoal to block the shapes.

'Quick drawing practice like this brings movement into your work, and this is especially important when working with figures.'

A simple guide to drawing figures

Start by drawing a line the height of the figure, and then divide it in two, as shown in the diagram (below).

Next, divide the top half in two and then into two again.

This gives you a rough proportion for the figure using:

• The top eighth segment as the head
• Halfway for the waist. If the figure is wearing baggy clothing the waistline may be covered but it is still halfway.
• Legs continue from the sides of the torso to the base of the line.

The line diagram below ensures that you keep to the correct proportions.

When you become accustomed to the build of the figure you can do away with the measuring line.

Begin by blocking in the torso and legs allowing colour to fuse and blend.

The flesh tones can be added after using opaque colours.

When drawing figures, start with a proportion line then build the figure around this.

You can cover the waist with larger clothing if necessary when you apply the paint.

Demonstration – On the Beach

Step one

Using a 6B pencil on Saunders Waterford 140lb (300gsm) paper, begin with a loose drawing to establish the main shapes and to place the figures.

Using a size 6 mop brush wash in weak cerulean blue at the top and add a little yellow ochre where the trees are.

Lower down, loosely mix yellow ochre and perylene violet on the paper for the sand and, in a couple of places, add a streak of cerulean blue.

Work the wash around a couple of sails, which are left as white paper.

Step two

Once dry, begin to build the painting.

At the top work the trees, mixing yellow ochre and viridian on the paper, and adding perylene violet in the dark areas. 

Top tip

By working the shapes together in this way you will eliminate any hard edges, which help to push the distance back.

For the two main figures work sketchy way, using a size 8 sable round brush and variants of blue and violet to created a contrast with the warmer sand.

For flesh tones use a thick mixture of Naples yellow and cadmium red.

Work the figures quickly so that colours and shapes blend together, this eliminates the need for details.

With French ultramarine and cadmium red add in their cast shadows.

Step three

Add the remaining people in various poses. As they recede to the distance, make sure to hold off using bright colour and detail.

This is the part that brings the painting together.

Finished painting

On the Beach, watercolour on Saunders Waterford 140lb (300gsm) Rough, (28x19cm)

"Here, there was very little to add, just one or two highlights with permanent white gouache, a few drag brush lines to suggest texture in the sand and some further shadows and masts".

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About Paul Talbot-Greaves

Paul Talbot-Greaves has been painting for over 20 years and teaches watercolour and acrylic painting in workshops and demonstrations to art societies throughout the Midlands and the north of England.

He can be contacted by email: [email protected] or through his website: www.talbot-greaves.co.uk

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This demonstration is taken from the September 2018 issue of The Artist.

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